Posted at 20:30 on 11 October, 2013 UTC
Niue will make their international rugby league debut this evening in what coach Brendan Perenara hopes is the start of a regular test match programme.
The Island nation will take on a Vanuatu side in Port Vila who recorded their first test win at the weekend against the Solomon Islands in Mackay.
Brendon Perenara says he was approached by a few players about putting a team together and since competing in the Cabramatta Nines tournament in Sydney earlier this year the idea for a test match has gathered momentum.
The Niue squad is made up of 14 players from Australia, with four from New Zealand and one travelling from the UK but Perenara says they hope to
We actually tried to get a couple of guys to develop from Niue, the Rock itself, but [it] just fell through with financial problems.Hopefully in the future we can get some boys from the Rock.Hopefully this is a stepping stone and hopefully more boys will put their hands up to play for Niue, their nation, and head on the boat with us and we can go forward from there.
