World first: Cooks captains to create sporting history

Brad and Kiana Takairangi are set to create sporting history when they captain the Cook Islands Aitu and Moana in Saturday’s Pacific Championships double-header against Fiji at Suva’s HFC Stadium.

In a world first, the pair are believed to be the only brother and sister in any sporting code to be appointed as captain of their nation’s men’s and women’s teams at the same time.

Kiana will lead the Moana against the Fiji Bulikula before Brad captains the Aitu against the Bati.

“It’s awesome,” Brad said. “I’ve had the opportunity to captain these boys a few times already, so to see my little sister be about to do the same thing for her team is really special.

I’m sure our parents will be really proud.

The siblings qualify for Cook Islands through their father, Louis Takairangi, who played for Parramatta – as did Brad, along with Sydney Roosters, Gold Coast Titans and Hull KR.

Kiana was a member of Newcastle’s 2022 NRLW premiership winning team and has also enjoyed stints with the Roosters and Sharks.

While Brad has captained Cook Islands since 2019, the Test against the Bulikula - which doubles as a World Cup qualifier – will be the first time Kiana has led the Moana.

“It’s pretty cool,” she said of her appointment as Moana captain. “My dad is a very proud Cook islander and he’s always very supportive of us representing his country, so no doubt he’ll be over-the-moon.

“Being part of these campaigns is one of the highlights of my career. It’s massive. It’s always different from everything else. It’s nothing like club footy, it’s very unique from a cultural aspect.”

Kiana made her Test debut at the 2017 World Cup in Australia, and was a member of the Cook Islands team that shocked England 22-16 in the biggest upset of the tournament that led to the formation of the NRLW.

The star fullback is now aiming to lead the Moana to their third consecutive World Cup by winning against Fiji on Saturday night and then beating Fetu Samoa, who defeated Tonga last weekend, in a play-off in Auckland on November 2.

“We have had some good wins in the past, especially beating England in 2017, that was a massive game for us,” she said.

“We do have a bigger pool of girls coming through now.

"It’s about trying to make the environment as professional as possible and have staff and people in place with our team to make girls want to come back and represent the Cook Islands.

“Having a week to prepare and deep-diving into that culture, learning and teaching all the new girls coming through – and it’s the same for Brad with the boys – is a lot of fun, and something I’m really proud to be part of.”

Like the Moana, the Aitu need to win against Fiji to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the promotion-relegation play-off against the third-placed Pacific Cup team for a place in the top tier of next year’s Pacific Championships.

Despite missing a number of topline players in last year’s Test, the Cook Islands led Fiji 18-16 with just five minutes remaining until a late Sunia Turuva try snatched victory for the Bati.

The Aitu are in a similar position this year, but Takairangi and coach Karmichael Hunt are looking towards the 2026 World Cup, with Kayal Iro, Valentine Holmes, Joey Manu and Xavier Willison eligible to play for Cook Islands.

“For me, it’s about giving back,” Takairangi said. “We’re only a small nation. No-one gives us respect at all but that’s on us, we haven’t performed as good as we have wanted to.

“We will be looking forward to starting the campaign very well against Fiji. It’s about putting in good performances and enticing the boys to come back and play for us.

“That’s one thing myself and Karmichael want to do. There are about 10 boys that can come back and play, whether they are playing for the Kiwis or for Aussie … Joey Manu was very keen to play before he went away.”