Papua New Guinea national rugby union team

The Papua New Guinea national rugby union team, nicknamed the Pukpuks, (Tok Pisin for 'crocodiles'), played its first international in 1966, defeating Vanuatu 47–3. Papua New Guinea have not so far qualified for a Rugby World Cup. They participated in the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournaments for the 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cups, but did not qualify.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Papua New Guinea women's national rugby union team.
Papua New Guinea
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)The Pukpuks
UnionPapua New Guinea Rugby Football Union
Head coachSydney Wesley
First colours
World Rugby ranking
Current84 (as of 16 January 2023)
First international
 Papua New Guinea 47–3  New Hebrides
(1966-12-01)
Biggest win
 Papua New Guinea 97–3  Vanuatu
(20 August 2005)
Biggest defeat
 Samoa 115–7 Papua New Guinea 
(Apia, Samoa, 11 July 2009)
Medal record
Pacific Games
Gold medal – first place1966 Noumea
Silver medal – second place1969 Port Moresby

History
See also: Rugby union in Papua New Guinea
See also: Oceania Rugby Men's Championship

Papua New Guinea made their international rugby debut at the South Pacific Games in 1966. The team won all three matches against New Hebrides, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna to win the gold medal.

As hosts for the following games held at Port Moresby in 1969, Papua New Guinea defeated New Caledonia again and the Solomon Islands but lost to the eventual gold medalist Fiji to finish with the silver medal.

Papua New Guinea entered a qualifying tournament for the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales. Papua New Guinea competed in Round 1 of the Oceania qualifying tournament. Although they defeated Tahiti, they lost 22–19 against the Cook Islands. They finished second in the final standings.

They played in qualifying tournaments for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, playing in Round 1b of the Oceania tournament. Papua New Guinea defeated both the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to advance through to Round 3. In Round 3 Papua New Guinea faced the Cook Islands to advance to Round 4. In the final round, for repechage qualification, Papua New Guinea were defeated by Tonga.

In attempting to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, Papua New Guinea started out in Round 1a of the tournament. Papua New Guinea defeated the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to finish at the top of the standings to move through to Round 2. In Round 2 the Cook Islands went through to Round 4.

The Pukpuks won the inaugural Federation of Oceania Rugby Union (FORU) Cup (2007), defeating Niue in the final by a score of 46–19. In the 2009 Oceania Nations Cup, Papua New Guinea managed to beat Vanuatu 86–12 in the semifinals and in the final, beat Cook Islands 29–12. They then went on to play Samoa in the Oceania Qualification for the 2011 Rugby World Cup where they got beaten 115–7 away and 73–12 at home. They were unable to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Papua New Guinea hosted the 2011 edition of the FORU Oceania Cup, winning the tournament by defeating Vanuatu (78–3),[1] Solomon Islands (33–15)[2] and Niue (36–7).[3]

World Cup record
World Cup record
Year Round P W D L F A
AustraliaNew Zealand 1987 No qualifying tournament held
FranceRepublic of IrelandUnited Kingdom 1991 did not enter
South Africa 1995
Wales 1999 did not qualify
Australia 2003
France 2007
New Zealand 2011
England 2015
Japan 2019 Withdrew
France 2023 did not qualify
Australia 2027
Total 0/8 - - - - - -

Overall Records

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Papua New Guinea national XV at test level up until 20 April 2020.[4]

Team Mat Won Lost Draw Win% Last played For Aga Diff
 American Samoa1100100%20153622+14
 Cook Islands734042.86%2013153163−10
 Fiji30300%19793253−250
 Hong Kong30300%20162679−53
 Nauru1100100%2019897+82
 New Caledonia321066.67%19795925+34
New Hebrides New Hebrides1100100%1966473+44
 Niue3300100%201911144+67
 Russia10100%20161949−30
 Samoa20200%200919188−169
 Solomon Islands8800100%201928497+187
 Sri Lanka2200100%19924635+11
 Tahiti3300100%201516348+115
 Tonga20200%200226135−105
 Vanuatu5500100%201133928+311
 Wallis and Futuna2200100%19691005+95
 Zimbabwe10100%20161138−27
Total503218064%–15641271+293

Squad

Squad to Oceania Rugby Men's Championship (12 October 2022):

  • Aidan Toua - QRU
  • Jordan Seladi (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Tony Sipa (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Freddy Andale (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Mick Rau (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Caleb Nipal (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Eddie Nipal (Capital Rugby Union)
  • George Wai (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Barol Homerang (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Jaran Pittan (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Ron Butler (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Kenneth Vagi (Capital Rugby Union)
  • William Kalai (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Anu Karai (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Jonah Tokiong (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Blake Mindipi (Capital Rugby Union)
  • Francis Miria (Morobe)
  • Cameron Wai (Morobe)
  • Laho Posu (Morobe)
  • Lindsay Yobone (Morobe)
  • Paul Nelson (Morobe)
  • Mafu Kalas (Morobe)
  • Elias Patala (Morobe)
  • Eddie Carl Soor (NCD Rugby Union)
  • Ezekiel Dauko (NCD Rugby Union)
  • Brendon Yenmoro (NCD Rugby Union)
  • Jackson Waingut (NCD Rugby Union)
  • Keith Frizzel (NCD Rugby Union)
  • George Mark (East New Britain)
  • Hosea Alfred (East New Britain)

See also

References
  1. "PNG and Solomon Islands win in Oceania Cup". www.irb.com. 2011-11-29. Archived from the original on 2011-12-01.
  2. "PNG remain unbeaten in Oceania Cup". www.irb.com. 2011-12-01. Archived from the original on 2011-12-03.
  3. "PNG claim Oceania Cup 2011". www.irb.com. 2011-12-03. Archived from the original on 2011-12-07.
  4. "team records". espnscrum. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
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