Palais get backing from firm, looking ahead

Normal, Sports
Source:

The National, Wednesday 29th May 2013

 CITY Pharmacy Ltd (CPL) has lifted a huge burden off the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football Union (PNGRFU).

The CPL Group has agreed to the naming rights sponsorship for the women’s rugby programme through their beauty brand, LA Colors.

CPL, current sponsors of the Stop N Shop Port Moresby Vipers rugby league team and Port Moresby netball club City Pharmacy Rebels, hope this new engagement will assist in promoting a healthy lifestyle and promote social benefits for women playing in a team sport to progress to a higher level.

With CPL coming onboard for the long-run, this effectively throws that monkey off PNGRFU’s back that has plagued them since the Palais screamed out to be recognised when they won the  Asia Pacific 7s title in Borneo in 2011.

Palais, who won the 2013 SP Sports team of the year, have had a mixture of form since then and coupled with a number of their players in Joan Lagona and Debbie Kaore not in the picture anymore. They will need all the help they can get.

The PNG women continue to be a force in the Oceania region behind Fiji and with PNG hosting next year’s Oceania 7s, they now have a chance to better their standing and achieve a 2016 Olympic Games berth.

With the rise of women’s sevens in the Asia Pacific region, the PNGRFU has been constrained financially to ensure growth and tangible development.

on the domestic and international front respectively.

With women’s rugby only actively played amongst six clubs in Port Moresby, the major push now is to open up the game to the other centres and by doing so identifying new talent to strengthen their pool of representative players.

PNGRFU president Richard Sapias yesterday said the women’s game had enormous potential in PNG, and were grateful for the support.