# Papua New Guinea women's national rugby sevens team

The Papua New Guinea women's national rugby sevens team represents Papua New Guinea in international women's rugby sevens tournaments. They are regular participants at the Oceania Women's Sevens Championship and Pacific Games.

## History

PNG's first international was in 2007 while hosting the first ever Pacific women's sevens championship (now known as Oceania Women's Sevens Championship) in Port Moresby. They won the 2011 Asia Pacific Women’s Sevens Championship that was held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
In 2017, the team made their first appearance at the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series as an invited team to the 2017 Sydney Women's Sevens. They debuted at the Women's Sevens World Cup in 2018.
They finished in fourth place at the 2019 Oceania Women's Sevens Championship which earned them a spot at the 2020 Women's Rugby Sevens Final Olympic Qualification Tournament. The Palais did not qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
At the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, they were defeated by Fiji in the gold medal final and had to settle for silver. They competed in the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Dubai; they finished ninth overall in the first round. They finished eleventh overall at the 2024 Sevens Challenger Series.

## Tournament history

A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within Papua New Guinea

### World Cup Sevens

Rugby World Cup 7s :
| Year | Round | Position | P | W | L | D |
| 2009 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 2013 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2018 | 15th playoff | 15th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| Total | 0 Titles | 1/4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |

### Pacific Games

Pacific Games 7s :
| Year | Round | Position | P | W | L | D |
| 2011 | Third playoff | | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | Third playoff | | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | Third playoff | | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | Final | | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 0 Titles | 4/4 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 0 |

### Oceania Women's Sevens

Oceania Women's 7s :
| Year | Round | Position | P | W | L | D |
| Pacific 7s ||||||||
| 2007 | Third playoff | | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Oceania 7s ||||||||
| 2008 | did not attend | did not attend | did not attend | did not attend | did not attend | did not attend |
| 2012 | Third playoff | 4th | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2013 | Pool stage | 5th | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2014 | Pool stage | 5th | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | Third playoff | 4th | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 2016 | Round-robin | | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017 | Third playoff | 4th | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2018 | Third playoff | 4th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | Third playoff | 4th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | did not attend | did not attend | did not attend | did not attend | did not attend | did not attend |
| 2022 | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew | withdrew |
| 2023 | Third playoff | 4th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 0 Titles | 10/13 | 50 | 22 | 26 | 2 |

#### Oceania Sevens Challenge

Oceania Women's 7s Challenge :
| Year | Round | Position | P | W | L | D |
| 2022 | Final | | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |

## World Rugby Sevens
### World Rugby women's sevens series

Papua New Guinea have been a regular invitational team to the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series particularly at the Australian Women's Sevens (2017−2019, 2023) and New Zealand Women's Sevens (2023).
World Rugby Women's Sevens Series :
| Season | Rounds | Position | Points |
| 2016–17 | 1 / 6 | 14th | 1 |
| 2017–18 | 1 / 5 | 16th | 1 |
| 2018–19 | 1 / 6 | 16th | 1 |
| 2022–23 | 2 / 7 | 14th | 2 |

#### Player records

The following shows leading career Papua New Guinean players based on performance in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series.

### World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series

In 2020, Papua New Guinea were scheduled to compete in the inaugural World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series after being the highest ranked non-core team from Oceania at the 2019 Oceania Women's Sevens Championship in Suva. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, World Rugby postponed the tournament without rescheduling a future date, before eventually cancelling it altogether. Therefore, the official inaugural series was in 2022 in which Papua New Guinea gained a direct quota.
World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series :
| Season | Rounds | Position | Points |
| 2020 season cancelled due to impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. ||||
| 2022 | 1 / 1 | 11th | — |
| 2023 | 2 / 2 | 12th | 4 |
| 2024 | 3 / 3 | 11th | 8 |

## Players
### Current squad

Papua New Guinea's squad to the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series:

#### Roster

| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Union / Club |
| 1 | | Barbara Sigere | | |
| 2 | | Joyce Taravuna | (2000-08-13)August 13, 2000 (aged 23) | |
| 3 | BK | Alice Alois | (1996-09-28)September 28, 1996 (aged 26) | Capital Rugby Union |
| 4 | | Magdelene Swaki | | |
| 6 | | Esther Gigmat | (2001-02-10)February 10, 2001 (aged 22) | |
| 7 | | Naomi Kelly | (1998-09-11)September 11, 1998 (aged 25) | |
| 8 | | Jessica Refireka | | |
| 9 | | Cynthiah Peters | | |
| 10 | BK | Fatima Rama | (1981-01-28)January 28, 1981 (aged 42) | Capital Rugby Union |
| 11 | | Helen Ken Alo | | |
| 12 | | Joanne Lagona | (1989-01-02)January 2, 1989 (aged 34) | |
| 15 | FW | Marie Biyama | (1998-03-01)March 1, 1998 (aged 25) | Capital Rugby Union |

### Previous squads

The Papua New Guinea Rugby Union announced its women's rugby sevens team on 28 June 2019.

