Kumuls ranked No. 4

THE PNG Kumuls have held on to fourth spot on the world rugby league rankings released by the Rugby League International Federation this week with 260.49 points ahead of France (240.08).
Australia (1406.59) as expected are miles ahead of their nearest opposition in New Zealand (991.56) while England who made the Four Nations final are in third place on 799.47 points in the RLIF ranking system.
Despite not making the quarter-finals of the last World Cup (2008) having been in the pool of death with the top three nations winning the Pacific Cup in 2009 and playing in the Four Nations challenge last year, PNG edged ahead of the Roosters.
After their debut in the Four Nations, Wales have moved up to sixth and are now just 15 points behind PNG.
Meanwhile, the RLIF say they have made significant progress in clarifying the rules on international eligibility and have stepped up their fight to eradicate drugs cheats from the game.
There have been a host of cases in recent years of players switching their allegiance, most recently by Tony Williams and Akuila Uate turning out for Australia in the Four Nations after playing for Tonga and Fiji respectively in the 2008 World Cup.
RLIF chairman Scott Carter said: “In constructive discussions we managed to make some progress in clarifying player eligibility and ensuring that players that play for one country in qualifying for a tournament can’t then play for another country in the finals.”
Leading rankings: 1 Australia 1,406.59pts, 2 New Zealand 991.56, 3 England 799.47, 4 Papua New Guinea 260.49, 5 France 246.08, 6 Wales 245.16, 7 Fiji 145.35, 8 Samoa 123.19, 9 Tonga 82.07, 10 Scotland 75.39, 11 USA 65.86, 12 Ireland 64.28. – AAP