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Papua New Guinea national rugby league team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Papua New Guinea women's national rugby league team.
Papua New Guinea
Badge of Papua New Guinea team
Team information
NicknameThe Kumuls
Governing bodyPNGRFL
RegionAsia-Pacific
Head coachJustin Holbrook
CaptainKyle Laybutt
Most capsRhyse Martin (15)
Top try-scorerDavid Mead (10)
Top point-scorerRhyse Martin (132)
Home stadiumNational Football Stadium
IRL ranking6th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First game
 England 40–12 Papua New Guinea 
(Port Moresby, PNG; 6 July 1975)
Biggest win
 Papua New Guinea 64–0 United States 
(Port Moresby, PNG; 12 November 2017)
Biggest defeat
 Australia 82–0 Papua New Guinea 
(Townsville, Australia; 7 October 2000)
World Cup
Appearances7 (first time in 1985–1988)
Best resultQuarterfinals (2000, 2017, 2021 )

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 are known as the Kumuls ("birds-of-paradise" in Tok Pisin).

History

Further information: List of Papua New Guinea women's national rugby league team coaches

Rugby league in Papua New Guinea was first played in the late forties; it was introduced to the nation by Australian soldiers stationed there during and after the Second World War. Papua New Guinea were admitted to the game's International Federation in 1974. On 6 July 1975, at Lloyd Robson Oval, in Port Moresby the Kumuls played their first ever international. They were beaten 40-12 by England. The English team were en route to Australia and New Zealand to fulfil away fixtures during the 1975 World Cup.

They first entered the Rugby League World Cup for the 1985-88 competition, though it was not until 2000 that they won away from home. In 1987 The Kumuls staged their first full test playing tour of Britain, after playing BARLA opposition in 1979. The 1987 Tour had The Kumuls play both BARLA and for the first Professional opposition.

On Tuesday 20 October 1987, Cumbria met Papua New Guinea before a crowd of 3,750 at the Recreation Ground, Whitehaven. Cumbria won 22–4. Four days later Papua New Guinea played a Test which was also a World Cup match against Great Britain. They lost the test 42–0 at Central Park, Wigan.

During the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia a Test match was played at Port Moresby which like the match at Wigan in 1987 was a World Cup match. Which they also lost 42-22. Later that year Papua New Guinea played a World Cup match against Australia in Wagga Wagga, the Kangaroos recording a then international record winning margin of 62 points with a 70–8 win. Australian winger Michael O'Connor crossed for four tries and kicked seven goals for a personal points haul of 30, which could have been 44 had he not missed seven kicks at goal. In 1990 Papua New Guinea played host to a touring Great Britain, the series ended in a 1–1 draw.

On Sunday 27 October 1991, Papua New Guinea met Wales at Vetch Field, Swansea. Roared on by a fervent crowd of 11,422; Wales won by a record 68-0 margin, scoring thirteen tries. Papua New Guinea never recovered and lost all five matches in Britain, conceding 232 points in the process, and won only one of their four matches in France.

Papua New Guinea wound up their 1991 tour of Europe with a World Cup rated Test match against France, which was played on Sunday 24 November at the Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne. Despite Papua New Guinea leading 8–4 at half-time; France defeated their visitors 28–14.

The Kumuls hosted Australia for a two test series in October 1991 (won 2-0 by the Kangaroos), and also hosted Great Britain during the 1992 Lions tour of Australasia.

Papua New Guinea travelled to England to compete in the 1995 World Cup under coach Joe Tokam and captain Adrian Lam.[1] In their group was Tonga and New Zealand, against whom they failed to win a match.

In 1996 Bob Bennett, brother of the famous Wayne Bennett, was appointed the Kumuls' coach.[2] Also, in 1996, Adrian Lam captained the 'Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Team' against the Australian Kangaroos (52-6 win to Australia). Bob Bennett coached the 2000 World Cup Kumuls team to the qualification two the pool were the kumuls made it into the top 4 teams in the world so the 2000 World Cup Kumuls team was rated the best kumuls team.

