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Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
is a popular
team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...
sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
in
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, and is the national sport. Papua New Guinea has a reputation for being the most passionate supporter of the game in the world.


History

Papua New Guinea first came into contact with rugby league during the gold rush in the 1930s through Australian miners. Australian soldiers stationed in the country during and after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
reintroduced the sport and in 1949 and the
Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League Inc. is the governing body for rugby league in Papua New Guinea. They are based in the capital Port Moresby. History They were founded in 1949 and have been members of the Rugby League International Fede ...
was founded. It quickly became a popular spectator sport. During the 1960s rugby league grew to be the clear national sport of the country.PNG Kumuls'
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 The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Interna ...
in 1974 and the national team's first ever Test match was a 40–12 home defeat by
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
a year later. They first competed in the
Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...
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 The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...
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.


Governing body

The
Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League Inc. is the governing body for rugby league in Papua New Guinea. They are based in the capital Port Moresby. History They were founded in 1949 and have been members of the Rugby League International Fede ...
are the governing body for rugby league in Papua New Guinea. They have been members of the
Rugby League International Federation The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Interna ...
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 (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
League. In 2007 a new league called the Nokondi Cup was created for teams in the
Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbab ...
province. A Port Moresby team (the Port Moresby Vipers) competed in the
Panasonic Cup The Amco Cup (subsequently known by various other sponsors' names including the Tooth Cup, KB Cup, National Panasonic Cup and Panasonic Cup) was a mid-week rugby league competition held in Australia between 1974 and 1989. The format was usua ...
in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal ent ...
,
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
,
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicentenn ...
and
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
; and in the
Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fou ...
in 1996 and 1997. The 2014 season saw the PNG Hunters enter the
Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fou ...
, based out of
Kokopo Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Kokopo-Vunamami Urban LLG. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population o ...
.


NRL team bid

An official bid for a PNG team in the
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
(an Australian and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...
rugby league competition) began in October 2008. The bid was launched by Sir Michael Somare. In 2021,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is n ...
James Marape James Marape (born 24 April 1971) is a Papua New Guinean politician, who is serving as the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea since May 2019. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the el ...
supported the bid, stating his country wanted an NRL team by 2025. Many have also suggested the addition of one NRL team for both Papua New Guinea and the city of
Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...
in
Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...
.


Notable players

Many Papua New Guineans have gone on to play professional rugby league either in the
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
in Australia or
Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
in Europe. It is the goal of the PNGRL to have 120 players participating in the NRL and Super League by 2010.Rugby League World Cup 2008 Teams
/ref> *
Adrian Lam Adrian Lam (born 25 August 1970) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Super League Club Leigh Leopards (was Leigh Centurions), and a former rugby league footballer. He played for the Sydney Roos ...
* Bal Numapo (Canterbury Bulldogs 1st Grade) *
Neville Costigan Neville Costigan (born 16 March 1985) is a Papua New Guinean former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A Papua New Guinea international and Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played in the ...
* John Wilshere * Paul Aiton * Arnold Kerwanty * Menzie Yere * David Mead * Marcus Bai * Elias Paiyo *
Stanley Gene Stanley Gene (born 11 May 1974) is a Papua New Guinean former rugby league Kumul (#166) player and professional Assistant Coach (Defence) of the Hull Kingston Rovers. He previously coached Gateshead Thunder and the academy team at Hull Kingst ...
* Makali Aizue * Rhyse Martin * James Segeyaro * Nene McDonald *
Justin Olam Justin Olam (born 23 December 1993) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL), and Papua New Guinea at international level. He is a NRL premiership-wi ...
*
Kato Ottio Benkato "Kato" Ottio (20 March 1994 – 9 January 2018) was a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer. Primarily playing as a , Ottio represented Papua New Guinea, most notably at the 2017 World Cup. Early life Ottio was born and raised in t ...
*
Kurt Baptiste Kurt Baptiste (born 15 March 1991) is a Papua New Guinea international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup. He has also previously played for the Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders, Sydn ...
* Wellinton Albert * Rod Griffin * Ray Thompson


Popularity

Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea and is commonly referred to as the
national sport A national sport is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are ''de facto'' (not established by law) national sports, as sumo is in Japan and Gaelic games are in Ireland and field hockey in Pakistan, while othe ...
. 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 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. 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. There are 5,000 registered players between the ages of 12 and 18. 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.


National teams


Men

The Papua New Guinea men's national rugby league team are nicknamed ''Kumuls'' after the
bird-of-paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of this ...
, 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 The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...
and first entered a team in the 1985–89 competition, though it was not until the
1995 Rugby League World Cup The 1995 Rugby League World Cup was held during October in the United Kingdom. It was the eleventh staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was marketed as the Halifax Centenary World Cup, reflecting the tournament's sponsorship and the fact ...
that they were able to win away from home. The
Papua New Guinea national rugby league team The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby league football. In Papua New Guinea, Rugby League is a highly popular sport and is regarded as the country's national sport. The national side ar ...
usually play against an
Australian national rugby league team The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australia ...
(The Prime Minister's XIII made up of players in teams that have not qualified for the
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
Final Series) each year in
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
. 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 Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
in Papua New Guinea. They competed in the Women's Rugby League World Cup for the first time at the 2017 competition. At the 2021 World Cup they won their opening match against Canada.


See also

* Sport in Papua New Guinea


References


External links


Papua New Guinea NRL bid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby League in Papua New Guinea