Papua New Guinea have competed in seven editions of the Rugby League World Cup. Their best finish is the quarter-finals, which they have reached in two tournaments.
Tournament history
| World Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| 1954–1977 | Did not participate | |||||||
   1985–88 |
Fourth place | 4/5 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1989–92 |
Fifth place | 5/5 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1995 |
Group stage | 6/10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2000 |
Quarter-finals | 6/16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | ||
 2008 |
Group stage | 10/10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
  2013 |
Group stage | 13/14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
  2017 |
Quarter-finals | 5/14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2021
|
Qualified | |||||||
| 2025
|
To be determined | |||||||
| Total | 0 Titles | 32 | 8 | 23 | 1 | |||
Tournaments
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Qualifiers to the next round |
1985-1988
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia |
8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 252 | 91 | +161 | 12 |
| New Zealand |
8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 158 | 86 | +72 | 11 |
| Great Britain |
8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 203 | 90 | +113 | 10 |
| Papua New Guinea |
8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 84 | 325 | −241 | 4 |
| France |
8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 35 | 140 | −105 | 3 |
France's 1987 away fixtures against Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea were scratched and each team awarded two points as the French were unable to tour Australasia that year due to financial difficulties.
1989-1992
| Key to colours in group tables |
|---|
| Advances to the Final |
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia
|
8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 236 | 68 | +168 | 16 |
| Great Britain
|
8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 215 | 79 | +136 | 10 |
| New Zealand
|
8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 203 | 120 | +83 | 10 |
| France
|
8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 80 | 247 | −167 | 4 |
| Papua New Guinea
|
8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 84 | 304 | −220 | 0 |
1995
Further information: 1995 Rugby League World Cup Group B| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 4 | Advanced to knockout stage |
 Tonga |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 1 | |
| Papua New Guinea |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 50 | −16 | 1 |
| Round | Score | Opposition | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Stage | 28–28 | Tonga
|
The Boulevard, Hull |
| 6-22 | New Zealand
|
Knowsley Road, St Helens |
2000
Further information: 2000 Rugby League World Cup| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 42 | 27 | 6 |
| France
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 104 | 37 | 67 | 4 |
| Tonga
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 96 | 76 | 20 | 2 |
 South Africa
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 138 | −114 | 0 |
| Round | Score | Opposition | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Stage | 23–20 | France
|
Charlety Stadium, Paris |
| 16–0 | South Africa
|
Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse | |
| 30–22 | Tonga
|
Stadium Municipal d'Albi, Albi | |
| Quarter-Final | 8–22 | Wales
|
Auto Quest Stadium, Widnes |
2008
Further information: 2008 Rugby League World Cup| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 16 | 112 | 6 |
| New Zealand
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 90 | 60 | 30 | 4 |
| England
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 110 | -50 | 2 |
| Papua New Guinea
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 34 | 126 | −92 | 0 |
| Round | Score | Opposition | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Stage | 22–32 | England
|
Willows Sports Complex, Townsville |
| 6–48 | New Zealand
|
Robina Stadium, Gold Coast | |
| 6–46 | Australia
|
Willows Sports Complex, Townsville |
<
2013
Main article: 2013 Rugby League World Cup| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 146 | 34 | 112 | 6 |
 Samoa
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 84 | 52 | 32 | 4 |
| France
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 78 | -63 | 2 |
| Papua New Guinea
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 103 | −81 | 0 |
| Round | Score | Opposition | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Stage | 8–9 | France
|
Craven Park, Hull |
| 4–38 | Samoa
|
Craven Park, Hull | |
| 10–56 | New Zealand
|
Headingley, Leeds |
2017
Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup Group C See also: 2017 Rugby League World Cup inter-group matches| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 12 | +116 | 6 | Advanced to knockout stage |
 Ireland |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 76 | 32 | +44 | 4 | |
| Wales |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 156 | −138 | 0 |
| Round | Score | Opposition | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Stage | 50–6 | Wales
|
National Football Stadium |
| 14-6 | Ireland
|
National Football Stadium | |
| 64-0 |  United States
|
National Football Stadium | |
| Quarter-Final | 6–36 | England
|
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne |
2021
Further information: 2021 Rugby League World Cup Group D| 18 October 2022 | Tonga
|
v | Papua New Guinea
|
Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens |
| 25 October 2022 | Papua New Guinea
|
v |  Cook Islands
|
Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington |
| 31 October 2022 | Papua New Guinea
|
v | Wales
|
Eco-Power Stadium, Doncaster |
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tonga
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wales
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cook Islands
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
References
External links
| Papua New Guinea national rugby league team | |
|---|---|
| Federation | |
| Statistics | |
| Rivalries | |
| Rugby league in Papua New Guinea | |
|---|---|
| Federation | |
| National Teams | |
| Australian competition and Other teams | |
| Domestic Competitions | |
| PNG NRL Teams | |
| Previous Clubs |
|
| PNGNRL Seasons | |
| Men's Rugby League World Cup | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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