Rugby league in Papua New Guinea
| Rugby league in Papua New Guinea | |
|---|---|
| Country | Papua New Guinea |
| Governing body | Papua New Guinea National Rugby League |
| National team | Papua New Guinea |
| Nickname(s) | the Kumuls |
| First played | 1930s |
| Registered players | 15,000 (total) 10,000(adult), 5000 (junior) |
| Clubs | 280 |
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National competitions
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Club competitions
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Audience records
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| Single match | 20,000+ 2010 Goroka Lahanis v Mendi Muruks 21-10 |
Rugby league is a popular team sport in Papua New Guinea, and is the national sport. The people have a reputation for being the most passionate supporters of the game in the world.
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. It wasn't until over the following decade did participation numbers grow to reflect spectator numbers.
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 SP Inter-City Cup is the national competition and was first held in 1990.
Papua New Guinea was represented by Port Moresby Vipers in the Queensland Cup competition in 1996 and 1997.
The SP Cup was not held in the 2004 season due to funding problems, but the competition returned in 2005 as the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League (PNGRL).
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