They were granted automatic qualification to the 2008 World Cup but were placed in a pool with the top three teams, Australia, New Zealand and England, and failed to win a match in the tournament.

PNG automatically qualified for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup having reached the quarter-finals of the previous Rugby League World Cup. The 2021 tournament will take place in England.

2010 controversy

The Papua New Guinea team experienced huge difficulties leading to the 2010 Rugby League Four Nations Tournament, as politicians clashed for control over the game and the governing body, the PNGRFL, was split over issues concerning junior development, the national team and the Papua New Guinea NRL bid. This caused Adrian Lam to retire as head coach of the Kumuls in September 2010[3][4] while recently retired captain Stanley Gene, who had never coached a side before, was named his replacement.[5] The governing board were adamant that more Papua New Guinea-based players should be in the squad, and fewer Australia-based players should be picked. In early October the squad was announced for the tournament and consisted of 12 PNG-based players with captain Paul Aiton being the only NRL player.[6] Whilst the Australian team for the tournament was worth an estimated A$10 million, local newspapers calculated the Kumuls value at around A$670,000.

Despite the Australian media treating the defeat of the Papua New Guinean team as a mere formality, with the team having odds of 125–1 to win the tournament, the players and journalists at home were positive that the Kumuls could make a lasting impression in the tournament.[7] After their first up 42–0 defeat against Australia, the team's enthusiasm and crunching tackles were praised, but ball control and creativity let the team down hugely.[8] However the team faced much more criticism after their 76-12 thrashing suffered at the hands of New Zealand, with fans angry at the poor display from the players[9] and some questioning the credentials of new coach Stanley Gene.[10] Days after the match a broader look at the sport in the country occurred with one assessment concluding that rugby league was poorly managed[11] and former PNG great Marcus Bai called on clubs to supply a greater number of representative standard players especially from the New Guinea Islands region which had supplied five of this year's team.[12] The way politics had made its way into the governing of the sport was also condemned.[13]

2015 Pacific Rugby League Test

Main article: Pacific Rugby League International § Melanesian Cup

In May 2015, Papua New Guinea took on Fiji in the 2015 Melanesian Cup at Cbus Super Stadium. The International was part of a triple header which also included the Polynesian Cup, between Samoa and Tonga, and the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis. The Kumuls never really troubled the Fijians after handling errors and poor decisions led to the Bati easily winning the inaugural Melanesian Cup by 22–10.

2016 Pacific Rugby League Test

Main article: Pacific Rugby League International § Melanesian Cup 2

In May 2016, Papua New Guinea took on Fiji in the 2016 Melanesian Cup at Pirtek Stadium. The International was part of a triple header which also included the Polynesian Cup, between Samoa and Tonga, and the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis. In this year's test, the Kumuls had more experienced players and it paid off. Despite being in a similar situation with the half time score, they managed to make a miraculous comeback not many saw coming, to record their first win 24–22 on away shores since the 2000 World Cup.

2017 Pacific Rugby League Test

Main article: 2017 Pacific Rugby League Tests

The PNG Kumuls won their second consecutive Pacific Cup test victory with a 32–22 victory over the Cook Islands at Campbelltown Stadium in Sydney, Australia.

2017 Rugby League World Cup

Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup Group C

The PNG Kumuls won all their pool games in Port Moresby before losing to England in Melbourne in the quarter-final [14] of the 2017 RLWC.

2018 Pacific Rugby League Test

Main article: 2018 Pacific Rugby League Tests

The PNG Kumuls won their third consecutive Ox & Palm Pacific Cup test victory with a 26–14 victory over Fiji Bati at Campbelltown Stadium in Sydney, Australia.[15]

2019 Oceania Cup and GB Lions Tour

Main article: 2019 Oceania Cup (rugby league)

The PNG Kumuls lost both their 2019 Oceania Cup (rugby league) test matches with a 24–6 loss to Toa Samoa[16] at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney, Australia and a 22–20 loss to Fiji Bati[17] in Christchurch, New Zealand . The Kumuls ended the season on a high defeating the Great Britain Lions 28–10 in Port Moresby.[18]

