The Papua New Guinea national rugby union team, nicknamed the Pukpuks, (

Tok Pisin Tok Pisin (,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh ; Tok Pisin ), often referred to by English speakers as "New Guinea Pidgin" or simply Pidgin, is a creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an ...

for 'crocodiles'), played its first international in 1966, defeating Vanuatu 47–3. Papua New Guinea have not so far qualified for a

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

. They participated in the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournaments for the 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cups, but did not qualify.

History

Papua New Guinea made their international rugby debut at the

South Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games were ...

in 1966. The team won all three matches against , and to win the gold medal. As hosts for the following games held at Port Moresby in 1969, Papua New Guinea defeated New Caledonia again and the but lost to the eventual gold medalist to finish with the silver medal. Papua New Guinea entered a qualifying tournament for the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...

in Wales. Papua New Guinea competed in Round 1 of the Oceania qualifying tournament. Although they defeated Tahiti, they lost 22–19 against the Cook Islands. They finished second in the final standings. They played in qualifying tournaments for the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

in Australia, playing in Round 1b of the Oceania tournament. Papua New Guinea defeated both the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to advance through to Round 3. In Round 3 Papua New Guinea faced the Cook Islands to advance to Round 4. In the final round, for repechage qualification, Papua New Guinea were defeated by Tonga. In attempting to qualify for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Papua New Guinea started out in Round 1a of the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. Papua New Guinea defeated the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to finish at the top of the standings to move through to Round 2. In Round 2 the Cook Islands went through to Round 4. The Pukpuks won the inaugural Federation of Oceania Rugby Union (FORU) Cup (2007), defeating

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

in the final by a score of 46–19. In the 2009 Oceania Nations Cup, Papua New Guinea managed to beat

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

86–12 in the semifinals and in the final, beat

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

29–12. They then went on to play

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

in the Oceania Qualification for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

where they got beaten 115–7 away and 73–12 at home. They were unable to qualify for the

. Papua New Guinea hosted the 2011 edition of the FORU Oceania Cup, winning the tournament by defeating Vanuatu (78–3),

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

(33–15) and Niue (36–7)

World Cup record

Overall Records

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Papua New Guinea national XV at test level up until 20 April 2020.

Squad

Squad to

Oceania Rugby Men's Championship The Oceania Rugby Men's Championship (formerly known as the Oceania Cup) 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. T ...

(12 October 2022): *

Aidan Toua Aidan Manoa Toua (born 19 January 1990) is a rugby union player for Japanese team Honda Heat. He previously played Super Rugby for the Queensland Reds and ACT Brumbies. His usual position is fullback. Toua was educated at the Anglican Church ...

- QRU *Jordan Seladi (Capital Rugby Union) *Tony Sipa (Capital Rugby Union) *Freddy Andale (Capital Rugby Union) *Mick Rau (Capital Rugby Union) *Caleb Nipal (Capital Rugby Union) *Eddie Nipal (Capital Rugby Union) *George Wai (Capital Rugby Union) *Barol Homerang (Capital Rugby Union) *Jaran Pittan (Capital Rugby Union) *Ron Butler (Capital Rugby Union) *Kenneth Vagi (Capital Rugby Union) *William Kalai (Capital Rugby Union) *Anu Karai (Capital Rugby Union) *Jonah Tokiong (Capital Rugby Union) *Blake Mindipi (Capital Rugby Union) *Francis Miria (Morobe) *Cameron Wai (Morobe) *Laho Posu (Morobe) *Lindsay Yobone (Morobe) *Paul Nelson (Morobe) *Mafu Kalas (Morobe) *Elias Patala (Morobe) *Eddie Carl Soor (NCD Rugby Union) *Ezekiel Dauko (NCD Rugby Union) *Brendon Yenmoro (NCD Rugby Union) *Jackson Waingut (NCD Rugby Union) *Keith Frizzel (NCD Rugby Union) *George Mark (East New Britain) *Hosea Alfred (East New Britain)

References

External links