Papua New Guinea launches its 2026 Rugby League World Cup campaign on home soil against Lebanon in what promises to be a passionate and hostile atmosphere in Port Moresby. With the Kumuls looking to build on growing national excitement ahead of their future NRL entry and Lebanon relying on a squad packed with emerging talent and NRL experience, both nations will be desperate to start their World Cup campaign with a vital opening-round victory.
Featured Men’s Rugby League World Cup
- Australia vs New Zealand → australia-vs-new-zealand-rlwc-preview-2026
- Papua New Guinea vs Lebanon → papua-new-guinea-vs-lebanon-rlwc-preview-2026
- England vs Tonga → england-vs-tonga-rlwc-preview-2026
- Fiji vs Cook Islands → fiji-vs-cook-islands-rlwc-preview-2026
Featured Women’s Rugby League World Cup
- Australia vs Samoa → australia-vs-samoa-womens-rlwc-preview-2026
Matchday Details
Saturday, October 17, 3.25pm AEDT at Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby
Referee: Grant Atkins | Senior Review Official: Liam Kennedy
PNG Kumuls: 1. Morea Morea 2. Robert Derby 3. Zac Laybutt 4. Nene Macdonald 5. Dudley Dotoi 6. Gairo Voro 7. Bailey Biondi-Odo 8. Valentine Richard 9. Edwin Ipape 10. Luca Moretti 11. Rhyse Martin 12. Nixon Putt 13. Jack de Belin 14. Finley Glare 15. Liam Horne 16. Epel Kapinias 17. Sylvester Namo 18. Rodrick Tai 19. Sanny Wabo 20. Robert Mathias 21. Khaiya Waiembi 22. Zev John
Lebanon: 1. Jacob Kiraz 2. Tony Francis 3. Michael Gabrael 4. Jordan Samrani 5. Jason Saab 6. Khaled Rajab 7. Alex Conti 8. Jaxson Rahme 9. Yehya Ayache 10. James Roumanos 11. Tony Sukkar 12. Charbel Tasipale 13. Alex Twal 14. Moustafa Dirani 15. Mikael Ibrahim 16. Jalal Bazzaz 17. Khalil Rahme 18. Joseph Nohra 19. Abbas Miski 20. Tupou Francis 21. Mohamed Alameddine 22. Cameron Kanaan
Match Preview
With more eyes on PNG rugby league than ever before, courtesy of the pending arrival of the PNG Chiefs (name pending), the Kumuls’ World Cup opener against Lebanon should be a big moment for the country (where rugby league is the national sport), and we should expect a full house at the National Stadium on Saturday.
The game has been robbed of a few headline players, with try-scoring record-holder Alex Johnston not playing as he tries to recover from an injury-hit season; and Lebanon doesn’t have the services of Mitchell Moses, who chose to play for Australia and is their starting halfback. You’d argue that Moses is a bigger omission than Johnston. That’s mainly because the PNG Kumuls have plenty of attacking weapons to cover Johnston, albeit not NRL record-breaking, while Moses would have been a very handy senior player to have in the most important position on the field. Although PNG also being without Lachlan Lam is a significant loss, after his fine work for Leigh Leopards in the Super League.
There’s still NRL experience on show in Port Moresby, with the home side boasting Jack de Belin, Robert Derby, and Zac Laybutt, but they also have a number of players from the UK Super League, including key man Edwin Ipape – whose speed and service from dummy half saw him awarded the Hooker of the 2022 Rugby League World Cup, and the player who tore up the Great Britain Lions in 2019.
The Kumuls also feature several players from the London Broncos Championship side, a team that dominated a competition like no other in 2026. They won the second tier UK competition, winning 23 of 24 regular season games, averaging 63 points a game, and their points difference was +1,215. Among the points this season was fullback Morea Morea, a PNG-bred player who has been signed up with the Chiefs for 2028. In 2026 he scored 25 tries in 12 games and was the Queensland Cup Rookie of the Year in 2023. Another Chiefs-bound London Bronco is Gairo Voro, who bares a resemblance to Jarome Luai and also does his best work at five-eighth. Voro scored 32 tries in 24 games for the Broncos this season. The halves battle could be interesting despite the loss of big names, as Lebanon’s five eighth Khaled Rajab impressed at the 2022 World Cup, although he hasn’t really kicked on since.
Morea’s fullback rival is one of the big NRL names for Lebanon in Jacob Kiraz, who gets to play arguably his best position for Lebanon, and was outstanding in their 2022 World Cup in England. Among the three quarters are fellow NRL players Tony Francis, Jordan Samrani, and speedster Jason Saab, who could really trouble PNG with both his speed and height.
As ever with internationals, the forward battle will be key, and the Lebanon side has arguably the biggest name player of the two packs with Alex Twal at lock, who will drive the team forward as he always does, but around him the names are more unfamiliar. The PNG Kumuls also lack big NRL names in general, but do have some very handy players, and plenty of NRL and Super League experience in Rhyse Martin, keep an eye on Nixon Putt, who is a real weapon on the edge. PNG also convinced Parramatta’s Luca Moretti to switch from Italy in a real boost to their pack. The Kumuls appear to have the edge in the pack, as long as they can keep the error rate down, which does occasionally happen in their internationals.
These two teams have never met in an international game, but Lebanon’s record against Pacific nations other than Australia and New Zealand is one win, one draw, and six losses, so the game is a tough one on paper, and surely they’ll receive a roaring atmosphere.
The Kumuls are notoriously difficult to beat in Port Moresby, winning 14 of their last 15 home internationals since 2009. That run included a deserved 28-10 shock upset of the Great Britain team on their 2019 tour. The last World Cup held in the southern hemisphere in 2017 saw the Kumuls host three group games against USA, Wales, and Ireland – which they won by a combined 128-12.
With PNG rugby league bigger than ever, and an NRL team on the horizon, there will be more pressure on the Kumuls than ever in their World Cup opener against a Lebanon side that boasts more NRL talent, but they will have to overcome the Kumuls’ awesome home advantage.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: PNG Kumuls by 10.
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