Papua New Guinea national rugby league team

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Papua New Guinea
Badge of Papua New Guinea team
Team information
NicknameThe Kumuls
Governing bodyPNGRFL
RegionAsia-Pacific
Head coachMichael Marum
CaptainJames Segeyaro
Most capsPaul Aiton (16)
Stanley Gene
John Wilshere
Top try-scorersDavid Mead (9)
Menzie Yere
Top point-scorerJohn Wilshere (104)
Home stadiumNational Football Stadium
IRL ranking10th
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 resultQuarter-finals: 2000, 2017

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

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 1985-89 competition, though it was not until 2000 that they won away from home. In 1987 The Kumuls stage their first full test playing tour of Britain, after playing BARLA opposition in 1979. They lost the test 42-0 at Central Park, Wigan.

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 World Cup rated Test against Great Britain.

During the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia a Test match was played at Port Moresby. 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 1991 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.

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.

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.[14]

Current squad

The Papua New Guinean squad for the game vs England Knights on 27 October 2018.[15] Age, caps/pts, and club are as of 15 October 2018,before the match.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Pts Club
FB David Mead (captain) (1993-11-01)1 November 1993 (aged 24) 13 36 France Catalans Dragons
WG Junior Rau (1994-05-04)4 May 1994 (aged 24) 0 0 Papua New Guinea PNG Hunters
WG Justin Olam (1993-12-23)23 December 1993 (aged 24) 7 20 Australia Melbourne Storm
FE Kyle Laybutt (1995-09-26)26 September 1995 (aged 22) 0 0 Australia Mackay Cutters
CE Nene Macdonald (1994-05-09)9 May 1994 (aged 24) 9 20 Australia North Queensland Cowboys
FE Lachlan Lam (1998-03-25)25 March 1998 (aged 20) 2 8 Australia Sydney Roosters
HB Watson Boas (1994-11-08)8 November 1994 (aged 23) 7 16 England Featherstone Rovers
PR Moses Meninga (1993-06-06)6 June 1993 (aged 25) 2 0 Papua New Guinea PNG Hunters
HK James Segeyaro (vice-captain) (1990-11-11)11 November 1990 (aged 27) 5 4 Australia Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
PR Stanton Albert (1995-09-15)15 September 1995 (aged 22) 6 4 Papua New Guinea PNG Hunters
SR Dilbert Isaac (1992-03-01)1 March 1992 (aged 26) 0 0 Papua New Guinea PNG Hunters
SR Nixon Put (1991-09-04)4 September 1991 (aged 26) 3 4 Papua New Guinea PNG Hunters
LK Wellington Albert (1994-09-03)3 September 1994 (aged 23) 5 8 England Widnes Vikings
HK Tommy Butterfield (1988-04-16)16 April 1988 (aged 30) 1 0 Australia Easts Tigers
PR Enoch Maki (1991-12-09)9 December 1991 (aged 26) 5 0 Papua New Guinea PNG Hunters
LK Rhadley Brawa (1991-12-21)21 December 1991 (aged 26) 1 0 Papua New Guinea PNG Hunters
PR Zev John (1999-09-19)19 September 1999 (aged 18) 0 0 Australia NRL Victoria

Notable players

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

Tournament history

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 Qualified
CanadaUnited States 2025 To be determined
Total 0 Titles 32 8 23 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

Past results

Main article: Papua New Guinea national rugby league team results
IRL Men's World Rankings
Official rankings as of 21 December 2023
Rank Change Team Pts %
1 Steady  Australia 100.00
2 Steady  New Zealand 91.00
3 Increase 1  England 74.00
4 Decrease 1  Samoa 70.00
5 Steady  Tonga 54.00
6 Steady  Papua New Guinea 50.00
7 Steady  Fiji 49.00
8 Increase 1  France 24.00
9 Decrease 1  Lebanon 24.00
10 Increase 3  Cook Islands 22.00
11 Decrease 1  Serbia 19.00
12 Increase 6  Netherlands 17.00
13 Increase 1  Italy 15.00
14 Increase 5  Malta 15.00
15 Increase 1  Greece 14.00
16 Decrease 4  Ireland 14.00
17 Decrease 6  Wales 13.00
18 Decrease 3  Jamaica 10.00
19 Decrease 2  Scotland 9.00
20 Increase 8  Ukraine 7.00
21 Increase 6  Czech Republic 7.00
22 Decrease 1  Germany 6.00
23 Increase 10  Philippines 6.00
24 Increase 5  Poland 6.00
25 Increase 1  South Africa 5.00
26 Decrease 4  Chile 5.00
27 Increase 4  Kenya 0.00
28 Increase 6  Norway 4.00
29 Decrease 6  Nigeria 4.00
30 Decrease 6  Ghana 4.00
31 Decrease 6  Brazil 4.00
32 Decrease 12  Turkey 3.00
33 Increase 4  United States 3.00
34 Increase 1  Bulgaria 3.00
35 Decrease 5  Cameroon 2.00
36 Increase 2  Montenegro 2.00
37 Decrease 5  Spain 2.00
38 Increase 6  Japan 1.00
39 New entry  Albania 1.00
40 Decrease 4  Colombia 1.00
41 Increase 6  El Salvador 1.00
42 New entry  North Macedonia 1.00
43 Decrease 1  Morocco 1.00
44 Decrease 3  Sweden 0.00
45 Steady  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.00
46 Decrease 3  Canada 0.00
47 New entry  Niue 0.00
48 Decrease 9  Solomon Islands 0.00
49 Decrease 1  Belgium 0.00
50 Decrease 10  Hungary 0.00
51 Decrease 5  Vanuatu 0.00
52 Decrease 3  Argentina 0.00
53 Decrease 3  Denmark 0.00
54 Decrease 3  Latvia 0.00
55 New entry  Estonia 0.00
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT
Country Matches Won Drawn Lost
 Australia 12 0 0 12
 Cook Islands 2 2 0 0
 England 4 0 0 4
 Fiji 8 6 0 2
 France 14 4 1 9
 Great Britain 8 1 0 7
 Ireland 1 1 0 0
 New Zealand 18 1 0 17
 Samoa 1 0 0 1
 South Africa 1 1 0 0
 Tonga 8 7 1 0
 United States 1 1 0 0
 Wales 4 1 0 3
Total 82 25 2 55

Other Papua New Guinean teams

  • PNG Prime Minister's XIII - Development side to consist of local based players and only three international players, used to play both national and development sides.
  • PNG President XIII - PNGRFL 'select' usually playing another development side like Junior Kangaroos or New Zealand A. Rarely used to play national sides.
  • PNG Residents- Papua New Guinea development side made up of solely local players. Regularly playing matches with the Junior Kangaroos, New Zealand Māoris and even national sides.
  • Papua New Guinea Kundus - Papua New Guinea Junior U/18 schoolboys side.

- Recently played QLD U18 as a curtain raiser to Origin I. The QLD U/18 def. Kundus 20-16. The team is captained by Wayne Bond

Participated tournaments

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. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ Hadfield, David (1996-09-14). "Eagles to share United's roost". Independent, The. UK: independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-07-19. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  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. ^ https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/png-stun-fiji-in-pacific-rugby-league-test/news-story/d7f757bb4a84107dc29a31f1d9fa10ca
  15. ^ https://postcourier.com.pg/isaac-rau-make-kumuls-england-knights-match/

External links

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