The PNG Palais and Pukpuks teams who played their hearts out in the recently concluded Oceania Rugby 7s Tournament in Australia will be joining Team PNG on November 15.
The PNG 7s teams will be joining the rest of the PNG athletes with positive energies after qualifying for the Challengers Series.
The PNG Rugby Union President Paul Siwi said that team PNG got the baptism of fire in the Oceania Rugby 7s finals as they fell short to the top tier 7s teams. However, this does not mean PNG Rugby can deliver a medal for its country at the 17 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands.
Siwi said the teams have learnt their lesson from this and get back up to prepare for the Pacific Games. He added that the PNG Palais and Pukpuks would meet its rivals again this week in Honiara and hopefully give them better challenge.
Most of the players look fit and injury-free. Only two players, who did not participate in the Oceania Rugby 7s Tournament in Australia, joined the team, helping boost the depth of the team.
Rugby 7s is among other sporting codes expected to deliver medals for the country given the potential of the team and the record on regional events.
At the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa, Apia, the Palais claimed the Bronze medal and the Pukpuks made an early exit.
This time, Pukpuks head into the event a much better side and will be looking to make amend for the last Pacific Games.