#### Roster

| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Union / Club |
| 1 | FW | Kymlie Rapilla (c) | (1991-05-16)May 16, 1991 (aged 28) | National Capital District |
| 2 | FW | Lynette Kwarula | (1990-07-04)July 4, 1990 (aged 29) | National Capital District |
| 3 | FW | Marie Biyama | (1998-03-01)March 1, 1998 (aged 21) | Central |
| 4 | BK | Fatima Rama | (1981-01-28)January 28, 1981 (aged 38) | Central |
| 5 | BK | Taiva Lavai | (1983-09-16)September 16, 1983 (aged 35) | National Capital District |
| 6 | BK | Gemma Schnaubelt | (1997-08-20)August 20, 1997 (aged 21) | Queensland |
| 7 | BK | Alice Alois | (1996-09-28)September 28, 1996 (aged 22) | National Capital District |
| 8 | BK | Yolanda Gittins | (1992-10-20)October 20, 1992 (aged 26) | Queensland |
| 9 | FW | Helen Abau | (1991-05-16)May 16, 1991 (aged 28) | Central |
| 10 | BK | Marlugu Dixon | (1986-08-17)August 17, 1986 (aged 32) | Queensland |
| 11 | FW | Melanie Kawa | (1986-01-11)January 11, 1986 (aged 32) | Queensland |
| 12 | BK | Gwen Pokana | (1994-07-29)July 29, 1994 (aged 23) | National Capital District |
Head coach: John Larry
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Union / Club |
| 1 | FW | Debbie Kaore | (1989-09-11)September 11, 1989 (aged 28) | New Capital District |
| 2 | FW | Melanie Kawa | (1986-01-11)January 11, 1986 (aged 32) | Queensland |
| 3 | FW | Lynette Kwarula | (1990-07-04)July 4, 1990 (aged 28) | Central |
| 4 | BK | Taiva Lavai | (1983-09-16)September 16, 1983 (aged 34) | New Capital District |
| 5 | | Cassandra Sampson (c) | (1989-11-15)November 15, 1989 (aged 28) | Central |
| 6 | BK | Gemma Schnaubelt | (1997-08-20)August 20, 1997 (aged 20) | Queensland |
| 7 | BK | Fatima Rama | (1981-01-28)January 28, 1981 (aged 37) | Central |
| 8 | | Chelsea Garesa | (1999-07-30)July 30, 1999 (aged 18) | New Capital District |
| 9 | BK | Marie Biyama | (1998-03-01)March 1, 1998 (aged 20) | Central |
| 10 | | Helen Abau | (1991-05-16)May 16, 1991 (aged 27) | Central |
| 11 | | Marlugu Dixon | (1986-08-17)August 17, 1986 (aged 31) | Queensland |
| 12 | | Yolanda Gittins | (1992-10-20)October 20, 1992 (aged 25) | Queensland |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Union / Club |
| 1 | BK | Cassandra Samson (c) | (1989-11-15)November 15, 1989 (aged 25) | National Capital District |
| 2 | BK | Alice Alois | (1996-09-28)September 28, 1996 (aged 18) | National Capital District |
| 3 | FW | Amelia Kuk | (1995-07-22)July 22, 1995 (aged 19) | Queensland |
| 4 | FW | Lynette Kwarula | (1990-07-04)July 4, 1990 (aged 25) | Central |
| 5 | BK | Trisilla Rema | | New Capital District |
| 6 | BK | Dulcie Bomai | | New Capital District |
| 7 | BK | Menda Ipat | | National Capital District |
| 8 | BK | Freda Waula | | New Capital District |
| 9 | FW | Kymlie Rapilla | (1991-05-16)May 16, 1991 (aged 24) | New Capital District |
| 10 | FW | Naomi Alapi | | New Capital District |
| 11 | FW | Geua Larry | | Central |
| 12 | BK | Joana Lagona | (1989-01-02)January 2, 1989 (aged 26) | New Capital District |