The threat of rain in Port Moresby did little to hamper the start of the Niu Power Sports Tok 7s tournament, with the cloud cover and seemingly dark skies providing prolific playing conditions on the first day.

The code of rugby union sevens is built around fast pace with limited time; and the organizers of the tournament Quantum Media under their Sports Tok brand, have grown in strides over the past four years with the fifth edition of the tournament this year seeing the biggest gathering of teams for the tournament.

“Interest has grown immensely over the past four years; this year’s tournament is a gathering of more than 50 teams in three divisions.

“It’s much bigger, 24 mens’ teams was the limit, we could not accept more, with 16 teams confirmed for the juniors and 12 women’s teams confirmed, we have women from the Sepik region representing the Sepik Tenkiles, women from AROB and Rabaul also flew in.” said Sports Tok Tournament Manager Benson Upas.

The tournament host is a Small to Medium Enterprise a (SME) and has dug deep into their pockets the last four years including the fifth installment of the tournament, to ensure its continued success.

“We are glad to have a corporate sponsor with Niu Power coming on board, we were on the fence the last two years with COVID-19 having a big impact on our financing, but we managed to pull through those years with help from other sponsors as well,” Upas added.

The tournament has since gained recognition from Papua New Guinea Rugby (PNG Rugby) the country’s governing body of the sport and Upas says they are certain they will be part of the annual PNG Rugby Calendar.

“For the last four years Capital Rugby Union (CRU) has been our partner, this year we have gained recognition from PNG Rugby, we have been contributing players to the national team through our tournament and we are proud of that,” Upas said.

The Sports Tok 7s tournament is scheduled for three days; the final is set for Monday on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday.

(PHOTO FILE: Courtesy of Newtown Chiefs)

The Sports Tok 7s tournament has always opted to not provide prize money for it’s under 20 junior division.

Tournament Director Paul Joseph one of PNG’s most revered players in the code of rugby sevens during his prime says they would like to encourage the talent from the junior level to look at developing their skill set in the code.

“If we want to do well at the top we have to start with our juniors they are the future, for our junior division we don’t have cash prizes for them, we just allowing them to come out and show what they have, showcase their talent in front of family and friends, to allow our national coaches to have a look into the future,” Joseph said.

The winners of the men’s and women’s open divisions in the tournament will each receive a new set of jerseys, designed by Tati Sports the merchandising arm of the tournament hosts, apart from the new set of uniforms the winning mens’ team will receive K10,000 cash while the women will receive K5,000.

The family atmosphere was a great welcome for the organizers and fans, with the last two years a challenge with COVID-19 imposed restrictions.

“It’s very pleasing to see the tournament grow, the quality is growing, and in front of a family atmosphere teams taking part in front of friends and family, you know! right after the COVID-19 restrictions, families just want to come out and watch some rugby.

“Organizers Benson Upas and Elsie Passingan continue to dig deep and finance this tournament, which is in its fifth installment, we are glad also to the sponsors that have partnered with the tournament,” Paul Joseph said

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.

CRU Boromas are Cup winners of the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Super 7s’ Rugby Series held in Port Moresby after a 17-12 victory over Kimbe Rebels at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium on Sunday.

The boys from the Capital Rugby Union snatched the victory right on fulltime beating the Kimbe Rebels. Boromas had most of the ball possession in the opening minutes of the first half but turned over possession a number of times.

Kimbe Rebels wasted no time with fast rucks and line breaks through the middle and edges of the Boroma defense but also failed to put on points. A penalty by Kimbe Rebels for holding down paved way for Boromas to build up for the opening try.

Rebels were caught offside during a sideline throw with Boromas carving through the middle of the field with excellent support play from Terang and Wakin as the CRU boys made it look easy for Derrick Voku to cross over the line for a 5 pointer.

With a minute left before halftime, a penalty for holding on gave the West New Britain boys a sniff near the Boromas tryline. Speed sensation, Rex David plunged through the Boromas line with a wide pass to the right finding Peter Paul to dash down the sideline but was stopped by the Boromas cover defense.

But a penalty conceded by the CRU Boromas in the rucks gave more advantage to the visitors with Rebel’s Rex David levelling the score with a solo effort try next to the post. Robinson Gala for the Kimbe Rebels converted the try to take the lead 7-5 into the halftime. Rex David was given a yellow card for interfering after he scored.

