PM's XIII beat PNG 50-10 in league match

Australian players on the cusp of selection for rugby league's World Cup have pushed their claims in a 50-10 romp for the PM's XIII against PNG.

Australia's Prime Minister's XIII rugby league side has defeated Papua New Guinea 50-10, with the only surprise being the absence of the usual crowd violence.

Several players pushed their claims for selection in next month's World Cup, including Parramatta's Jarryd Hayne, who has made known his desire to be in the squad.

Hayne scored the opening try of the match in the PNG city of Kokopo, and was quickly followed onto the scoreboard by NSW and Australia teammate James Tamou.

A third try by Brent Tate put Australia up 18-0.

Heavy rain started to fall in the game's second half, but the visitors, coached by NSW State of Origin coach Laurie Daley, still racked up tries to David Shillington, Aiden Sezer, Kevin Gordon, Josh Morris and a second to Hayne.

The Kumuls struck back with tries either side of halftime to Israel Eliab and 18-year-old Nene MacDonald.

The annual match draws huge crowds in PNG, the only country in the world where rugby league is the national sport.

Outside the 4,000-capacity stadium a crowd of about 6,000 well-behaved people gathered in the hope of seeing the match, with some of the local crowd scaling 30-metre telegraph poles to see the game.

Usually local police have to deploy tear gas to disperse the crowd.


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
PM's XIII beat PNG 50-10 in league match | SBS News