Has international rugby league let PNG down?
Roar Guru By Tigranes, 7 Jul 2011 The Crowd is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- IRB World Cup, Papua New Guinea, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup 2011, Samoa, State Of Origin, Tonga
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Papua New Guinea is without doubt a rugby league heartland. The State of Origin would be the most popular annual sporting event in the country.
For many men, their most prized possession is the NRL jersey of their favourite team. However, it seems as though, international rugby league has let Papua New Guinea down big time.
Back in 1990, the Kummuls drew a Test series with Great Britain. These days, the Kummuls are the whipping boys whenever they play Australia, New Zealand or Great Britain. Why is this so?
I believe, a valid comparison can be made with the likes of Tonga, Fiji and Samoa in rugby union.
Back in 1991, Samoa, at their first World Cup, shook up the rugby world, by defeating Wales and qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Back then, rugby union was not professional, and when it did turn professional, there were fears that the Pacific Island nations would fall behind.
These fears are largely unfounded.
At the last IRB World Cup, Fiji were one tackle away from defeating the eventual champions South Africa.
Samoa qualified for the quarter-finals again in 1995 and 1999 and are still competitive against the likes of Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
So whilst the Papua New Guinea rugby league team has apparently fallen backwards, the rugby union teams of Samoa, Fiji and Tonga have retained their position in international rugby union.
When you compare the relative populations (Papua New Guinea has over six million people, while Fiji, Tonga and Samoa have a combined population of a little over a million), this looks even worse for Papua New Guinea.
I believe the disparity is aptly shown by the amount of professionals in each sport.
There are over 100 Fijians, Tongans and Samoans playing professional rugby union in Europe. This does not include those playing in New Zealand or Japan.
By contrast, there are fewer than 20 Papuans playing professional rugby league in Australia or England.
However, this does not explain anything apart from the fact that maybe Fijians, Samoans and Tongans are better rugby union players than Papuans are rugby league players.
Are there any other reasons why the Kummuls are the seemingly forgotten child of international rugby league when it is the one place where rugby league is king?
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July 7th 2011 @ 3:10am
GrecoRoman said | July 7th 2011 @ 3:10am | Report comment
Comparing and contrasting PNG’s RL results with Pacific Islands’ results in RU is irrelevant. Sure you have a large population, but the basic infrastructure in PNG is extremely poor and spread out. It’s just not conducive to developing professional athletes in any code of Rugby, or any professional sport. What should be celebrated is the role Rugby League plays within the disparate communities in that country. Large swathes of the country are still only just now transitioning to fully developed neolithic settlement and you expect to graft on successfully a football code which only emerged in England after the industrial revolution? Nowadays considering the corruption and chaos in the country, as well as its overall uneven development, it’s a wonder they can put out a national rep team at all.
July 7th 2011 @ 8:03am
Dave said | July 7th 2011 @ 8:03am | Report comment
thats not a good excuse at all samoa, tonga and fiji also have their problems just like png but png have more money and resources so theres no excuse. they did without the irb money and now they are going forward with funds from rugby world cup.
July 7th 2011 @ 11:26am
mushi said | July 7th 2011 @ 11:26am | Report comment
Really PNG’s GDP per capita is below all of them and by a long, long margin.
Having a higher actual GDP doens’t help that much when the per capita number is so hideously low especially for sports infrastructure
September 5th 2011 @ 2:07am
CRASHZONE said | September 5th 2011 @ 2:07am | Report comment
yea but samoa tonga and fiji dont come from a real dangerous country, PNG is well known to the world (mainly port moresby the capital for being rated worlds most dangerous city back in 2005) and has been in the top 5 for the last 10 years. The other islands dont have to face these challenges and corruption PNG do!!!
July 7th 2011 @ 5:43am
Kevin Higginson said | July 7th 2011 @ 5:43am | Report comment
RL should forget about international matches an concentrate on developing a World League of between 30-36 franchises, inclduing PNG franchise.
My suggestion would be 16 teams in SH and 16 in NH, playing a 16-18 game season with play-offs.
July 7th 2011 @ 8:13am
p.Tah said | July 7th 2011 @ 8:13am | Report comment
Is that what Super League envisaged… Eventually?
