Before 1995, the Cooks' international experience was limited to participation in the Pacific Cup, and hosting the touring British Amateur Rugby League Association Great Britain Amateur teams. Nonetheless, the sizeable number of expatriate Cook Islanders living and playing in New Zealand has ensured that they have never been short of players with rugby league experience.

They won the 1995 Emerging Nations tournament, defeating United States, Russia and Scotland before beating Ireland in the final.

In 1996 and 1997 the Cook Islands competed in the Super League World Nines. They also played several full internationals against other South Pacific nations, most notably as part of the Papua New Guinea 50th Anniversary Tournament in October 1998. 2000 saw the Cook Islands competing in the World Cup for the first time. They finished third in their pool after losing to Wales^[1] and the Kiwis and only managing a draw against Lebanon.

The Cook Islands successfully toured New Zealand in 2005 with a three test series against the New Zealand Māori ending in a draw after the first test was drawn 26–26 and the second and third tests were split between both sides.

The Cook Islands played Fiji,^[2] Tonga and Samoa in the Pacific pool of Qualifying for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Fiji and Tonga qualified, and Samoa earned a second chance in the repecharge round. The Cook Islands, having lost to all three teams, were eliminated.

The Cook Islands participated in the 2009 Pacific Cup. Having beaten Samoa to earn a place in the tournament, they went on to defeat favourites Fiji and earn a place in the final of the competition.^[3]

The Cook Islands were given automatic entry into the 2013 Rugby League World Cup they were placed in Pool D alongside Wales and the United States before playing an Inter-Group match against Tonga. Going into the Tournament, 'the Kukis' had never won a World Cup match. The team lost to the USA and to Tonga, but they won their last match against the Tournament co-hosts Wales, making history for the sport of rugby league in the Cook Islands. This is the Cook Islands' best Rugby League World Cup result to date.

In October 2015 the Cook Islands took on Tonga in the Asia-Pacific elimination play-off to determine which of the two Asia-Pacific nations would qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. After a tight first half, the Tongans would go on win the match scoring 16 points within the last 20 minutes of the game.

In June 2019, Cook Islands took on South Africa at Ringrose Park in Wentworthville, winning 66–6. They then went on to play the United States at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville in November. They won 38–16, qualifying them into the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. At the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, the Cook Islands narrowly beat part timers Wales 18-12 before losing their second group stage match against Papua New Guinea. In their final group stage match, the Cook Islands suffered their worst ever defeat as they were beaten 92-10 by Tonga at the Riverside Stadium.^[4]

The Cook Islands squad for the 2025 Pacific Championships and 2026 World Cup qualification playoff. The squad was announced via social media on 7 October 2025.^[5]

Jersey numbers in the table reflect selections for the World Cup Qualifier versus the South Africa Rhinos

Statistics in this table are compiled from the website, Rugby League Project. They include the match against Papua New Guinea on 25 October 2025.

