Rugby Union may not be the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea, but it is the predecessor to rugby league, the most popular sport in PNG.
Over the years rugby league has grown in popularity while rugby union had been at an all-time low, but the recent resurgence of rugby union has bought with it a growing interest.
The New Town Chiefs are youths from the outskirts of Port Moresby from Edai Town, with a few boys within city limits.
The team has a strong hold of rugby league; established in 2021 the team has ventured into rugby union, a sport that the team has come to relish.
New Town Chiefs are taking part in the annual Niu Power Sports Tok sevens tournament, their Coach Mara Katam is pleased with the blend of players.
“The team was formed with a mixture of rugby league and rugby union players, some have 15s experience through the Brothers Rugby Union club, while the rest are rugby league players” Katam added.
The team went down to a strong University Piggies side in their Pool C opener on Saturday, a 26-10 loss to the established club, but the Chiefs managed to make a comeback statement with a 39-7 thumping of fellow debutants Niu Power Hiri West giving the Chiefs some much needed momentum heading to day two on Sunday.
“It was a slow start with the players familiarizing themselves with the rules of the game, but we managed a convincing win in our second match” Coach Katam added.
With the Sports Tok Sevens honing in on the growth of sevens in PNG, the tournament has grassroots teams like the Chiefs finding their place in the code of rugby union sevens.
“A big thank you to the Sports Tok sevens, we are giving these boys the opportunity to play sevens and hopefully they come to love the sport of rugby union as well” Katam concluded.
The Sports Tok Sevens tournament continues on Sunday and ends with the finals to be played on Monday.
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