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The Papua New Guinea Kumuls have defeated Fiji in a highly entertaining game at Pirtek Stadium. After trailing 16-8 at half-time, the Kumuls had a strong second half to win 24-22 in a thriller.
REPORT: PNG BREAK 16-YEAR DROUGHT
It was end-to-end attack in the second half, but too many handling errors ultimately proved costly for Fiji. Their completion rate suffered as they tired. Kumuls half-back Watson Boas scored 2 tries, while Fijian winger Etuate Qionimacawa score a hat-trick.
Both sides were very willing in defence and played with a lot of pride. The game was a great advertisement for Pacific rugby league and this win is sure to be celebrated long and hard in Papua New Guinea.
Final score
Papua New Guinea 24
Fiji 22
The Papua New Guinea Kumuls take on the Fiji Bati as part of the NRL’s representative round at Pirtek Stadium today. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5:30pm AEST.
This will be only the second ever Test between the two nations, with Fiji winning the inaugural Test played in 2015. The big talking point in the lead-up to this Test match has been that Fiji’s best player, Parramatta flyer Semi Radradra, will be playing for Australia against New Zealand instead of in this match for his native country.
The Kumuls team includes three current NRL players – David Mead and Nene MacDonald from the Gold Coast Titans, and Kurt Baptiste from the Canberra Raiders. Mead will captain the team. The bulk of the Kumuls’ squad are from the PNG Hunters, who are currently running second in the Queensland Intrust Super Cup. This is the third season that the Hunters have played in the Queensland competition, and they have built up a cult following both at home and in Queensland.
The Fijian team boasts far more current NRL players and they will go into the match as favourites accordingly. Their forward pack will be considerably bigger than the Kumuls, with Newcastle Knights duo Korbin Sims and Daniel Saifiti, as well as Kane Evans (Roosters) likely to be a handful.
Fiji will also have plenty of flair available for their attack, with Akuila Uate (Newcastle), Sisa Waqa (Canberra) and Kevin Naiqama (Wests Tigers) all in their squad. Surprisingly, Uate has been named in jersey number 10, so it will be interesting to see if he plays prop instead of his usual wing spot.
Prediction
The Kumuls will be willing as always, but Fiji have the size and strength and should win a close match.
Join The Roar from 5:30pm AEST for live score updates and debate in our live blog.
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