We’re delighted that for this year’s tournament, we will be hosting the Papua New Guinea men’s team.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a mountainous, tropical and diverse island whose population are known to collectively speak 700 different languages. Some 80% of PNG’s people live in rural areas, with many tribes living in some of the island’s isolated and mountainous areas.

PNG also has a rich Rugby League history. It’s the country’s national sport and the national team are known as ‘the Kumuls’, which means birds-of-paradise in Tok Pisin, a creole language spoke throughout the country.

In 2017, PNG was joined by Australia and New Zealand as tournament hosts for the Rugby League World Cup, and they reached the quarter-finals when they were beaten by a well-drilled England side 36-6.

We'll be hosting PNG right up to the tournament's quarter-final stage and they'll also be training here in town.

We can’t wait to welcome PNG, our adopted team for the tournament, to Warrington. Our streets will be filled with colour, music and art and we will make sure to play our part to give PNG a tournament to remember!