Rugby league is far-and-away Papua New Guinea's most popular sport, and so it is no surprise that its national team is so revered. The side played its first official match in 1975, losing 40-12 to England, but the English are now 1 of only 2 sides that "the Kumuls" have played more than twice and never beaten.
Papua New Guinea are mainstays of the Rugby League World Cup, having played at every tournament since the 1985-88 competition. Their most successful campaigns came in 2000 and 2017 - they reached the quarterfinal stage on both occasions.
