Rugby a la PNG style…

We went to the Rugby on Sunday to watch the game between Goroka Lahanis and Simbu Warriors. Two clubs in the PNG NRL that have traditionally been “enemies”. The two teams have been known to clash and fight both during the match and afterwards. Papua New Guineans take their Rugby very serious and it's something else to go and watch two arch enemies face each other on the field. The Sunday game was a hard game – especially the 2nd half ; the game was riled with stoppages, beer bottle and stone throwing by the crowds, and scuffles here and there. Spectators get involved in the game as much as the players themselves. It is not uncommon for referees to get attacked and belted after the match by disappointed supporters whose team just lost. At one stage during the 2nd half Eli pointed out a fellow as he was walking past – the man is a brother of one of the Lahanis players and somehow always makes into the stadium when Lahanis plays with a bush knife and a tomahawk ax. Eli made reference to the fact that this bloke is known to be slightly crazy. As he walked passed, I did not see the weapons, but I did manage to notice the trench coat and the typical shuffle that characterizes crazies.

Yesterday, the following story appeared in the Post Courier newspaper about Sunday's match….

Match disrupted!

THE Bintangor Lahanis and Pagini Warriors match
ended prematurely in Goroka yesterday amid allegations that caused crowd
troubles.
Warriors coach Steven Gore Kaupa called the Post-Courier yesterday to tell of
the disruption.
He also expressed disappointment at the alleged behaviour of a game official.
The game was called off when Warriors were leading 14-12 with 15 minutes left on
the clock.
Kaupa claimed that a spectator in the stands had given a brown envelope to an
official who put it in his socks before the game resumed in the second half.
Kaupa said some policemen went to the game official and asked him about the
envelope.
The policemen, he alleged, took an envelope from the official’s socks and opened
it in front of people in the crowd.
Kaupa said the referee had to be escorted off the field by the police after
calling the game off during the second half.
Kaupa said the referee stopped the game for an hour when disgruntled Lahanis
supporters hurled stones, sticks and plastic bottles at Warriors players.
He said they had to wait for another 15 minutes again before play resumed
He said five-eighth Michael Mark received a cut on the head while hooker Thomson
Kuiwa was hit in the neck with a bottle.
“Mark received three stitches to the head with several players also nursing
injuries from the Goroka spectators’ unruly behaviour.
“The spectators were about to invade the field but luckily the policmen were
able to control the crowd from moving in,” he said.
Kaupa said this was the second time Lahanis supporters had mistreated the
Warriors team at their home.
There was a similar incident in the semi-finals last year.
At halftime, Warriors were leading 14-6.
Kaupa said in the second half Lahanis scored a disputed converted try to bring
the scores to 14-12.
He said he was upset the game had to end in this way.
“We just copped a K5000 fine few weeks ago and we don’t want the PNGRFL to
penalise us again.”
Attempts to speak to Lahanis’ officials in Goroka last night failed. PNGRFL CEO
Jeff Wade could not be reached for comment as well.