Rugby league in Papua New Guinea

Last updated

Rugby league in Papua New Guinea
CountryPapua New Guinea
Governing bodyPapua New Guinea National Rugby League
National team(s) Papua New Guinea
Nickname(s)the Kumuls
First played1930s
Registered players15,000 (total) [1]
10,000 (adult), 5,000 (junior)
Clubs280
National competitions
Club competitions
Audience records
Single match20,000+ 2010 Goroka Lahanis v Mendi Muruks 21–10

Rugby league is a popular team sport in Papua New Guinea, and is the national sport. [2] [3] Papua New Guinea has a reputation for being the most passionate supporter of the game in the world. [4]

Contents

History

Papua New Guinea first came into contact with rugby league during the gold rush in the 1930s through Australian miners. [5] Australian soldiers stationed in the country during and after the Second World War reintroduced the sport[ citation needed ] and in 1949 and the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League was founded. [5] It quickly became a popular spectator sport.[ citation needed ]

During the 1960s rugby league grew to be the clear national sport of the country. [6] Despite being the most popular spectator sport, rugby league was mainly played by Australians and New Zealanders at this time. Participation numbers did not grow to reflect spectator numbers for another decade.

The governing body for rugby league in Papua New Guinea became members of the Rugby League International Federation in 1974 and the national team's first ever Test match was a 40–12 home defeat by Great Britain a year later. They first competed in the Rugby League World Cup in the 1985–89 competition.

A record attendance was established at the Papua New Guinea Grand Final held at the Morobean capital on 8 September 2010. When the Goroka Lahanis defeated the Mendi Muruks 21–10 in front of a crowd that was believed to be 20,000+

The PNG Hunters professional rugby league football club formed in 2013 to compete in the Queensland Rugby League's Intrust Super Cup. The Hunters won the Intrust Super Cup in 2017.

In October 2015, Papua New Guinea sealed a deal to co-host the 2017 Rugby League World Cup along with Australia and New Zealand. The Kumuls were given their 'own pool' hosting both their Group C fixtures against Wales and Ireland, plus an 'inter-group' match against USA of Group D, in Port Moresby. [7]

Governing body

The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League are the governing body for rugby league in Papua New Guinea. They have been members of the Rugby League International Federation and Pacific Islands Rugby League Federation.

Domestic competitions

1990 saw the launch of a national competition then called the SP Inter-City Cup or SP Cup (1990–2008) and later the Bemobile Cup (2009–2010) after changes in sponsorship. The current competition is sponsored by pacific telecommunications giant Digicel and is now known as the Digicel Cup. The current competition is made up of 12 teams from various cities or provinces around the country. The competition follows the conventional Australian NRL format, with 26 round robin games followed by the top 4 teams entering the finals play-offs.

Below the Digicel Cup exist many local and provincial competitions, the most prestigious of which is the Port Moresby League. In 2007 a new league called the Nokondi Cup was created for teams in the Eastern Highlands province.

A Port Moresby team (the Port Moresby Vipers) competed in the Panasonic Cup in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989; and in the Queensland Cup in 1996 and 1997. The 2014 season saw the PNG Hunters enter the Queensland Cup, based out of Kokopo.

NRL team bid

An official bid for a PNG team in the National Rugby League (Australia's primary rugby league competition) began in October 2008. The bid was launched by Sir Michael Somare. [8] In 2021, Prime Minister James Marape supported the bid, stating his country wanted an NRL team by 2025. [9] Many have also suggested the addition of one NRL team for both Papua New Guinea and the city of Cairns in Far North Queensland. [10]

Notable players

Many Papua New Guineans have gone on to play professional rugby league either in the National Rugby League in Australia or Super League in Europe. It is the goal of the PNGRL to have 120 players participating in the NRL and Super League by 2010. [11]

Popularity

Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea and is commonly referred to as the national sport. [12] In a nation where communities are far apart and many people live at a minimal subsistence level, rugby league is the lifeblood of the country and is considered a matter of life and death.

During the 2000 Rugby League World Cup an estimated audience of 2 million[ citation needed ] watched the Kumuls lose to the Welsh Dragons in the quarter-finals in the early hours of the morning local time. Despite this loss over 50,000 fans welcomed the team at Port Moresby Airport later that week. [6]

A sold-out crowd always comes to watch the annual match between the Kumuls and the Australian Prime Minister's XIII.

Participation

Rugby league has a huge participation rate in the junior level with every school in the country involved in a rugby league competition as rugby league is part of the school curriculum. [13] There are 5,000 registered players between the ages of 12 and 18.[ citation needed ]

There are 10,000 registered senior players. They compete in 40 affiliated leagues around the country. Each league has a minimum of seven clubs and each club has four teams.[ citation needed ]

National teams

Men

The Papua New Guinea men's national rugby league team are nicknamed Kumuls after the bird-of-paradise, a national symbol of the country. Their first ever Test match was a 40–12 home defeat by England in 1975.

They compete in the Rugby League World Cup and first entered a team in the 1985–89 competition, though it was not until the 1995 Rugby League World Cup that they were able to win away from home.

The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team usually play against an Australian national rugby league team (The Prime Minister's XIII made up of players in teams that have not qualified for the National Rugby League Final Series) each year in Port Moresby. It is such a popular fixture that thousands of people can't get into the ground once it's full, causing people to climb onto the stadium roof or up trees outside the ground in order to see the match. The limited capacity of the stadium for this fixture often sparks riots. Spectators clashed with riot police during this fixture in 2006.

