Thomas Davis (Cook Islands politician) serve as High Commissioner to New Zealand. During Davis's first term as Prime Minister, two changes were made to the constitution which altered the symbols of the country. In 1979, the Cook Islands Ensign was adopted to replace the previous flag of 15 yellow stars on a green background. In 1982, "Te Atua Mou E" was adopted as the national anthem of the Cook Islands, replacing "God Defend New Zealand". Davis wrote the music to "Te Atua Mou E" and his wife wrote the lyrics. Davis co-authored the autobiographical "Doctor to the Islands" (1955) and the novel "Makutu" (1960) with
Sport in the Cook Islands for the national side. Both players represented New Zealand internationally and played many National Rugby League games. Rugby league also receives much time on television in the Cook Islands, with four NRL games shown per week, fuelling the popularity of the sport amongst the islanders. The Cook Islands national rugby league team made their senior World Cup debut in 2000 and played in their second world cup in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. The Cook Islands is a tier-three rugby union playing nation. They began playing international rugby union in the early 1990s, and have yet to make the