In a world sporting first, Brad and Kiana Takairangi are set to be the first twins to captain their national teams in the same code.

The unique piece of history of twins, let alone siblings, leading out a rugby league Test lineup is extraordinary - and involves one of the smallest nations in the world.

The Takairangi brother and sister pairing will skipper the men's and women's teams for the Cook Islands at the 2024 Pacific Championships double-header against hosts Fiji on Saturday night in Suva.

While Brad, a 15-year veteran of the Cook Islands has been in charge of the men dating back to 2019, the Test against the Bulikula – which doubles as a World Cup qualifier – will be the first time Kiana has led put the Moana.

"It's awesome," Brad told NRL.com.

"I have had the opportunity to captain the boys a few times already, so to see my little sister be about to do the same thing for her team is really special.

"I'm sure our parents will be really proud."

The Australian-born siblings qualify for their Aitu and Moana sides through their dad, Louis Takairangi, of Cook Island-born of Maori descent, who played for Parramatta – as did Brad for 110 games in addition to 39 for Gold Coast and 29 at the Sydney Roosters.

Kiana was a member of Newcastle's 2022 NRLW premiership-winning team and has played in other short stints with the Roosters and most recently for Cronulla.

"It's pretty cool," she said of her appointment as Moana captain.

"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."

Kiana, is also eligible to play for Australia, but under IRL governing body rules struck two years ago can also choose to represent the birthplace of a parent. She made her Test debut against Australia during the 2017 World Cup.

But she repaid her loyalty to the adopted home in the Cook Islands team that shocked the rugby league world with a 22-16 upset win over England in that same tournament and has remained engaged with the underdogs ever since.

The star fullback is aiming to lead the Moana to their third consecutive World Cup berth by winning against Fiji before then beating Fetu Samoa, who defeated Tonga last weekend, in a playoff game between the Cup and Bowl teams in Auckland on November 2.

"We have had some good wins in the past, especially beating England in 2017 – that was a massive game for us," she said.

"We do have a bigger pool of girls (who qualified to play for the Cook Islands) coming through now.

"It's about trying to make the environment as professional as possible and have staff and people in place with our team to make girls want to come back and represent the Cook Islands.

"Having a week to prepare and deep-diving into that culture, learning and teaching all the new girls coming through – and it's the same for Brad with the boys – a lot of fun, and something I'm really proud to be part of."

The Cook Islands is largely a country of Māori Kūki origins translated in its Māori Rarotongan language to the nation of Kūki 'Airani, which is the ancestral homeland to Māori persons born in Aotearoa.

Kūki 'Airani with about 15,000 residents, along with Papua New Guinea, are the only nations in the world where rugby league is recognised as the national sport of their people.

Cook Islands men's coach Karmichael Hunt is looking towards the 2026 World Cup, with NRL talent Joey Manu, Kayal Iro, Xavier Willison and Valentine Holmes eligible to play for the tiny islands.

For Takairangi, the Sydney-born backrower wouldn't play anywhere else with the same heart nor soul.

"For me, it's about giving back," Brad said.

"We're only a small nation. No-one gives us respect at all, but that's on us, we haven't performed as good as we have wanted to."

The Aitu need to defeat the Fiji to also keep alive the Cook Islands' chances of qualifying for the promotion-relegation game against the third-placed Pacific Cup side to decide the direction of the men in next year's Pacific Championships.

The Cook Islands are in a similar position this year to last year after leading the Bati by two points in the dying minutes until conceding the winner to miss out.

"We will be looking forward to starting the campaign very well against Fiji," he added

"It's about putting in good performances and enticing the boys to come back and play for us.

"That's one thing myself and Karmichael want to do."