Kumuls to face Samoa, Cooks

The National Sports

By PARKER TAMBUA
THE Papua New Guinea Kumuls will face Samoa and Cook Islands in pool B of the Oceania Cup which is scheduled for October.
The Asia-Pacific Rugby League (APRL) made the announcement yesterday which will see PNG not playing mid-year test for the first time since 2015.
On the International Rugby League website, APRL and Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League chairman Sandis Tsaka said: “the Oceania Cup in 2020 will be a fantastic tournament that will once again capture the imagination of fans across the Pacific.
“It is particularly satisfying to be able to give the Pacific nations competitive matches after their key role in the revitalisation of International Rugby League in recent years.”
Pool A of the Oceania Cup will feature world No.1 New Zealand, the Tonga Invitational 13 and 2019 Oceania Cup Shield champions Fiji Bati.
The Kumuls missed out on a chance to qualify for pool A and compete for the Cup after their losses to Samoa (6-18) and Fiji (20-22) in Oceania Cup fixtures last year.
According to APRL, the 2020 schedule will see mid-season double-headers with New Zealand facing Tonga in pool A and Samoa playing Cook Islands in pool B while the Batis and Kumuls will be on a bye.
The October fixtures will see two double-headers with Tonga playing Fiji and PNG up against Samoa, and the following week will see the Kiwis taking on Fiji and PNG doing battle with the Cook Islands.
For the Kumuls, who are ranked 6th in the world, the match against Samoa would be a crucial one.
World No.7 Samoa will look to improve their standings but the Michael Marum-coached Kumuls will want to pick up from where they left off in their historic 28-10 win over Great Britain Lions last year.
The win saw PNG climb six places up the world rankings.
The Kumuls’ match against the Cook Islands, who recently qualified for 2021 Rugby League World Cup, will be just as important with Marum’s men aiming for a win against the Alex Glenn-led Cooks. In an earlier interview, Marum told The National that this year’s matches were important as they would help prepare the Kumuls for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England.
The dates and venues of the fixtures will be announced by APRL in the coming weeks.