July 7th 2011 @ 8:23am
Robot said | July 7th 2011 @ 8:23am | Report comment
After the 2008 World Cup the Cowboys signed a few of the Kumuls (Jesse Joe Parker etc) guys but couldn’t get them to stay due to issues with work visas etc which sucks
July 8th 2011 @ 12:03am
corey said | July 8th 2011 @ 12:03am | Report comment
Im a big fan of Jessie Joe Parker (JJP), I think he plays in the English championship, but I believed he would have been a star for any team. I was hoping Wayne Bennett would pick him up.
July 12th 2011 @ 10:45pm
dickson said | July 12th 2011 @ 10:45pm | Report comment
yes…we the village boys from the remoted part of Southern Highlands of png has to travell some 100 of kilometers to watch the game of Jessy Joe Parker and followers of his game,
i love his footy…he’s well desciplined and committed to his career and a true rugby league son of png.
i prayed that wayne benneth should pick him….. try him out there in NRL.
July 7th 2011 @ 8:33am
turbodewd said | July 7th 2011 @ 8:33am | Report comment
the issues with PNG are exactly as identified before, its culture and relative development are way behind. There are no doubt great athletes in PNG, Im surprised there arent more NRL scouts up there looking for the athletic kids who can be turned into RL players. Maybe there needs to be a Qld based scholarship thingo setup.
Putting an NRL team there wont work…maybe in 20 or 30 years.
July 7th 2011 @ 7:40pm
Sam said | July 7th 2011 @ 7:40pm | Report comment
I don’t think an NRL team would even be suitable in 20-30 years, they would make no money (3rd world country, no disposable income, therefore not attractive to sponsors). I think the best they could hope for would be a QLD Cup team as a feeder to the Cowboys, or eventually a feeder to a club based in Darwin if the NRL chooses to expand there at some stage in the distant future.
July 7th 2011 @ 8:48am
Crosscoder said | July 7th 2011 @ 8:48am | Report comment
All is not lost with PNG,they have in operation this year a semi pro comp: The Digicel Cup(10 teams)
NG are one of the automatic qualifers for the RLWC2013.
I don’t know about forgotten
Dave
More money up to this stage ,doubt it.Yes the country is resource rich,but they have not had the intensive regular school comps over the years that the PI have.In fact for many years rl was not allowed to be played in the schools(the “danger”factor) since lifted.And I suggest getting around in PNG with its geography is a tad more difficult than Fiji and the others.
I agree with GrecoRoman in that regard.
The other problem is the internal factional infighting that a times is endemic in the game there.The time they last played in the 4 nations ,the national coach Lam pulled out due to it ,and another guy a local took over.he was npot opular with the players,I understand.
Once this country beomes more highly developed and ditto the players become attuned to professionalism,watch out.These guys know how to attack,but their defence at times is lamentable.Bring more of them as juniors into rl academies and hone their skills over time.
July 7th 2011 @ 8:53am
Tigranes said | July 7th 2011 @ 8:53am | Report comment
I think it might be worthwhile if NRL clubs were given salary cap exemptions to sign young PNG players.
I think any NRL side based in PNG is going to be a waste of time and money. I believe a more appropriate way to help out PNG would be to have as many players as possible playing professionally in Australia and England. It worked for the Pacific Islands in rugby union.
July 7th 2011 @ 12:24pm
db swannie said | July 7th 2011 @ 12:24pm | Report comment
I think it might be worthwhile if NRL clubs were given salary cap exemptions to sign young PNG players.
spot on mate.
I have advocated this on other forums.
Each NRL club should be able to sign one national from a developing RL country.which does not affect the cap.
Could you imagine how competitive the PNG team would be after the majority of their players had spent 3-5 yrs playing
/accsessing the professionalism/fitness etc of the NRL.
July 7th 2011 @ 8:58am
Matt S said | July 7th 2011 @ 8:58am | Report comment
A good move toward improving PNG’s results is the Pacific Cup.
I enjoyed watching the highlights on channel nine and great to see the crowds & atmosphere of PNG.
July 7th 2011 @ 9:07am
King of the Gorgonites said | July 7th 2011 @ 9:07am | Report comment
interesting article Tigranes.
However, i do not believe it is all doom and gloom. the link to the PI rugby teams is interesting, but still some things need to be kept in mind. The PIs have benefited from professional rugby in Europe. As stated in the article, hundreds of PI players play professionally in Europe. This has aided the small PI nations. However, it is still hard work for them. They dont get the time together before tournaments like the big nations (as England and french clubs wont release them early) so at times scores can blow out.
