Drongos make comeback

By SULI SULI
NEW Ireland Drongos made a solid return to the national rugby union arena after an 18-year hiatus.
The province last competed in the Mineral Resource Development Company (MRDC) Sevens in 2004.
Since then, the team have never taken part in national sevens competitions.
Drongos’ successful return through the inaugural Kumul Petroleum Papua New Guinea Rugby Union (PNGRU) Super Sevens Series was commendable, having ranked sixth in the overall tournament ranking.
“We’ve never participated in this sort of tournament for almost 20 years,” New Ireland Rugby Union chief executive Joseph Marius told The National.
“But the team managed well with an improved performance that boosted our ranking.”
He said the province was looking to revive the shorter format through proper competitions.
Marius said having a provincial competition would build the capacity of Drongos to compete in such tournaments.
“We are working to establish a PNGRU-sanctioned competition in the province to build our player base,” he said. The bulk of the players who represented New Ireland were supplied by local villages.
Marius said the series was a good initiative to test their level of competitiveness and unearth potential prospects on the national stage.
“Assessing our performance, we could have displayed some good rugby union if we had an existing competition,” he said.
“But we will rebuild and come back stronger in the next series.
“This was a good opportunity for rural talents.” New Ireland’s campaign throughout the tournament was guided by former PNG Pukpuks players in Emmanuel Guise, Eugene Tokavai and Leo Tikot Jr.
Drongos lost 12-26 to Central Warimos in their final match of the series last weekend.