This afternoon, two legends of Australian Rugby, Matt Giteau and Will Genia touched down in the Nation’s capital to run coaching Clinics for players taking part in the Capital Rugby Union competition. For Giteau, this is the first time the former Wallaby has visited the country and is looking forward to the experience. “It’s a really unique opportunity to be here, as I’ve said I’ve never been here so I’m very excited,” Giteau stated. He stated that he knows rugby league is the more dominant sport here in the country, so their main aim is to assist in any way they can to get the sport of Rugby union to the same popularity. Former Queensland Reds and Melbourne Rebels Half-back, Will Genia said he was happy to be back home, as he gets to spend time with Family but it’s also an opportunity to give back to the sport. “To come back and give back through Capital Rugby Union and what their trying to do to generate some good news for the code, get people involved and get participation up,” Genia said. Genia stated that he chose Giteau to accompany him up for the Clinics due to his character as a person and as a rugby player. “I just knew that someone like him would come and make a difference from a Rugby Perspective but with also all the knowledge and experience that he’s gathered over the course of his career to be able to help the athletes from a mental perspective and help them as people.” Genia added that he was grateful that he was able to come support the growth of Rugby in the Country. Both former Wallabies will be conducting their first Clinic this afternoon over at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.

Two centurion Australian Wallabies Rugby players, Will Genia and Matt Giteau, have arrived in Port Moresby today on a two-day visit. Capital Rugby Union (CRU) President Kori Chan said that the visit by the two will be to conduct coaching clinics for selected men and women players as well as coaches and officials today. They will be joined by Aiden Toua who now resides in Port Moresby. “A coaching clinic with selected players, both men and women from the 10 clubs affiliated to Pepsi CRU will be held from 6pm to 7.30pm under lights at the Sir Hubert Murray stadium at Konedobu.” He said that on Thursday, both Genia and Giteau will visit sponsors Pacific Industries at 6 Mile, Moni Plus Headquarters in Gordons to meet staff, and a public meet with shoppers for autographs and photo opportunities at the Central Waigani Stop N Shop supermarket between 1pm and 2pm. Chan said CRU was grateful to have the two Wallabies legends in Port Moresby to share their knowledge and expertise in the game with the players and coaches. “We thank Will and Matt for making time available to come to Port Moresby to support our vision in raising the level of the competition.” Three weeks ago, Paddy Ryan and Aiden Toua ran similar clinics, and what the players and coaches got out from this has been evident in their games over the past two rounds.  

The Student Representative Council (SRC) of the University of Technology have advised that in the coming days, they will be hosting an election to gather the collective views of over 3,000 students in the campus to come to a decision on whether to hold a marching protest against the signing of the U.S-PNG Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA). Speaking on behalf of the SRC, Events Coordinator Mr. Arthur Kondon stated that a forum was held on Tuesday by the SRC and the student body to determine their next plan of action. Kondon stated that amidst all the pressure that they have gone through, they want to ensure that they act as the voice for all those that are not able to speak up against the signing of the DCA. “We held a gathering this morning in the campus with the students and the stakeholders of the school to determine our next step now that the DCA has been signed.” On Monday a sitting protest was staged by the “Big 4” Tertiary institutions in the country. The University of Papua New Guinea, The University of Technology, The University of Goroka and the Divine Word University to petition the office of the Prime Minister to halt the signing, stating that proper awareness was not done to the people regarding the contents of the agreement. “We do not know the contents of the agreement. Yes, there have been leaked documents but proper consultation and dissemination of the information should have been done with the people. Without information, how can we make rational decisions on where or what we want to achieve as a nation.” For the University of Technology, an election will be held in the coming days to establish whether they should make their voices known outside the campus in Lae. The SRC has advised that should 51% or more of the student population elect to stage a protest outside the campus, then they will look to doing that in a couple of days. He mentioned that they have yet to consult with the Lae police regarding the protest.

