How was Rugby League introduced into Papua New Guinea? Papua New Guinea is the only country in the world where Rugby League is 'officially' recognised as the national sport. The game of Rugby League was first played in Papua New Guinea in 1949 by Australian soldiers. However, it wasn't until the late 1960's when the game was regularly played by locals. In the 1950's, there were regular matches between Australian soldiers in New Guinea and fellow Australian soldiers in Papua New Guinea. There were also many other regional events taking place which often attracted large crowds, mainly watched by other soldiers and natives from local villages. Rugby League grew very quickly indeed, and although the game was only a popular spectator sport, mainly played by Australians and New Zealanders, it was clear that Rugby League was their national sport by the 1960's. The next five to ten years saw Rugby League grow very rapidly as it became not only a popular spectator sport, but became popular to play with the public in Papua New Guinea, and in 1974, the PNGRFL were admitted to the 'International Federation'.

Papua New Guinea's first Test matches: Papua New Guinea, nicknamed Kumuls' after the 'bird of paradise' played their first ever official Test match in 1975 against England, losing 40-12, to a then, very strong Lions' team. Several other countries toured Papua New Guinea in the late 70's and early 80's which included tours by BARLA Great Britain (British Amatuer Rugby League Association team), France and the New Zealand Kiwis'. The British Lions' toured the island of Papua New Guinea in 1984. They played one Test against the national team at Mt Hagen, before a capacity crowd of 10,000, which Great Britain won easily.

Papua New Guinea in the World Cup: Papua New Guinea first competed in the World Cup in the 1985-88 home and away qualifying World Cup series. Despite a shock 24-22 defeat of the New Zealand Kiwis' at Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby, they could only manage 4th place in the World Cup ladder. Although to say it was the Kumuls' first World Cup and that they didn't have much strength in depth, it was a successful first World Cup.    Their next World Cup in 1988-92 was without a doubt, a disastrous World Cup, losing all of their games and finishing last in the table. For the fans of Papua New Guinea, those four World Cup years were a time to forget. Then came 1995, which was not only the biggest Rugby League World Cup to date at that time, with 10 nations competing, but it was also Rugby League's Centenary year, marking a 100 years of the sports existance. It was to be a celebration, and the British fans turned out in numbers to support the event. This World Cup created a 'new' Papua New Guinea, a Kumul' squad which brought excitement and joy to the faces of the British fans. The Kumuls', along with Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa, introduced a new style of Rugby League which made the mighty Australian Kangaroos' look boring. It was always going to be tough for the Kumuls' to make an impact in England and Wales due to the colder weather conditions, and not only that, but they had a tough group. First up was New Zealand, a game which they narrowly lost 22-6, flattering the Kiwis'. They had to beat Tonga to reach the semi final stage. It was a very hard task, there wasn't much to choose between to the two nations. Both outfits produced exciting play to the joy of a 5,000 crowd. The game ended 22-22 and the Kumuls' were still looking for their first Test match win in Europe. Five years on, and it was yet again, the biggest event to date, with now, 16 countries involved. It was another tough group for Papua New Guinea, who faced France, Tonga and South Africa. But in 2000, the Kumuls' had several established world stars such as Marcus Bai, David Buko, Bruce Mamando, Stanley Gene and of course, at the time, their captain, Adrian Lam. After a humiliating 82 - 0 defeat in their warm up match with Australia in Townsville, QLD, it didn't look like the Kumuls' were in for a holiday in sunny France, it was looking like the Kumuls' would be heading towards several thrashings. After the disappointing performance against the red hot World Cup favourites - Australia, national coach Bob Bennett, the brother of Australian coaching legend Wayne Bennett accused his side of been big headed. At the tournament, first of all, the Kumuls' were aiming to win their first full blown international match in Europe, and secondly, to prove their critics back home wrong by reaching the knockout stage for the first time in their World Cup history. First up was France in Paris. It was a memorable performance by Papua New Guinea which saw them comeback from 16 - 0 down at half - time to win the match 23-20. That was, without a doubt, Papua New Guinea's biggest success to date. Then they faced a weak South African team, mainly made up of former Rugby Union players. After an impressive win against the French, the Kumuls' were expected to trounce the Rhinos' of Africa but it was far from a thrashing as South Africa's superb defence kept Papua New Guinea out a number of times. The Kumuls' could only manage a 16-0 win, although coach Bob Bennett's aim was for Papua New Guinea not to concede any points. All Papua New Guinea needed now to progress was a victory over Tonga in the south of France. It was one of the most open groups of the tournament. South Africa were already out but for France, the Kumuls' and Tonga, it was all their for two of them to take. Anything could happen. Papua New Guinea proved their critics back home wrong, and did them proud, defeating Tonga 30-22, going into the quarter finals with a 100% record. Off to England it was for their quarter final tie with an under stregnthed Welsh squad hit by injuries, and forced to call up on Rugby Union players. In cold conditions at Widnes' Auto Quest Stadium and with huge pressure from fans back home, it was a tough task for Papua New Guinea, a task they failed to take charge in, going down 22-8 to the Dragons' after a poor first half display which saw them go 20-2 down. While the squad, based in the Northern Hemisphere, were upset and disappointed at the result, back home in Papua New Guinea there were huge national celebrations. Half of the Papua New Guinea population of 2 million were up early at 4am to watch the quarter final, (plus, another 1.5 million TV viewers in the United Kingdom and Republic Of Ireland) it really was a truly memorable moment, despite the loss. 50,000 fanatical fans welcomed their national heroes back home at Port Moresby Airport in the Capital that week. It was a very emotional time for Rugby League in Papua New Guinea. Australia could only manage to attract a mere 1,000 fans to welcome them back, despite winning the final 40-12 against New Zealand which just shows how much the Kumuls' World Cup feat meant to the hearts of millions of Papuan fans. WHAT NEXT FOR WORLD CUP AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA? The next World Cup is set to be staged in Australia and New Zealand in 2008, where the Kumuls' will be hoping to build on their recent international success'. Realistically, if Papua New Guinea draw a reasonable group, we could be watching them reach the knockout stages once again!

GOOD LUCK THE KUMULS'!