2022 Pacific Rugby League Test

Main article: 2022 Pacific Rugby League Tests

The Kumuls defeated a full strength Fiji Bati 24-14 on June 25 at Campbelltown Stadium.[19]

2022 Rugby League World Cup

Main article: 2021 Rugby League World Cup Group D

The PNG Kumuls will be based in Warrington[20] for the 2021 RLWC. The World Cup will be held between October 15 and November 19.[21] Kumuls coach Stanley Tepend will be guided by his mentor/ Coaching Director Shane Flanagan.[22] The PM's XIII lost to Australia PM's XIII on September 25 at Suncorp Stadium as part of both teams world cup preparations.[23] The Kumuls bowed out in the quarterfinals after losing to hosts, England.[24]

Players

Main article: List of Papua New Guinea national rugby league team players

Current squad

The Papua New Guinean squad selected for the 2023 Pacific Rugby League Championships. Club information are as of 4 November 2023.[25]
Statistics for Papua New Guinea and the players' NRL club records are drawn from the website, Rugby League Project, and include the Pacific Bowl Final on 5 November 2023.

J# Player Age Position(s) PNG Kumuls Club NRL SL PNG Hunters
& Other Reps
Dbt M T G F P CM TM CM TM
1 Alex Johnston 28 Fullback, Wing 2019 10 3 0 0 12 South Sydney Rabbitohs 214 214 0 0 4 1 1
2 Robert Derby 21 Wing 2022 4 3 0 0 12 North Queensland Cowboys 1 1 0 0 1
3 Zac Laybutt 21 Centre 2023 3 2 5 0 18 North Queensland Cowboys 4 4 0 0 1
4 Rodrick Tai 24 Centre 2022 6 2 0 0 8 Papua New Guinea Hunters — 0 0 0 1 34
5 Nene Macdonald 29 Wing, Centre 2013 16 9 0 0 44 Leeds Rhinos — 98 20 22 2 2
6 Kyle Laybutt 28 Five-eighth 2019 11 2 5 0 18 Sunshine Coast Falcons — 2 0 0 2
7 Lachlan Lam 25 Halfback, Five-eighth 2017 10 6 0 0 24 Leigh Leopards — 31 32 32
8 Epel Kapinias 25 Prop, Second-row 2022 4 3 0 0 12 Papua New Guinea Hunters — 0 0 0 2 50
9 Edwin Ipape 24 Hooker 2019 9 2 0 0 8 Leigh Leopards — 0 31 31 11
10 Valentine Richard — Prop 2023 3 1 0 0 4 Papua New Guinea Hunters — 0 0 0 1 4
11 Rhyse Martin 30 Second-row 2014 17 5 53 0 126 Leeds Rhinos — 25 104 104 1
12 Daniel Russell 27 Second-row 2019 10 2 0 0 8 St. George Illawarra Dragons 3 3 0 0 1
13 Jack de Belin 32 Lock, Prop 2023 3 0 0 0 0 St. George Illawarra Dragons 205 205 0 0 3 2
14 Judah Rimbu 22 Hooker, Halfback 2023 3 0 0 0 0 Papua New Guinea Hunters — 0 0 0 2 46
15 Liam Horne 26 Hooker 2022 3 0 0 0 0 Castleford Tigers — 0 5 5
16 Junior Rop 29 Lock, Prop 2023 2 0 0 0 0 Papua New Guinea Hunters — 0 0 0 2 45
17 Nixon Putt 28 Second-row 2017 13 4 0 0 16 Central Queensland Capras — 0 0 0 2 46
18 Jacob Alick 24 Second-row, Lock 2022 7 0 0 0 0 Gold Coast Titans 5 5 0 0
19 Wellington Albert 29 Prop 2013 13 3 0 0 12 London Broncos — 0 15 15 1 20
20 Keven Appo 24 Second-row 2022 3 0 0 0 0 Bradford Bulls — 0 3 3 41
21 Benji Kot 26 Second-row, Centre 2023 2 1 0 0 4 Papua New Guinea Hunters — 0 0 0 1 41
– Justin Olam 29 Centre 2016 14 7 0 0 28 Melbourne Storm 104 104 0 0 2 21
– Cruise Ten 22 Lock — 0 0 0 0 0 Souths Logan Magpies — 0 0 0 2
– McKenzie Yei 26 Second-row, Prop 2022 4 1 0 0 4 Featherstone Rovers — 0 1 1 35

