The Papua New Guinea Palais did their final training on home soil on Monday before they depart today for the Sydney Sevens Tournament, scheduled from February 3-4 in Australia.
A total of 12 countries will be participating in this tournament and debutant PNG is grouped in Pool A alongside big guns New Zealand, Canada and France.
Coach John Larry pointed out that the last few days of training, leading to this weekend, will focus on defense and improvements in the ruck areas.
Larry said: “When the game is in the ruck areas we need to circle the ball back.
“We are playing against the big teams so there’s got to be fast rucks, we got to work as threes and pass the ball wide.
“The girls are not that big in size so we have to use our mental strength and techniques.”
The final 12-member team that was announced today includes regulars Kymlie Rapilla, Joanne Lagona and captain Lynette Kwarula. It also includes debutants, namely Mavis Mitaharo, Fatima Rama and Cathy Puro.
The Sydney Sevens will help the team prepare for the Hong Kong Sevens Tournament in April, which is a qualifier for the World Series.