The National Team
The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team are nicknamed Kumuls after the bird of paradise, a national symbol of the country. Their first ever Test match was a 40-12 home defeat by England in 1975.
They compete in the Rugby League World Cup and first entered a team in the 1985-89 competition, though it was not until the 1995 Rugby League World Cup that they were able to win away from home.
The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team usually play against an Australian national rugby league team (The Prime Minister's XIII made up of players in teams that have not qualified for the National Rugby League Final Series) each year in Port Moresby. It is such a popular fixture that thousands of people can't get into the ground once it's full, causing people to climb onto the stadium roof or up trees outside the ground in order to see the match. The limited capacity of the stadium for this fixture often sparks riots. Spectators clashed with riot police during this fixture in 2006.
Read more about this topic: Rugby League In Papua New Guinea
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