Rugby 7s

The announcement coincided with the official launch of this year’s tournament at the Santos National Football Stadium lounge yesterday.

The continued partnership between NiuPower and Sportstok 7s reaffirms the company’s commitment to supporting diversity and inclusiveness in sport in this case the Sportstok 7s tournament.

NiuPower CEO, Michael Uiari on behalf of the company said NiuPower is delighted to be associated with Sportstok 7s again this year, after the success of last year’s tournament.

The PNG Women’s participation is on invitation after their outstanding performance at last year’s Oceania 7s Tournament in Brisbane where they qualified for this year’s World Sevens Qualifiers in Chile.

Coach Billy Rapilla has maintained the core of the team based on combination and consistency with a lot of skill,speed,agility and strength across the park.

PNGRU has the trust and confidence in our girls’ ability to perform at this elite level.

PNG is pooled against Fiji, Great Britain and hosts New Zealand.

Sabatha and Volu took local club, Bialla Suaras to participate in the recently held Rookie 7s tournament in Port Moresby last month which was a first time experience and an eye opener for the village boys.

Mataliliu Village in East Nakanai is the host of the 3-day event scheduled from the 12^th to 14^th January,2023.

Rugby League is big in the area influenced by the rise of Biala’s favorite son and PNG’s first home grown NRL cult hero Marcus Bai back in the 90s.

A very excited Chairman of the Bialla Suaras Rugby Football Union Club, Andrew Solomon said they will use the event as a launch pad for rugby union in Bialla and the surrounding communities to engage youths and change their mindset.

Hammerheads however failed to defend the cup for the 3rd time and had to settle for 3rd place (Bronze).

Meanwhile CRU Boromas of Port Moresby finished off their series campaign on a high after defeating 3rd time Cup Runners-Up the West New Britain Kimbe Rebels 17-12, to take out 3rd and last Cup Series Grand final yesterday. 

In the preceding Cup Semi-Final playoff, Rebels knocked out favourites Hammerheads in extra time for the right to meet Boromas in the Cup grand final but again fell short.

The competition was initially set to kick off last Saturday but the late arrival of teams’ uniforms and change in airline travel schedules forced the extra week’s delay.

After the slight delay to start of competition, it’s game on for the KPH Super 7s Series for the next 4 weeks kicking off with round (1). Saturday 7^th, saw the first two rounds. Competition continues today Sunday 8^th, and continues for the next three weekends until 29^th of May.

Four-hundred and fifty players and 90 officials from 18 provincial teams from the NGI, Momase, Highlands and Southern Regions are currently taking part in the one month long tournament.

The 2022 Super7s series is PNGRU’s most extensive and inclusive program ever on its rugby consolidated calendar which will be followed by a number of major international events to be hosted in Port Moresby at the back end of the year.

With Kumul Petroleum Holdings as naming rights sponsor, the KPH Super 7s Series is the launching pad that will run over 4 consecutive weekends.

Sportstok franchise Manager Benson Upas when confirming the dates, said he’s also very proud to announce this year also marks 5 years since the tournament started in 2018.

Sportstok Rugby 7s, possibly the fastest growing off season 7s tournament in the country at the moment,    is looking forward to hosting its 5^th edition in June this year with registrations for 24 spots now up for grabs.

They say that good things come to those who wait and that was certainly the case for Argentina on day two of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series men’s event in Vancouver on Sunday.

The Argentineans played some amazing rugby all weekend and really turned it on in the final against Fiji, the winners in Singapore the week before, to lift the title.

Chairman Napoleon Mapo praised the efforts of the officials for having a positive impact on the event and the smooth operations of the tournament under the guidance of Tournament Director Paul Joseph.

Joseph said South Fly District made history after hosting three consecutive Rugby Union 7s Tournaments, a first for Western Province.

He said the team will be back later in the year to officiate the JC cup, when all teams meet again for the urban Satellite Rugby Union 7s challenge in Daru around April 2022.