Also the PI teams usually upset Northern Hemisphere nations. They never beat the ABs or the wallabies. they beat the Europeans because they play a different style. However, down here we know and play that style so its not a threat. With PNG they are not a threat to Aus, but could threaten England or France.
Also what needs to be kept in mind is that the IRB has been able to fund the PI through massive profits from the wordl cup. Each year the PI play the pacific nation cup, where they play against each other (Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Japan). Also tthey may have a June test against the lieks of Aus or NZ. Then at the end of the season (November) they have a northern hemisphere tour. PNG hasnt had that. only recently with the 4 nations will they get that.
Developing smaller nations in any sport is hard work, RU can shed some useful light on the subject.
July 7th 2011 @ 9:09am
Tigranes said | July 7th 2011 @ 9:09am | Report comment
I hope for PNGs sake that they are always in the Four Nations and dont get booted out for France or Wales.
July 7th 2011 @ 9:55am
King of the Gorgonites said | July 7th 2011 @ 9:55am | Report comment
As i understand it they will be in the four nations every 2nd year? i also hope they stay in it. its the only way to improve – playing top level opposition.
July 8th 2011 @ 12:12am
corey said | July 8th 2011 @ 12:12am | Report comment
Yes, but at the same time they need to play more international games as playing the same amount as Australia won’t give them an edge. They should be playing against the cook islands and other PI nations more often. They should also tour every couple of years and play against the Northern Hemisphere teams. There is also the opportunity to tour new RL nations like South Africa or Jamaica and the States.
July 7th 2011 @ 10:13am
DJ said | July 7th 2011 @ 10:13am | Report comment
2nd tier nations from both Europe and the Pacific Islands qualify for the tournament by winning either the European cup or the Pacific nations cup . So when the four nations is held in Europe the winner of that cup get’s the fourth spot when it’s in the southern hemisphere the winner of the Pacific nations get’s the fourth spot . I think the main problem is not enough organised test matches PNG only seem to get a gauaranteed match each year against the Prime minister 13 the RLIF should make it mandatory that all 2nd tier Pacific Island nations get 4 or 5 tests a year that would go along way to having sides like PNG,Fiji,Tonga, Samoa & Cook Islands match ready with game Experience for tournaments like the Four nations and World cup. Would also like to point out that PNG are the only Pacific Island nation to beat a Touring Great Britain side in a match the Great britain team included the likes of Martain ofiah and Elery Hanley Great britain went on to win the Series but well and truly had there cage rattled. Still waiting for PNG to get a Win over England but don’t think that is to far away
July 7th 2011 @ 11:12am
Tigranes said | July 7th 2011 @ 11:12am | Report comment
DJ
with all due respect, I think PNG is far far more important to RL than any of the other pacific islands. RU dominates some islands (Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands), others have soccer (New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands).
RL should focus on its heartlands, and for that reason alone PNG should be guaranteed 4 Nations status.
July 7th 2011 @ 3:13pm
DJ said | July 7th 2011 @ 3:13pm | Report comment
Tigranes with all due respect what you propose is to hinder the development of International rugby league you can’t guarantee a 2nd tier nation a start otherwise there is no need to progress to develop as a nation if your just handed everything on a platter. The current format with the winner of the Euro cup gets in when the tournament is in England and the winner of the pacific nations cup get’s in when it is in Australia or New Zealand is the way to go for now it not only provides more International matches for 2nd tier nations in Europe and the Pacific Islands which is what there governing bodies have been screaming for it also helps to improve there style of play and strengthens there squad . I agree that PNG is important they are the only nation in the world with rugby league as a national sport but if you currently look at the NRL and Toyota cup both those comps are staked with Pacific Islanders they can’t all be poached to play for Australia or NewZealand and you can’t expect to slap them all into a teams like Tonga or Samoa and expect them to perform without time to gell as a squad .
July 7th 2011 @ 3:41pm
The Bush said | July 7th 2011 @ 3:41pm | Report comment
The Pacific Nations Cup and European Nations Cup act as qualifiers for the Four Nations, so only the Big Three are in it each time. Wales are in it this time, and I guess the Pacific Nations will be playing off again for the next one (post-World Cup).
July 7th 2011 @ 2:06pm
kovana said | July 7th 2011 @ 2:06pm | Report comment
KOG… Tonga and Fiji have defeated Australia.
