The Papua New Guinea Kumuls have claimed their third consecutive Pacific Bowl title. File photo. Photo: Supplied / PNG Kumuls Media
Papua New Guinea (PNG) Kumuls have claimed their third consecutive Pacific Bowl title, defeating the Fiji Bati 50-18 in front of a huge crowd in Port Moresby on Saturday evening.
PNG royalty Lachlan Lam, Edwin Ipape and Nene Macdonald led the way to an attacking masterclass, and the home side gave the Kumuls faithful plenty to celebrate, after running in eight tries at Santos National Football Stadium.
Kumuls veteran Nixon Putt made 128 run metres, while team captain Rhyse Martin made 31 tackles.
Ipape, the player of the match, recorded 118 run metres, scored one try and had one try assist.
"Thanks to Fiji for a great game of footy this afternoon," he told the crowd afterwards. "Thanks to all the fans for turning out in numbers."
Martin said scored three tries early wa sa great start for them.
"I thought we were better defensively," he said. "We defended 30 players in a row, before they went over."
PNG completed 74 percent of their sets, which was 26 out of 35. Fiji Bati managed 70 percent, completing 26 out of 37.
Linebreaks saw PNG with nine, while Fiji Bati managed four.
PNG managed to break tackles 43 times, compared to the Bati's 28 linebreaks.
On defence, PNG managed 237 effective tackles and missed 28 during the game. The Bati, on the other hand, missed 44 tackles.
Losing Fiji Bati stand-in captain Sunia Turuva said it was a tough clash and PNG deserved the win.
"To the Kumul brothers, thank you," he said. "To my Bati brothers, another year we fell short.
"I hope we can bounce back next year."
The Kumuls have now won the Pacific Bowl three years in a row, beating Fiji in all three finals since 2023.
Earlier, Tonga XIII women finished their tournament on a high, claiming their first victory since 2020, defeating the PNG Orchids 42-6 in Port Moresby.
Cook Islands Moana had won the women's Pacific Bowl title last weekend, after their wins over PNG and Tonga.
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