Cook Islands defeated home team MoniePNG Pukpuks 39/31 inthe final ofthe FORU Cup challenge atthe Lloyd Robson Oval overthe weekend.
PNG trlied in vain to make a late comeback butthe Cooks sailed home comfortably.
Cook Islands have been in great form sincethe start ofthe Federation of Oceania Rugby Union tournament hosted bPNG over ten days.
The Cooks took oPNG Pukpuks inthe final to determine who would go on to meet Fiji intheWorld Cup qualifier – Cook Islands will now have that privilege.
Withthe 2nd half in play, Pukpuks trailed Cook Islands 12-15 as both teams madetheir way back out on field.
It was a crucial second half ofthe matcPNG obviously under pressure fromthe home crowd atthe same time encouraged bythe vocal crowd.
Cook Islands went on to score leading Pukpuks 20-12 with a converted try.
Pukpuks trlied in vain to fight back and narrowthe gap asthe countdown tothe final whistle began.
Cook Islands eventually smelling victory played safety until fulltime.
Player ofthe Match
MoniePNG Pukpuks prop Ryan Samabath was namedthe player ofthe match afterthe final ofthe FORU Cup challenge against Cook Islands.
It will be a long 4 year wait forthPNG Pukpuks to get a chance to compete at anther qualifying match.
Cook Islands captain Stan Wright was overwhelmed with his team for winningthe cup for the first time since its inception in 2007.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y9tIZjm9stg%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26wmode%3Dopaque%26showinfo%3D0%26showsearch%3D0%26rel%3D0
