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 coachMichael Marum
CaptainRhyse Martin
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 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 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 1985-88 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.

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.

Main article: 2021 Rugby League World Cup qualifying

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]

2021 Rugby League World Cup[]

Main article: 2021 Rugby League World Cup Group D

The PNG Kumuls will be based in Warrington[19] for the 2021 RLWC. The World Cup has been postponed to 2022 and will be held from Oct 15- Nov 19,2022. [20]

Current squad[]

The Papua New Guinean squad that played the Great Britain Lions during the 2019 Great Britain Lions tour on 16 November 2019. Club information are as of 12 November 2019,[21] after the match.

Pos. Player Club
FB Alex Johnston (rugby league) Australia South Sydney Rabbitohs
WG Edene Gebbie Australia Western Suburbs Magpies
CE David Mead Australia Brisbane Broncos
CE Justin Olam Australia Melbourne Storm
WG Stargroth Amean England Barrow Raiders
FE Kyle Laybutt Australia Townsville Blackhawks
HB Watson Boas England Doncaster
PR Wellington Albert England Keighley Cougars
HK Wartovo Puara England Barrow Raiders
PR Luke Page Australia Burleigh Bears
SR Nixon Put Australia Central Queensland Capras
SR Daniel Russell (rugby league) Australia North Queensland Cowboys
LK Rhyse Martin (captain) England Leeds Rhinos
HK Edwin Ipape Australia Wynnum Manly Seagulls
WG Garry Lo France AS Carcassonne
SR Stanton Albert Papua New Guinea PNG Hunters
SR Moses Meninga Australia Townsville Blackhawks
PR Enoch Maki Papua New Guinea PNG Hunters
FB Terry Wapi Papua New Guinea PNG Hunters

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
France 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

International record and ranking[]

Below is the list of Papua New Guinea's international head to head record as of 18 December 2020.[22]

Main article: Papua New Guinea national rugby league team results
IRL World Rankings
Official Men's Rankings as of July 2021
Rank Change* Team Pts%
1 Increase 2  New Zealand
2 Decrease 1  Australia
3 Decrease 1  England
4 Steady  Tonga
5 Steady  Fiji
6 Increase 4  Papua New Guinea
7 Steady  Samoa
8 Decrease 2  France
9 Decrease 1  Scotland
10 Decrease 1  Lebanon
11 Increase 5  Greece
12 Steady  Ireland
13 Increase 1  Italy
14 Decrease 3  Wales
15 Increase 4  Serbia
16 Increase 1  Malta
17 Increase 1  Norway
18 Decrease 3  United States
19 Increase 4  Poland
20 Decrease 7  Jamaica
21 Decrease 1  Hungary
22 Increase 3  Czech Republic
23 Increase 5  Cook Islands
24 Increase 7  Turkey
25 Decrease 1  Netherlands
26 Increase 4  Spain
27 Decrease 6  Canada
28 New entry  Nigeria
29 Decrease 2  Solomon Islands
30 Increase 10  Sweden
31 Increase 4  Germany
32 Increase 1  Chile
33 New entry  Ghana
34 Increase 16  Morocco
35 Decrease 3  Vanuatu
36 Steady  South Africa
37 Decrease 8  Russia
38 New entry  Cameroon
39 Decrease 2  Ukraine
40 Increase 1  Colombia
41 Increase 4  Brazil
42 Steady  Belgium
43 Increase 4  Denmark
44 Increase 4  Bulgaria
45 Increase 4  Latvia
*Change from July 2019
Country Matches Won Drawn Lost Win percentage For Aga Diff
 Australia 10 0 0 10 0% 62 258 –196
Australian Aboriginal Flag.svg Australian Aboriginies 2 0 0 2 0% 22 90 –68
 Cook Islands 5 5 0 0 100% 192 68 +124
 England 4 0 0 4 0% 50 144 –94
 Fiji 12 8 0 4 66.67% 281 182 +99
 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 11 2 0 9 18.18% 255 350 –95
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 7 6 1 0 85.71% 288 141 +147
 United States 1 1 0 0 100% 64 0 +64
 Wales 4 1 0 3 25.00% 68 146 –78
Total 104 33 2 69 31.73% 2005 2900 –895

Other Papua New Guinean teams[]

  • PNG Prime Minister's XIII - Development side consisting of players from the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League competition. In recent years, players from the National Rugby League, Intrust Super Cup, English Super League and English Championship have also been selected to play the Australian PM's XIII.
  • 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.

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.
  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. ^ https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/england-into-rlwc-semis-with-win-over-png/4bf4a298-f8b5-4b85-b17d-0bef94a25d38/
  15. ^ https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/big-men-power-samoa-to-victory-over-png/news-story/4ead75275214ffd3ed29685c5ad9acac
  16. ^ https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/06/22/big-guns-fire-as-samoa-outlast-brave-kumuls/
  17. ^ https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/11/09/fiji-edge-png-in-razzle-dazzle-thriller-in-christchurch/
  18. ^ https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/11/16/spotlight-intensifies-on-bennett-as-kumuls-put-lions-to-the-sword/
  19. ^ https://postcourier.com.pg/marum-looks-forward-to-warrington/
  20. ^ https://www.rlwc2021.com/
  21. ^ https://postcourier.com.pg/alex-johnston-named-in-kumuls-squad-to-face-fiji-and-great-britain/
  22. ^ "Papua New Guinea head to head". rugbyleagueplanet. Retrieved 18 December 2020.

External links[]

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