Team PNG Sevens major sponsor Digicel has extend its support in wishing the team well as they take on some of the best in the region in the inaugural Air Niugini Pacific Sevens tournament this weekend.
The first ever IRB sanctioned Pacific Sevens tournament to take place in PNG will start tomorrow and ends on Saturday.
Digicel’s head of marketing Anurag Borkar said, “Digicel is proud to be the major sponsor of the PNG 7s Team and we wish them all the best in the first ever Pacific Sevens Tournament in PNG.
“This is a great opportunity for PNG and the PNGRFU to stage an International Rugby Board sanctioned event promoting the sport as well as showcase the culture of Papua New Guinea.
He said the Digicel’s sponsorship which is part of a two year deal, supports training camps, strength and conditioning programmes, has supported the PNG 7s in their bronze medal achievement at the 2007 South Pacific Cup in Apia last August and will bring the team as far as the IRB World Cup Sevens in 2009.
The winner of this event will qualify to play in two IRB 7s circuit tournaments in Hong Kong and Adelaide. The tournament will include a total of 10 men’s and five women’s teams.
The Pacific countries participating in the men’s competition include Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, New Caledonia, the Soloman Islands, Vanuatu an Australian Aboriginal side and the host PNG including the PNG Barbarians (Development side).
In the women’s competition Samoa, Fiji, Niue and the host PNG will be taking part. The Digicel sponsored PNG 7’s team will take on New Caldonia in Pool B in their opening match on Friday November 30 closely followed by matches against Niue, the Australian Aboriginal side and the big match against the Cook Islands.
PNG needs to finish at the top of its pool to progress to the finals on Saturday December 1.
The PNG 7’s Team have been training hard for this tournament since their first ever bronze medal win at the 2007 South Pacific Games in Apia and are ready to take the field.
PNG team manager Simon Kepui, said, “The team is in excellent form and has been playing very well this season. They are following a very demanding training programme and although they have had little time to prepare in their final formation the team is very determined to show their very best at this first ever Pacific."