Notes

Competitive record

Main article: Papua New Guinea national rugby league team results

Below is the list of Papua New Guinea's international head-to-head record as of 5 November 2023.[26]

Country Matches Won Drawn Lost Win percentage For Aga Diff
 Australia 10 0 0 10 0% 62 528 –466
Australian Aboriginies 3 0 0 3 0% 40 118 –78
 Cook Islands 7 7 0 0 100% 270 94 +176
 England 5 0 0 5 0% 56 190 –134
 Fiji 15 10 0 5 66.67% 353 251 +102
 France 14 4 1 9 28.57% 249 281 –32
 Great Britain 9 2 0 7 22.22% 146 298 –152
 Ireland 1 1 0 0 100% 14 6 +8
 New Zealand 18 1 0 17 5.55% 226 812 –586
Māori people New Zealand Maori 12 2 0 10 16.67% 269 396 –127
New Zealand New Zealand XIII 2 0 0 2 0% 24 42 –18
 Samoa 2 0 0 2 0% 10 62 –52
 Scotland 1 1 0 0 100% 38 20 +18
 South Africa 1 1 0 0 100% 16 0 +16
 Tonga 9 7 1 1 77.78% 322 179 +143
 United States 1 1 0 0 100% 64 0 +64
 Wales 5 2 0 3 40.00% 104 146 –42
Total 115 39 2 74 33.91% 2263 3423 –1160

World Cup

Further information: Papua New Guinea at the Rugby League World Cup
World Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
1954–1977 did not participate
AustralasiaFranceUnited Kingdom 1985–88 Fourth place 4/5 8 2 6 0
AustralasiaFranceUnited Kingdom 1989–92 Fifth place 5/5 8 0 8 0
United Kingdom 1995 Group stage 6/10 2 0 1 1
FranceUnited Kingdom 2000 Quarter-finals 6/16 4 3 1 0
Australia 2008 Group stage 10/10 3 0 3 0
EnglandWales 2013 Group stage 13/14 3 0 3 0
AustraliaNew ZealandPapua New Guinea 2017 Quarter-finals 5/14 4 3 1 0
England 2021 Quarter-finals 7/16 4 3 1 0
Australia 2026 qualified
Total 0 Titles 36 11 24 1

Tri-Nations / Four Nations

Tri-Nations / Four Nations record
Year Round Position GP W L D
1999–2006 did not participate
AustraliaNew Zealand 2010 Fourth place 4/4 3 0 3 0
2011–2016 did not participate
Total 0 Titles 1/9 3 0 3 0

Pacific Cup

Pacific Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
Papua New Guinea 1975 Runners-up 2/4 4 2 2 0
New Zealand 1977 Third place 3/5 4 2 2 0
Cook Islands 1986 did not participate
Samoa 1986
Tonga 1990 Group stage 5/8 3 1 2 0
New Zealand 1992 did not participate
Fiji 1994
New Zealand 1997 Third place 3/6 4 2 2 0
New Zealand 2004 did not participate
New Zealand 2006
Papua New Guinea 2009 Champions 1/5 2 2 0 0
Total 1 Title 5/12 6 4 2 0

