Transcript
CHARLES CARLSON: The girls were quite disappointed in a way because we were all very well prepared for this game when we found out that the other three teams had defaulted the game. We still got dress and turned up to the field and just announced to the girls that we weren't playing but we had the two officials from the Rugby League International Federation to confirm that Cook Islands has been appointed as the sixth placing on the World Cup.
VINNIE WYLIE: They got dressed, they turned up on the day expecting to play matches and were then told there weren't going to be any?
CC: I was told the evening before that but I didn't announce it to the team because I want to hear it from the horses mouth type of thing - whether it was just rumours...because we brought six players flew in from New Zealand and a player flew in from Melbourne, because they came from the Cook Islands, so we spent quite a bit of money.
VW: So Fiji, Tonga and Samoa all withdrew from the competition...had they travelled to Sydney as well and tried to get a team together or had they made a decision before they left?
CC: They were just trying to make a team from Aussie-based players.
VW: And so none of those three teams turned up on the day?
CC: No, none of them turned up. Well, I had the official letter that - kind of semi-official note - that they were unable to field a team and they have cancelled and defaulted their games, from the organisers of the tournament. I never heard from any of the teams.
VW: Was it hard for the Cook Islands to put a team together?
CC: It was difficult for everybody. We had a game two weeks ago against Fiji. Fiji actually had a team there and we also had a team but it wasn't sort of the best team and the other teams were struggling to get a team but we managed to pull a team together.
VW: So it's unclear what happened to those Fijian players or some of the?
CC: yeah, it's a bit unclear what happened to them and Tonga was in the process of putting a team, and so was Samoa, so I don't know really what happened. It was supposed to be played on the eighth and then we were given another week because we were all struggling to get a team (but) the Cooks managed to pull a team together.
VW: Does more money or more time need to be invested into the women's game?
CC: Definitely. This was a very short notice and I can understand where the other teams are coming from, with no finance to assist with the games. We basically had to look for sponsors and do a bit of quick fundraising to get our girls together. We just crashed in one of the guy's house there - can't afford a motel but just start from the bottom and work our way up.
VW: When were you first informed that this tournament was happening?
CC: It was a month ago. There was some disagreement along the way that (it was a) short time and no finance for the World Cup but we all agreed to set the date and just go for it - we were the only one that came to the party.