The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby league football.
Rugby league is a popular team sport in Papua New Guinea and the country's national sport. Papua New Guineans have a reputation as being some of the world's most passionate rugby league supporters.
In Papua New Guinea (PNG), Australian rules football 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 South Pacific with an Australian development pathway through AFL Queensland.
Stanley Gene is a Papua New Guinean former rugby league Kumul player and Assistant Coach of the Hull F.C.. He previously coached Gateshead Thunder and assistant coach at Hull Kingston Rovers and served as the Papua New Guinea Kumuls head coach in 2010. Having moved to England following an impressive showing for PNG in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, Gene enjoyed a long career in the British game with spells at Hull Kingston Rovers, Huddersfield Giants, Bradford Bulls, Hull FC and Halifax.
The Tahiti national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union team, representing the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. They first played in 1971 and have played numerous games to date, most against rivals Cook Islands and several against Niue. Other games have been played against Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. France played a match against Tahiti at the end of their 1979 tour and won 92–12. Plans to have annual "test" match series against Pacific island neighbours, New Caledonia have been put on hold, due to time, availability, finances, and coaching and refereeing resources. They have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Tahiti is administered by the Fédération Tahitienne de Rugby de Polynésie Française. Currently, players who have represented or played for the Tahiti national rugby team, are eligible to represent France. However, playing at a professional level can only enable this. At present there are several Tahitian professional rugby players abroad in France's Top 14 and Pro D2 professional competition.
Rugby union in the Cook Islands is a popular sport. It is a tier three rugby playing nation. They began playing international rugby in 1971 and have yet to make the Rugby World Cup. They are currently rated 55th, with 2,258 registered players and 21 clubs.
The Papua New Guinea national rugby union team, nicknamed the Pukpuks,, played its first international in 1966, defeating Vanuatu 47–3. Papua New Guinea have not so far qualified for a Rugby World Cup. They participated in the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournaments for the 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cups, but did not qualify.
The Solomon Islands national rugby union team represent Solomon Islands in the sport of rugby union.
The Papua New Guinea women's national soccer team is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA). Its nickname is the Lakatois, which is a Motuan sailing vessel. Their home ground is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, located in Port Moresby and their current manager is Peter Gunemba. Deslyn Siniu is the team's most capped player and top scorer.
Sport in Papua New Guinea is an important part of the national culture. Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea.
The Oceania Rugby Men's Championship is an international rugby union competition for countries and territories from Oceania with national teams in the developmental band. It is administered by Oceania Rugby.
The Papua New Guinea national rugby sevens team competes in the Pacific Games, Commonwealth Games, Challenger Series and the Oceania Sevens. They finished third in 2009 and fourth in 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2023 in the Oceania Sevens. They missed out on a maiden Olympic spot after being defeated by Samoa 24-0 in the 2023 Oceania 7s Olympic Playoff.
Rugby union in French Polynesia, particularly on the main island of Tahiti, is a popular team sport. Rugby union was first introduced by British, Kiwi and Australian sailors, and also through the French and the strong presence of the game amongst Pacific Nations. Top Tahitian clubs participate in the domestic club league, the Championnat de Tahiti. Clubs also competed in friendlies versus foreign club teams from neighboring nations as far across the Pacific to Chile.
Sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular playing sport for men in Australia is Australian rules football, while for women is netball. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. Rugby union is the most popular sport among New Zealanders, while in Papua New Guinea rugby league is the most popular. Cricket is another popular sport throughout the Oceania region.
The Papua New Guinea women's national rugby sevens team represents Papua New Guinea in international women's rugby sevens tournaments. They are regular participants at the Oceania Women's Sevens Championship and Pacific Games.
The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football Union, or Rugby PNG is the governing body for rugby union in Papua New Guinea. It was established in 1962 and was affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1993.
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 gold, black and red. The Hunters won the Hostplus Cup in 2017.
The Papua New Guinea women's national rugby union team played their first international against Fiji in 2016. They compete annually in the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship, and have not qualified for the Rugby World Cup as yet.
The Rugby League Pacific Championship is a rugby league tournament for national teams in Oceania. Its inaugural tournament was in 2019 as the "Oceania Cup".
Fatima Rama is a Papua New Guinean football and rugby player. She played as a forward in football for the Papua New Guinea women's national football team. She has also represented PNG in rugby sevens and fifteens.
