Papua New Guinea is co-hosting the Rugby League World Cup, which runs from 15 October to 15 November in Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. The capital, Port Moresby, will host four matches of the tournament.
The Papua New Guinea men’s team, known as the Kumuls, and the women’s team, the Hihifo, are set to play in front of adoring crowds. Edwin Ipape, 27, who plays for Leigh Leopards in the Super League, describes the journey to the national stadium with his team-mates as an emotional experience. "When we play at home in front of our fans, just seeing the crowd, the way they support us, it makes me emotional every time," said Ipape. He added that he has been moved to tears on several occasions on the way to the stadium in Papua New Guinea, watching children run alongside the bus. "I am so blessed and privileged to represent my country. It is a dream I am living," he said.
Ipape grew up in Mount Hagen, in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. He recalled how children would make their own ball from whatever they could find. "If you are lucky, you play with a proper rugby ball. Otherwise, you play with a pot, putting things inside, filling it up to make something like a ball... whatever we can grab, we pretend is our rugby ball," he said. He also described how he saved money for lunch to buy an American football, which he used as a rugby ball. His heroes in his youth were Larsen Marape and Menzie Yere. "Rugby league has given me almost everything. It has instilled discipline in me and taught me many life lessons," he said.
Elsie Albert, a forward who plays for the Hihifo, also plays for the Parramatta Eels in the Australian Women’s National Rugby League Premiership. She joked about the popularity of NRL players in her country. "People in Papua New Guinea probably don’t know who the prime minister is, but they know all the NRL players," she said.
Rugby league in Papua New Guinea has deep roots, having been planted by Australian miners in the 1930s. The sport's popularity has sometimes been so great that authorities have had to intervene: during the Great Britain tour in the early 1990s, tear gas was used to calm an overly excited crowd. Children in Papua New Guinea still run alongside the team bus to catch a glimpse of their idols, and players are surrounded by crowds. In a country where more than 800 languages and dialects are spoken, a crowd of 15,000 people can sound twice as large, and the noise is so great that players on the field cannot hear each other.
For young players, the path to the top is gradual: first aiming to play for the village, then for the province, and then for the PNG Hunters, who play in the Queensland Cup in Australia. Justin Olam is a former Melbourne Storm centre. From 2028, a NRL team, the PNG Chiefs, will operate on the island, having already signed Samoan half-back Jarome Luai, Brian To'o and New Zealand international Joey Manu. The club is also seeking Papuan players to strengthen its ranks.