Women

The Papua New Guines women's national rugby league team are nicknamed Orchids. The name was chosen as a symbol of diversity; there are over 3,000 species of Orchid in Papua New Guinea. [14] [15] They competed in the Women's Rugby League World Cup for the first time at the 2017 competition. [16] At the 2021 World Cup they won their opening match against Canada. [17]


See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua New Guinea national rugby league team</span> National rugby team

The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby league football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Moresby Vipers</span> PNG rugby league club

The Port Moresby Vipers are a Papua New Guinean rugby league team from Port Moresby. The team currently competes in the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition and is bidding to join the NSW Cup competition in Australia.

PNG Football Stadium, known by the sponsored name of Santos National Football Stadium and previously as Lloyd Robson Oval until 2015, is a sporting ground in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It hosted three games for the 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup. It has been the home ground for the Papua New Guinea national rugby league team since 1975. It has a total capacity of approximately 15,000 and is the National Stadium of Papua New Guinea. The stadium was completely redeveloped in preparation for the 2015 Pacific Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea</span>

Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a developing team sport which was initially introduced by Australian servicemen during World War II. The governing body for the sport is the PNG Rules Football Council, with the development body being AFL PNG. The junior development version is known locally as Niukick. Regionally, AFL PNG is affiliated with AFL Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua New Guinea National Rugby League</span> Rugby league competition

The Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition is a semi-professional rugby league competition held annually in Papua New Guinea. Changes in sponsorship have meant it was Formerly known as the SP Inter-City Cup or SP Cup (1990–2008) and later the Bemobile Cup (2009–2010). The current competition is sponsored by pacific telecommunications giant Digicel and new co-naming rights sponsor ExxonMobil which joined in 2023 and so it is currently called the Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup.

Sport in Papua New Guinea is an important part of the national culture. Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Mead (rugby league)</span> PNG international rugby league footballer

David Mead is a Papua New Guinean former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a winger, centre or fullback for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Papua New Guinea at international level.

Arnold Krewanty is a Papua New Guinean former professional rugby league footballer. He played for the Newcastle Knights in 1989. He played for Papua New Guinea from 1987 to 1988 and 1990 to 1991.

Elias Paiyo is a Papua New Guinean professional Rugby League player who represented Papua New Guinea in the 1995 and 2000 Rugby League World Cups.

Michael Marum is a Papua New Guinean rugby league coach and former player who was the first head coach of the Port Moresby-based PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup and the Papua New Guinea national team. During his playing career, Marum represented Papua New Guinea at the 2000 World Cup. He is the nephew of Skerry Palanga, who coached Papua New Guinea in the 1980s and 1990s.

Aquila Emil was a Papua New Guinean rugby league player who represented Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel Eliab</span> PNG international rugby league footballer

Israel Eliab is a Papua New Guinea professional rugby league footballer who played for the PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup. A Papua New Guinea international, most notably at the 2013 World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua New Guinea Hunters</span> PNG professional rugby league club, based in Port Moresby, PNG

The Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Hunters) are a professional rugby league football club based in Papua New Guinea. They were formed in December 2013 and compete in the Queensland Cup, a second tier competition in Australia. The Hunters are the second Papua New Guinean side to enter the Queensland Cup following the Port Moresby Vipers who competed for two seasons in 1996 and 1997. Every Hunters match is shown live on national free-to-air television. The Hunters' home ground is the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby and their team colours are red, black and gold. The Hunters won the Hostplus Cup in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry Lo</span> Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer

Garry Lo is a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer who plays for the Waghi Tumbe in the Digicel Cup. Lo plays as a winger. He is also a Papua New Guinea international.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kato Ottio</span> PNG international rugby league footballer (1994–2018)

Benkato "Kato" Ottio was a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer. Primarily playing as a centre, Ottio represented Papua New Guinea, most notably at the 2017 World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua New Guinea women's national rugby league team</span>

The Papua New Guinea women's national rugby league team, also known as the PNG Orchids represents Papua New Guinea in Women's rugby league. They are administered by the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Olam</span> Papua New Guinea international rugby league footballer

Justin Olam is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays for Wests Tigers in the NRL and Papua New Guinea at international level.

Edene Gebbie is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback and winger for Whitehaven in the Betfred Championship and Papua New Guinea at international level.

Stanley Tepend is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league coach who was the former head coach of the PNG Hunters in the Hostplus Cup and formerly the national coach of the Papua New Guinea Kumuls.

The 2023 Rugby League Pacific Championships was the second edition of the Rugby League Pacific Championship and the first under its current name. The championship included a collection of international rugby league tournaments to be played from October to November 2023 between nations located in the Pacific region.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.insidefootballonline.com/aus_04072007.html
  2. ↑ "PNG vow to upset World Cup odds". Rugby League. BBC. 15 October 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2009. But it would still be one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history if Papua New Guinea – the only country to have rugby league as its national sport – were to qualify for the last four.
  3. ↑ Hadfield, Dave (8 October 1995). "Island gods high in a dream world". The Independent . independent.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  4. ↑ Fox, Liam (3 October 2010). "Rugby League... PNG style". Correspondents Report. Australia: ABC . Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Papua New Guinea". Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  6. 1 2 PNG Kumuls' Archived 17 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Papua New Guinea to co-host Rugby League World Cup, dailytelegraph.com.au, 8 October 2015
  8. ↑ "PNG NRL Bid". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  9. ↑ "PM of Papua New Guinea says his country wants an NRL team by 2025". 24 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Cairns-PNG unity for NRL the answer". 4 March 2021.
  11. ↑ Rugby League World Cup 2008 Teams
  12. ↑ Rugby League Planet – Nations
  13. ↑ The big picture: PNG's grand plan to satisfy the masses
  14. ↑ "'Power Meri' - the story of the PNG Orchids". The Roar. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  15. ↑ "Orchids unveiled". The National . 16 August 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Story of the 2017 World Cup". RLWC2001. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  17. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 34-12 Canada: Molowia magic gives Orchids first win". RLWC2021. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.