PNG Confident Ahead of RLWC26 as Kumuls Draw Revealed
Papua New Guinea’s road to the 2026 Rugby League World Cup became clearer yesterday after organisers confirmed the full tournament schedule, placing the Kumuls in a promising position as they eye a historic finals berth.
In a major highlight for local fans, PNG will kick off their campaign against Lebanon on October 17 at the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby. They will then host Samoa before wrapping up their group fixtures against England in Wollongong on October 30.
Although grouped with Tonga and France in Pool C, the crossover format means Papua New Guinea will not face either side in the preliminary rounds. Instead, teams from Pool B and Pool C will be ranked together to determine two semi-final qualifiers. The other two spots will come from Pool A, featuring heavyweight nations Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Cook Islands.
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| PNG Confident Ahead of RLWC26 as Kumuls Draw Revealed |
Head coach Jason Demetriou welcomed the draw, saying the Kumuls’ strong Pacific Bowl run had given the players the belief to challenge the world’s best. “We are aiming to make our first-ever World Cup semi-final,” he said. “We’ve shown what we can do in the Pacific Bowl. Now we want to take that next step.”
The recent rise of PNG players abroad adds further strength. London Broncos will field Morea Morea, Gairo Voro, Finley Glare, Epel Kapinias and Robert Mathias next season under Demetriou, while the Leigh Leopards retain Kumuls mainstays Edwin Ipape, Lachlan Lam, Liam Horne and Jacob Alick-Wiencke.
Captain Rhyse Martin heads into the World Cup after lifting the title with Hull KR. Emmanuel Waine continues his career at Bradford, and attacking threats Nene Macdonald and Jeremiah Simbiken are negotiating new English contracts.
With several emerging players gaining Test experience in this year’s Pacific Championships, Demetriou said PNG’s current world rating of No.6 may soon change. “We might be behind the big teams now, but the way we’re building, we’ll start knocking a few of them off,” he said. “The World Cup is the stage for us to do that.”
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