Rugby league is a popular team sport in Papua New Guinea, 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 reintroduced the sport and in 1949 and the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League was founded. It quickly became a popular spectator sport.
During the 1960s rugby league grew to be the clear national sport of the country. 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 in 1974 and the national team's first ever Test match was a 40–12 home defeat by Great Britain a year later. They first competed in the Rugby League World Cup 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 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 are the governing body for rugby league in Papua New Guinea. They have been members of the Rugby League International Federation 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 League. In 2007 a new league called the Nokondi Cup was created for teams in the Eastern Highlands province.
A Port Moresby team (the Port Moresby Vipers) competed in the Panasonic Cup in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989; and in the Queensland Cup in 1996 and 1997. The 2014 season saw the PNG Hunters enter the Queensland Cup, based out of Kokopo.
NRL team bid
An official bid for a PNG team in the National Rugby League (an Australian and New Zealand rugby league competition) began in October 2008. The bid was launched by Sir Michael Somare. In 2021, Prime Minister James Marape 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 in Far North Queensland.
Notable players
Many Papua New Guineans have gone on to play professional rugby league either in the National Rugby League in Australia or Super League in Europe. It is the goal of the PNGRL to have 120 players participating in the NRL and Super League by 2010.
Adrian Lam
Bal Numapo (Canterbury Bulldogs 1st Grade) Neville Costigan John Wilshere Paul Aiton Arnold Kerwanty Menzie Yere David Mead Marcus Bai Elias Paiyo Stanley Gene Makali Aizue Rhyse Martin James Segeyaro Nene McDonald Justin Olam Kato Ottio Kurt Baptiste Wellinton Albert Rod Griffin Ray Thompson Xavier Coates
Popularity
Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea and is commonly referred to as the national sport. 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.