The WNB boys crossed over in the first minute of the second half with Paul Peter diving in the left corner to extend the lead for Kimbe Rebels 12 – 5 Boromas. A failed short kickoff by the Rebels saw the home side make grounds towards the Rebel’s tryline.

From there the Boromas scored their second try after consecutive rucks with the conversion successful and locking up the scores at 12 all. Handling errors by the Kimbe Rebels was costly. Boromas threw the ball around before a penalty by Kimbe Rebel’s Captain Rex David resulted in a try as the home side played against a 6 men team.

The CRU Boromas try sealed the game with Boromas coming out Cup winners of the KPHL Super 7’s Rugby Series with a final score CRU Boromas 17 defeating Kimbe Rebels 12.

JRA Limited has come on board with a K5,000 financial assistance to the Southern Highlands Rugby Union team Mendi Mustangs. The Mustangs are currently taking part in the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited Super 7’s Series in Port Moresby.

The funding was presented to the Team by JRA Limited Chief Executive Officer Jacob Anga, at the 5mile Camp recently.

“I will continue to support Mustangs in future tournaments too. I urge other business houses and organizations to come forward and help bring the game forward in Southern Highlands. I ‘am proud to see the Team compete with the rest of Papua New Guinea in a national event,” said CEO Anga.

As a former player, who was part of the PNG Pukpuks squad in the 1990’s, Mr Anga said the gesture is not only about financial help but to grow the rugby union code back in Mendi. He said there are talented players who need guidance and proper support.

Mendi Rugby Football Union President, Robin Asok, thanked JRA Limited for the sponsorship, saying that finding sponsors has been very difficult for the team. He said this will assist their stay in the nation’s capital during the KPHL Super 7’s Series.

“We are grateful for this support,” said Asok.

During the occasion, Mendi Mustangs Manager, Lawrence Puyu presented Mr Anga with merchandise for the Mustangs’ and officially welcomed Mr Anga into the team.

Apart from major sponsors KPHL, Cane Construction Limited assisted with K3,000, with some support coming from Kumin Catholic Church Bishop, Donald Lippert.

Mendi Mustangs have been competing in PNG Rugby Football Union sanctioned tournaments since 2012 and have produced talents like PNG Pukpuks regular, Wesley Vali and Orchids 7’s star, Tere Rema.

Moni Plus Port Moresby Vipers have recorded their second home game win with a nail biting victory over Agmark Rabaul Gurias in the 2022 Digicel Cup Round Two match at the National Football Stadium yesterday.

The Vipers opened the score board with a penalty goal by Yunny Patrick 28minutes into the game. Visitors Agmark Rabaul Gurias did not back down putting on their wall of defense has the home team threw the ball around with several attempts to cross over the try line.

The Gurias made big yards into the Vipers territory with super ball work with Sipa Peter scoring in the 33rd minute to take the lead into half time 4-2.

The second half was tense has both sides made grounds through the center of the field but fail to score with handling errors. A penalty opportunity gave Vipers to level up 4 minutes into the second half.

It was not long when the Gurias threw the ball around gaining yards into the Vipers territory. With a number of set recounts, a penalty by the home team gave the visitors the chance to level up the score with a penalty goal conversion.

Vipers centre Willie Tirang cross over the line in the 52nd minute giving the lead to Vipers 8 while Gurias 6. Gurias level the scores again in the 65th minute with another successful penalty conversion leaving the score 8 all.

Former Hunters stars Gary Lo and Ase Boas rallied the Gurias side setting half field brakes and however failed to put points. The Game went down to the wire with both teams tightening their defense and created attempts to break the score line.

With Vipers dominating the last 10 minutes of the game with good ball possession, but with 3 minutes left Vipers star Karis Peter slotted a field goal in the 77th minute to seal the victory for the home team ending the game with a 9 – 8 victory by the Port Moresby Vipers.

The other two games at the National Football Stadium saw EPG Enga Mioks beating Kroton Hela Wigmen 20 points to 14 despite a second half comeback by the Wigmen. Gulf Isou also recorded their second win beating the Central Dabaris 22 – 8.