July 7th 2011 @ 3:02pm
allblackfan said | July 7th 2011 @ 3:02pm | Report comment
Fiji came very very close to beating the All Blacks in 1974 and is the only country to tour NZ unbeaten (a feat even the Springboks have not achieved)
July 7th 2011 @ 3:49pm
King of the Gorgonites said | July 7th 2011 @ 3:49pm | Report comment
a different era. not in the last 4 decades. now there best chance is beating the europeans. when did Fiji or Samoa last seriosuly test Australia or the ABs?
July 7th 2011 @ 4:10pm
kovana said | July 7th 2011 @ 4:10pm | Report comment
Well.. Samoa tested both Australia and NZ in the 90s…
And dont forget that next weekend Samoa will defeat Australia.
July 7th 2011 @ 4:34pm
JohnB said | July 7th 2011 @ 4:34pm | Report comment
You’re right – not since the 50′s have Fiji beaten Australia (twice, with a draw in 61), and not since the 80′s (when Fiji twice lost by 13, in Suva) have there been close games. Fair to point out that the 2 countries have only played 4 times since the 1980s (but equally fair to say they’ve all been big Australian wins).
Samoa (including when it was Western Samoa) and Australia have only played 4 times for 4 Australian wins, the closest the first between them – 9-3 at the 1991 World Cup, then 25-13 in 1998 (World Cup qualifiying). Notable that both of those Australian sides won the relevant World Cups. The other 2 games, in 1994 and 2005, were big blowouts – I’m guessing the Samoans didn’t have overseas based players available.
Tonga – 1973 was their one win. Australia had won the first ever test between the countries the week before, and has won the 2 tests since (93 and 98) by large margins.
Finally, Australia played the combined “Pacific Islanders” team once, for a 15 point win in 2004. That’s the most recent reasonably respectable scoreboard result between Australia and any side from the Pacific Islands.
The small number of games Australia has played against these teams hits you when you look at this, and is another topic in itself.
July 7th 2011 @ 4:37pm
kovana said | July 7th 2011 @ 4:37pm | Report comment
Also of note JohnB… In that 1998 Qualifier… We actually could have won… I think Paramore dropped a intercept with a clear run into the Try line… And also too many kicks at goal missed…
We was ROBBED!!
July 8th 2011 @ 12:12pm
JohnB said | July 8th 2011 @ 12:12pm | Report comment
Only 3 tries to 2, and a very strong looking Australian side. Zero memory of the game I’m afraid, but Paul Honiss (a Kiwi of course) was ref so can’t discount the robbed claim entirely!
July 7th 2011 @ 9:58am
steve said | July 7th 2011 @ 9:58am | Report comment
Its very hard for PNG to improve because it’s tough to invest in something when the returns are going to be minimal and not seen for a very long period of time, by this i mean that by helping PNG rugby league and their internal structures, juniour academies etc nobody is really going to benefit financially in the short term. This is one area where the IRB has to be comended. The amount of money they pour into the islands each year is huge, they fund the teams for the world 7′s series, the pacific nations cup, pacific champions league, A team tours (Tonga A toured south america last year),the u/20 world champs each year, a $5 mill rugby academy in Apia has just been finished. As of last season there are currently 330 pacific islanders playing rugby in europe and japan where their sole income is earned from playing rugby, this does not include those studying on scholarships etc.
What really needs to happen is that each NRL club should have one spot on their roster for a PNG player.
July 7th 2011 @ 10:01am
dubjpp said | July 7th 2011 @ 10:01am | Report comment
When it comes to having professional contracts the smaller rugby nations have picked the right sport theres around 8 pro Rugby union comps around the world maybe even more where u can earn a living. The NRL and Superleague with their tight salary caps are’nt going to risk their money on an unknown player from the islands.
July 7th 2011 @ 11:15am
Tigranes said | July 7th 2011 @ 11:15am | Report comment
well in europe you have magners league, GP, Top 14, French Pro 2, English 2nd div, Italian super 10 and Russian league. Thats 7 leagues
then you have Currie Cup in SA, Top League in Japan, NPC in NZ. Havent included Australian club rugby here.
Overall 10 professional/semi-professional comps.
July 7th 2011 @ 11:31am
King of the Gorgonites said | July 7th 2011 @ 11:31am | Report comment
One can also earn a good living (enough to get by) playing for the old Welsh clubs in their domestic level. thats essentially semi-professional. im think the lieks of Pontypridd.
July 7th 2011 @ 12:43pm
robert said | July 7th 2011 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
and SUPER RUGBY!!!..Spain also has a semi-professional rugby league that is recruiting from the islands..