Rugby League World Cup: Kiwis make big changes for Cook Islands clash in Christchurch
Kiwis coach Stacey Jones has made six changes for the Rugby League World Cup clash with the Cook Islands on Sunday.
It’s not unexpected, given this game is the best chance to rotate his squad and the fact many players are still carrying the effects of a gruelling NRL season.
Jacob Laban and Tanner Stowers-Smith are set to make their test debuts while Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Scott Sorensen return to the international stage for the round-two World Cup encounter with the Cook Islands at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch on Sunday (6.05pm kickoff).
International selection adds another layer to an outstanding year for 22-year-old Warriors forwards Laban and Stowers-Smith, both named on the interchange bench.
Samoa-born, Wellington-raised Laban’s season was capped by being voted the players’ player of the year after missing just one of the Warriors’ 26 NRL matches.
Christchurch-born Stowers-Smith made 21 appearances, 18 off the bench. Being chosen is especially poignant for the St Bede’s College product, who follows in the footsteps of his great-grandfather Canterbury legend Pat Smith (Kiwi No 301), whose 36 appearances for the Kiwis from 1947-1949 included 10 tests, all as captain.
After missing the 22-24 World Cup-opening loss to the Kangaroos last Thursday, Nicoll-Klokstad has been brought into the side in the centres, while four-time premiership-winning Penrith back rower Scott Sorensen is in the second row after last playing for the Kiwis against Papua New Guinea in the 2024 Pacific Championships.
In other switches, the injured Kalyn Ponga is replaced at fullback by Keano Kini, Nicoll-Klokstad is in for Dane Gagai, Joseph Tapine is switched from loose forward to prop for Moses Leota, Sorensen and Xavier Willison start in the second row for regulars Isaiah Papali’i and Briton Nikora and Erin Clark is named in the No 13 jersey.
Overall, it is a smart move by the coach. It gives others in the squad a chance to impress and keeps morale high by getting them involved in the relatively compact tournament. The decision also factors in the effects of the clash against the Kangaroos and the need for some players to recover from that match after their club seasons.
It’s also, you would presume, the last opportunity for Jones to experiment before he selects his preferred 17 for the final pool match against Fiji on October 31, a week out from an expected appearance in the semi-finals.
It means captain James Fisher-Harris and hooker Jeremy Marshall-King are the only players remaining from the starting pack against Australia.
The six-man bench features one player named last week – utility Te Maire Martin – with Laban and Stowers-Smith joined by Leo Thompson, whose last test was in 2024, and Papali’i and Nikora.
Filling out the extended bench are Gagai, Naufahu Whyte and Leota while all six Warriors in the squad have been selected – Fisher-Harris, Nicoll-Klokstad, Clark, Martin, Laban and Stowers-Smith.
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.