Hagen will be a force

MOUNT Hagen rugby side will make their presence felt this weekend, when they travel down to Lae for the JKT Lim Trans Highway Sevens.
Coach and former representative John Bain said there was a lot of belief in the team ahead of the SCRUM oval event.
“Mi gat bilip long ol, na olsem ol iken wokim samtin stret (I have faith in them. They will be a force to be reckoned with),” Bain said.
He said all the members of the squad were from the Royals team in Hagen, and were mostly children or relatives of police personnel.
The squad had been training for over two weeks, with a lot of promise, especially with a majority of them, rookies.
Bain announced his squad of 12, who would be accompanied by managers Michael Pidik, Paul Wuya and trainer Eric Kepu.
The squad:  Paska Sarn, Jess Maguna, Norman Tawelo, Peter Tawelo, Edmund Sepa, Elizah Barewoi, Philip Apo, Ben Kolua, Junior Lulua, Ali Gikupa, Taea Salimongo and Mathias Koluwa.
While majority of the squad will be playing in their first major event, the team has experience in Aussie Rules U16 Binatang, Barewoi, and a couple of players from former National Soccer League franchise, Welgris Highlanders FC.
Bain also said even though the province did not have a full and ongoing rugby union calendar, the interest was there.
A competition has been proposed when they return from the sevens challenge.