A former Super League player is set to make sporting history in the coming days as he captains his nation against Fiji.
Whilst captaining your country is an immense honour, nothing about it could be considered a ‘world first’, however, his sister will also captain the Women’s national team.
In what is believed to be a world first in any sport throughout history, a brother and sister will captain their nation in a single sporting code at the same time,
The pair in question are former Super League man Brad Takairangi and his sister, Kiana, with the Cook Islands set to face off against Fiji in a double-header on Saturday.
Takairangi will be a familiar name to Super League fans with Brad having last played professionally for Hull KR back in 2022 during a campaign wrought with legal issues. He would play all three Cook Islands matches at the World Cup later that year before returning down under.
Former Super League man and his sister to captain Cook Islands in world first
He will be back on English TV screens now though when playing in Saturday’s Pacific Championships’ double-header.
His sister will take to the field first, captaining the Cook Islands Moana with the duo believed to be the only brother and sister to captain their nation in any sporting code at the same time.
Whilst Brad has skippered the Cook Islands on numerous occasions before, Saturday will mark the first time that Kiana has ever led the nation.
Speaking on the appointments, the former Super League man 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.”
For Kiana, who is a NRLW winner, she said: “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.”
Both games will be broadcast on Sky Sports Mix and Watch NRL with details of all the Rugby League on TV this week available here.
