Australia and Queensland star Valentine Holmes has announced he will represent the Cook Islands at this year’s Rugby League World Cup, hosted by Australia and Papua New Guinea.
The 30-year-old Dragons back is eligible through his mother, Lucy, and will join a strengthening Aitu squad coached by Karmichael Hunt. Though injury kept Holmes out of last year’s qualifiers, he previously joined the team in a mentoring capacity during a cultural trip to Rarotonga.
Following a standout two-try performance against Brisbane, Holmes confirmed his commitment to his heritage.
“I’ve been very fortunate enough and lucky to wear the Aussie jersey 21 times and I played in a couple of World Cups, Four Nations, and ANZAC Tests,” Holmes said. “Now I want to give back to my mum’s side and to my culture’s side.
“She’s obviously over the moon, and she’s one of 12 (children) so they’re all very happy to see me hopefully play at the end of the year. Touch wood I can make it there. We’ll see what happens facing some quality teams too.”
Holmes joins an impressive Cook Islands roster that features established NRL talent like Kayal Iro, Brendan Piakura, Marata Niukore, and Davvy Moale.
However, the Aitu face an incredibly challenging group stage draw against rugby league heavyweights Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia.
This campaign marks the Cook Islands’ fourth appearance at a World Cup tournament, and the team will be aiming to leverage Holmes’ experience to advance past the group stage for the first time in their history.
Source: Australian Associated Press
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