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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.

The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby league football.

Papua New Guinea
Badge of Papua New Guinea team
Team information
NicknameThe Kumuls
Governing bodyPNGRFL
RegionAsia-Pacific
Head coachJason Demetriou
CaptainLachlan Lam
Most capsRhyse Martin (17)
Top try-scorerNene Macdonald (12)
Top point-scorerRhyse Martin (126)
Home stadiumNational Football Stadium
IRL ranking7th
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 )

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Main article: 2021 Rugby League World Cup Group D

The PNG Kumuls were 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 was 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

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

Current squad

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The PNG Kumuls squad was announced on 11 October 2024.[25]
Jersey numbers in the table reflect team selection for the Week 3 game against the Cook Islands Aitu.
Statistics in this table are compiled from the website, Rugby League Project.

J# Player Age Position(s) Kumuls Club NRL SL Other Reps
Dbt M T G F P CM TM CM TM
1 Nene Macdonald 30 Fullback, Centre 2013 19 14 0 0 56     Salford Red Devils 0 98 25 44   2   2
2 Elijah Roltinga 21 Wing, Centre 2024 2 2 0 0 8     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   1
3 Robert Mathias — Centre 2024 2 0 0 0 0     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   1
4 Rodrick Tai 25 Centre, Wing 2022 8 2 0 0 8     Warrington Wolves 0 0 19 19   1
5 Robert Derby 22 Wing 2022 6 5 0 0 20     Northern Pride RLFC 0 1 0 0   1
6 Kyle Laybutt 29 Five-eighth, Lock 2019 13 2 10 0 28     Townsville Blackhawks 0 2 0 0   1   2
7 Lachlan Lam 26 Halfback 2017 12 7 0 0 28     Leigh Leopards 0 31 55 55
17 Ila Alu 29 Lock 2024 2 0 0 0 0     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   2
9 Judah Rimbu 23 Hooker 2023 5 1 0 0 4     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   3
10 Jacob Alick 25 Prop, Second-row 2022 9 0 0 0 0     Tweed Heads Seagulls 0 11 0 0
11 Daniel Russell 28 Second-row 2019 11 2 0 0 8     St. George Illawarra Dragons 8 8 0 0   2
12 Jeremiah Simbiken 24 Second-row 2022 4 0 0 0 0     Norths Devils 0 0 0 0   1
13 Jack de Belin 33 Lock, Prop 2023 5 0 0 0 0     St. George Illawarra Dragons 229 229 0 0   3   2
14 Liam Horne 26 Hooker 2022 5 0 0 0 0     Castleford Tigers 0 0 30 30   1
15 Koso Bandi — Prop 2024 2 0 0 0 0     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   1
16 Sylvester Namo 24 Second-row 2022 6 2 0 0 8     Castleford Tigers 0 0 14 14   2
8 Valentine Richard — Prop 2023 5 1 0 0 4     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   1
19 Morea Morea — Fullback — 1 1 0 0 4     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   2
20 Benji Kot 27 Centre 2023 2 1 0 0 4     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   1
18 Sanny Wabo 25 Fullback — 0 0 0 0 0     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   1
21 Finley Glare — Five-eighth, Halfback — 0 0 0 0 0     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   1
U Rhyse Martin 31 Second-row 2014 18 5 56 0 132     Leeds Rhinos 0 25 125 125   1
– Edwin Ipape 25 Hooker 2019 9 2 0 0 8     Leigh Leopards 0 0 43 43
– Alex Max — Centre — 0 0 0 0 0     Papua New Guinea Hunters 0 0 0 0   1
– Khaiya Waiembi — Prop — 0 0 0 0 0     Central Queensland Capras 0 0 0 0

Notes:

Records

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Below is the list of Papua New Guinea's individual record holders as of 21 October 2024.[26]

  • Bold- denotes that the player is still active.

Most capped players

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# Name Career Caps
1 Rhyse Martin 2014-2024 18
Nene Macdonald 2013-2024 18
2 Max Tiri 1990-1996 16
Stanley Gene 1994-2008 16
5 John Wilshere 2000-2009 15
David Mead 2008-2022 15
Paul Aiton 2007-2017 15
8 Justin Olam 2016-2022 14
Bal Numapo 1984-1990 14
10 David Buko 1993-2001 13
Rod Griffin 2007-2018 13
Phillip Boge 1990-1994 13
Nixon Putt 2017-2023 13

Top try scorers

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# Name Career Tries
1 Nene Macdonald 2013-2024 12
2 David Mead 2008-2022 10
3 Justin Olam 2016-2022 7
Menzie Yere 2007-2013 7
5 Stanley Gene 1994-2008 6
Watson Boas 2016-2022 6
Lachlan Lam 2017-2023 6

Top points scorers

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# Name Career Points Tries Goals Field Goals
1 Rhyse Martin 2014-2023 126 5 53 0
2 John Wilshere 2000-2009 102 5 41 0
3 Bal Numapo 1984-1990 53 4 18 1
4 David Mead 2008-2022 40 10 0 0
5 Dairi Kovae 1986-1988 38 5 9 0

Competitive record

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

Overall

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Below is the list of Papua New Guinea's international head-to-head record as of 3 November 2024.[27]

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 8 8 0 0 100% 312 114 +198
  England 5 0 0 5 0% 56 190 –134
  Fiji 16 11 0 5 62.5% 375 261 +114
  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
  New Zealand Maori 12 2 0 10 16.67% 269 396 –127
  New Zealand Residents 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 117 41 2 74 35.04% 2,327 3,453 –1,126

World Cup

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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
1985–88 Fourth place 4/5 8 2 6 0
1989–92 Fifth place 5/5 8 0 8 0
   1995 Group stage 6/10 2 0 1 1
      2000 Quarter-finals 6/16 4 3 1 0
  2008 Group stage 10/10 3 0 3 0
   2013 Group stage 13/14 3 0 3 0
    2017 Quarter-finals 5/14 4 3 1 0
  2021 Quarter-finals 7/16 4 3 1 0
   2026 qualified
Total 0 Titles 36 11 24 1

Tri-Nations / Four Nations

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Tri-Nations / Four Nations record
Year Round Position GP W L D
1999–2006 did not participate
   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

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

IRL Rankings

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

Other Papua New Guinean teams

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See also

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References

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  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. ^ "Papua New Guinea Squad List". facebook. NRL. 11 Oct 2024. Retrieved 11 Oct 2024.
  26. ^ "Papua New Guinea Records". rugbyleagueplanet. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  27. ^ "Papua New Guinea head-to-head". rugbyleagueplanet. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
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