PNG Palais to begin preparations for Hong Kong 7s

The Papua New Guinea Palais returned from the Sydney 7s tournament today and will soon begin preparations for their next competition.

The team will participate at the Hong Kong 7s tournament from April 7-9, which is the qualifiers for the World Series.

Palais played their best at the Sydney 7s despite not registering a win.

They lost to New Zealand in the first match 34-5, and then went down to Canada 39-3 and France 31-10.

On day two, they lost to England 29-17 in the trophy challenge quarter-finals and got defeated by Spain 31-17 in the 11th place play-off.

Coach John Larry said their main focus is on the Hong Kong 7s.

Larry said the team will be bulked up from 12 to 20 players as they head into training in preparation for Hong Kong.

Some good players missed out in the Sydney 7s side due to work commitment and injury.

A final 12 players will then be named before the team travels to Hong Kong.

The team currently comprises of youth and experience and is boosted with regulars Kymlie Rapilla, Joanne Lagona and Captain Lynette Kwarula.

Rapilla said before the Sydney 7s tournament that the bonding has been good in camp during training in the past few weeks.

“We are just supporting where we can, sharing our knowledge and experience especially on the field with training and what we’ve learnt from previous tournaments throughout the years.

“With Lynette and Joanne as the senior ones in the team, that’s what we’ve been trying to do to help out the younger players build their confidence,” Rapilla said.

Lagona, who scored four tries in three games at the Sydney 7s, said they’ve been helping the younger players a lot, teaching them simple techniques to improve their skills and helping them maintain fitness. 

Author: 
Quintina Naime