Sport in Papua New Guinea - Rugby League

Rugby League

Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea. Rugby league also holds the title as the national sport. About 50% of the population under-20 play rugby league. Since 2010, the sport has been a mandatory part of the curriculum in all schools in Papua New Guinea.

In a nation where communities are far apart and many people live at a minimal subsistence level, rugby league has been described as a replacement for tribal warfare, as a way of explaining the local enthusiasm for the game (a matter of life and death). Port Moresby Governor Powes Parkop role rugby league plays in bonding the nation's 800 disparate tribes and reducing crime citing its "ability to impact positively on all walks of life in PNG".

The annual Australian State of Origin matches are the most watched sporting event of the year.

Many Papua New Guineans have become instant celebrities by representing their country or playing in an overseas professional league. The West New Britain rugby league player, Marcus Bai, is a national celebrity after he played for the National Rugby League with Melbourne Storm. Even Australian rugby league players who have played in the annual (Australian) State of Origin clash, which is celebrated feverishly every year in PNG, are among the best-known personalities throughout the nation.

The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team, known as the Kumuls, are currently ranked fourth in the world. The team usually plays against the Australian national rugby league team 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.

The national competition is called the SP Cup and was initiated in 1990.