IRL Rankings

IRL Men's World Rankings
Official rankings as of 30 June 2024
Rank Change Team Pts %
1 Steady  Australia 100
2 Steady  New Zealand 82
3 Steady  England 80
4 Steady  Samoa 67
5 Steady  Tonga 49
6 Increase 1  Fiji 47
7 Decrease 1  Papua New Guinea 46
8 Steady  France 28
9 Steady  Lebanon 22
10 Steady  Cook Islands 20
11 Steady  Serbia 19
12 Steady  Netherlands 17
13 Steady  Italy 15
14 Increase 1  Greece 15
15 Decrease 1  Malta 14
16 Steady  Ireland 14
17 Steady  Wales 13
18 Steady  Jamaica 10
19 Steady  Scotland 9
20 Steady  Ukraine 7
21 Steady  Czech Republic 7
22 Steady  Germany 6
23 Increase 3  Chile 6
24 Steady  Poland 6
25 Increase 3  Norway 6
26 Increase 1  Kenya 5
27 Decrease 4  Philippines 5
28 Decrease 3  South Africa 4
29 Steady  Nigeria 4
30 Steady  Ghana 4
31 Increase 2  United States 4
32 Increase 4  Montenegro 4
33 Decrease 2  Brazil 3
34 Decrease 2  Turkey 3
35 Increase 7  North Macedonia 3
36 Decrease 2  Bulgaria 3
37 Decrease 2  Cameroon 2
38 Decrease 1  Spain 2
39 Decrease 1  Japan 1
40 Decrease 1  Albania 1
41 Increase 5  Canada 1
42 Decrease 2  Colombia 1
43 Decrease 2  El Salvador 1
44 Decrease 1  Morocco 1
45 New entry  Russia 0
46 Decrease 2  Sweden 0
47 Decrease 2  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0
48 Increase 2  Hungary 0
49 Increase 3  Argentina 0
50 New entry  Hong Kong 0
51 Decrease 3  Solomon Islands 0
52 Decrease 5  Niue 0
53 Increase 1  Latvia 0
54 Decrease 1  Denmark 0
55 Decrease 6  Belgium 0
56 Decrease 1  Estonia 0
57 Decrease 6  Vanuatu 0
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

Other Papua New Guinean teams

See also

References

  1. ^ Hadfield, Dave (1995-10-08). "Island gods high in a dream world". The Independent. independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  2. ^ Hadfield, David (1996-09-14). "Eagles to share United's roost". Independent, The. UK: independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  3. ^ Sydney Morning Herald - Adrian Lam Quits As PNG Coach
  4. ^ The Australian - Lam Quits As PNG Coach
  5. ^ Four Nations Official Website - Stanley Gene Returns As Kumuls Coach
  6. ^ Sydney Morning Herald - PNG Squad Announced
  7. ^ The National - PNG Out Of Their Depth?
  8. ^ The National - Kumuls Need More Work Before NRL
  9. ^ Facebook - Kumuls v Kiwis
  10. ^ The National - Disgraceful Display By Kumuls
  11. ^ The National - Rugby League Poorly Managed
  12. ^ The National - Marcus Bai Challenges Agmark Gurias
  13. ^ Weekend Post Courier - Politics In Rugby Archived 2008-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "RLWC 2017: England down PNG to set up semi-final against Tonga".
  15. ^ "Big men power Samoa to victory". The Australian.
  16. ^ "Big guns fire as Samoa outlast brave Kumuls". 22 June 2019.
  17. ^ "Fiji edge PNG in razzle-dazzle thriller in Christchurch". 9 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Spotlight intensifies on Bennett as Kumuls put Lions to the sword". 16 November 2019.
  19. ^ "Mead bows out in style as Kumuls down Bati". nrl.com. 2022-06-25.
  20. ^ "Marum looks forward to Warrington". 12 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Rugby League World Cup 2021".
  22. ^ "Flanagan to help Tepend in PNG World Cup role". 12 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Australian PM's XIII Men beat spirited PNG PM's XIII Men". 25 September 2022.
  24. ^ "Rugby League World Cup: Tommy Makinson's record haul sends England into semis with 46-6 win over Papua New Guinea".
  25. ^ "Pacific Championships 2023 Official Men's squads". 5 October 2023.
  26. ^ "Papua New Guinea head-to-head". rugbyleagueplanet. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
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