J#	Player	Age	Position(s)	Cook Islands						Club	Club Matches		Other Representative Matches
				Dbt	M	T	G	F	P		Tier 1	Tier 2
1	Esom Ioka	22	Fullback, Wing	2023	6	4	9	0	34	Northern Pride RLFC	0	52
2	Paul Ulberg	29	Wing	2019	7	4	0	0	16	Toulouse Olympique	0	159
3	KL Iro	25	Centre	2019	10	2	0	0	8	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	38	0
4	Reubenn Rennie	30	Centre	2016	11	5	0	0	20	Toulouse Olympique	0	165
5	Teapo Stoltman	—	Wing, Centre	—	0	0	0	0	0	Souths Logan Magpies	0	0
6	Cassius Cowley	—	Five-eighth, Halfback	2025	2	0	0	0	0	Wynnum Manly Seagulls	0	2
7	Esan Marsters	29	Halfback, Fullback	2015	12	2	0	0	8	Salford Red Devils	145	37	6 4
8	Makahesi Makatoa	32	Prop	2015	11	1	0	0	4	Sydney Roosters	61	164
9	Mason Teague	22	Lock, Hooker	2024	4	0	0	0	0	Newcastle Knights	8	57
10	Davvy Moale	22	Prop	2022	8	3	0	0	12	South Sydney Rabbitohs	70	14
11	Brendan Piakura	23	Second-row	2022	5	0	0	0	0	Brisbane Broncos	54	29
12	Marata Niukore	29	Second-row	2017	3	2	0	0	8	New Zealand Warriors	157	41
13	Pride Petterson-Robati	30	Lock, Prop	2019	9	1	0	0	4	Souths Logan Magpies	0	97
14	Rua Ngatikaura	25	Hooker	2022	8	2	0	0	8	South Sydney Rabbitohs	0	48
15	Reuben Porter	28	Second-row	2017	10	0	0	0	0	Western Suburbs Magpies	8	126	1
16	Justin Makirere	—	Prop	2023	5	1	0	0	4	Norths Devils	0	21
17	Rhys Dakin	24	Prop	2023	5	0	0	0	0	Sydney Roosters	0	61
18	Amare Milford	19	Second-row	—	0	0	0	0	0	Melbourne Storm	0	0
–	Caelys-Paul Putoko	—	Wing, Five-eighth	2025	2	1	0	0	4	New Zealand Warriors	0	1
–	Delahia Wigmore	—	Centre, Lock	2024	3	1	0	0	4	Penrith Panthers	0	1
–	Brody Tamarua	26	Second-row	2019	3	0	0	0	0	Norths Devils	0	14
–	Tepai Moeroa	30	Prop	2019	7	0	0	0	0	Western Suburbs Red Devils	134	32	1 1
–	Brad Takairangi	36	Five-eighth, Centre	2009	14	1	3	0	10	South West Goannas	202	3	4 2

Notes:

• KL Iro was named captain for the Round 1 match after 2024 captain Brad Takairangi withdrew due to an injury.
• Takairangi was replaced in the Round 1 team by Caelys-Paul Putoko, who had been added to the squad.^[6]
• Rhys Dakin was added to the squad and named in the team for Cook Islands' first round match, after initially being omitted.^[5][7]
• Initial selections Davvy Moale and Marata Niukore were not named for Cook Islands' first round match.^[5][7]
• The shading in the Clubs column of the above table indicates players selected from teams outside the 2025 NRL season
  • First Tier
    • Salford Red Devils (Super League) (1): Marsters
  • Second Tier
    • Northern Pride (Qld Cup) (1): Ioka
    • Norths Devils (Qld Cup) (2): Makirere and Tamarua
    • Souths Logan Magpies (Qld Cup) (1): Porter
    • Toulouse Olympique (RFL Championship) (2): Rennie and Ulberg
    • Western Suburbs Magpies (NSW Cup) (1): Porter
    • New Zealand Warriors (NSW Cup) (1): Caelys-Paul Putoko
    • Wynnum Manly Seagulls (Qld Cup) (1): Cowley
  • Third Tier
    • South West Goannas (Macarthur RL) (1): Takairangi
    • Western Suburbs Red Devils (Illawarra RL) (1): Moeroa
    • Souths Logan Magpies (Brisbane A Grade) (1): Stoltman
• Amare Milford played for Melbourne Storm in the SG Ball Cup in early 2025.
• Two members of the squad have previously played for another national team.
  •  New Zealand (3): Marsters and Takairangi
• Four squad members have played for other representative teams:
  • Māori All Stars (3): Marsters, Porter, and Takairangi
  • NRL All Stars team (1): Moeroa
  • Prime Minister's XIII (1): Moeroa

The Cook Islands have also participated in:

• Pacific Cup (since 1986)
• Super League World Nines (1996, 1997)
• Super League Oceania Tournament (1997)
• Papua New Guinea 50th Anniversary Tournament (1998)
• Pacific Rim Competition (2004)