South Pacific Brewery has announced that Rugby League great, Mark Carrol will officiate the SP Sports Awards as guest speaker this year, on the 27th of this month at the Crown Hotel. SP Brewery Corporate Affairs Manager, John Nilkare mentioned that Mark ‘Spudd’ Carroll is one of the toughest players during the peak of his career in the 1990s and is honored to have him officiate on the awards night. Jeff Fenech was earmarked to officiate the awards but due to his health, he will not be able to make it. “We were all looking forward to having Jeff (Fenech) over; however, he is unable to join us due to a medical condition. We wish him a full recovery.” Mark "Spudd" Carroll is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 1980s and 1990s. A Penrith junior and a member of the club’s 1987 Reserve Grade Premiers. Joined the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 1990 and was consistently one of best South’s best players. Moved to Manly in 1994 where his skill as a tough, attacking forward continued to improve. While he enjoyed playing in a stronger pack at Manly, three consecutive grand final appearances (1995 – 97) garnered just one premiership success in 1996. At the end of 1997 he left Manly to play for the London Broncos, but the move was not successful, and he cited homesickness as the reason for his return. He re-joined Souths in 1999 and became an important part of the club’s early season resurgence. Carroll’s international career gained a boost in 1995 when he was selected for Australia against New Zealand. The result being he became a member of Australia’s victorious World Cup team in 1995. Other International appearances include against Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the rest of the World teams over the next two years, boosted his Test total to 12 matches. He was forced to retire at the end of the 1999 season due to a chronic knee injury and became a committed supporter of South’s reinstatement into the NRL. He has since gained notoriety as the international bodyguard of actor Russell Crowe. This year’s award night will be a sit-down event at the home of SPSA, Crown Hotel, on Saturday 27th May. It will be livestreamed to the people of Papua New Guinea on the SP Sports Awards Facebook page.

The National Capital District (NCD) Metropolitan Superintendent, Silva Sika has advised that police are monitoring the main campus of the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) to ensure the safety of the students following reports of a planned protest that would take place this week on the recently signed defence agreements between the country and the United States. He mentioned that although he has not received any request to stage a protest, he is closely monitoring the situation, to make sure that no one gets harmed should anything happen. “I understand that the students are frustrated regarding the recent incidents. My men are fully aware of the situation and what they must do to protect the people.” Sika mentioned that in light of recent events, the paramount goal is to ensure that the people are safe and that peace is maintained in the city. From his observation, the Met. Supt. also said that there are a few radicals within the campus that would like to forcefully go ahead with the protest, noting pictures of the gatherings that have gone viral on social media. “I believe from what I am gathering there must be an in- house issue between the students themselves but as I mentioned, safety is still paramount.” Police in the capital have now stepped up their efforts to deter any public gathering that may be deemed a disturbance to peace in the city.

The Credit Corporation Harlequins proved that they are still the team to beat this season after stampeding over the Valley Hunters in their Round 7 of the Pepsi Cup Capital Rugby Union Competition. Billy Rapilla’s Men put their front foot forward early on in the game and never looked like slowing down after they stormed through the front gates of the defense with a strong run by Harlies Second rower, Eddie Nipal to open up the scoring in the opening minutes of the match. Valley Hunters stunned by the try couldn’t seem to match up the Harlies in physicality as they were harassed both in attack and defense. Nipal had a tremendous game scoring the first try of the match and was instrumental in defense, causing the defensive error by the Hunters leading to their second try by Elton Una. Nipal would cross the line for the 3rd try of the match, running on to a pass from Desmond Kopuk to score in-front. Una would get his second after a beautiful set piece by Rapilla’s men had the Hunters backpedaling when Ron Butler blitzed pass the defense to give Una his second try. The Hunters looked threatening in the second half, but lacked the punch to score points; however, the Harlies attacked proved to be far superior as they piled on more points to blowout the Hunters, ending the game with a score line of 39-5.

The Madang Provincial Health Authority (PHA) has given the go ahead for the National Immunization Roll out following a successful awareness program that ended this week. Director for Public Health, Dr. Martin Damen has advised that Madang will be in full swing starting tomorrow. “We are starting tomorrow. The actual immunization will start for the whole province for the next two weeks.” He said the program will roll out till the 5th of June and they hope to cover the whole province in one go. He added that the awareness program went well for the province, with little to no hiccups and that the people were happy to hear that the roll out will commence tomorrow. Meanwhile, he has also voiced concern over the lack of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) education in the Province, stating that due to manpower issues, they have yet to initialize their programs. “It’s part of the Public Health Initiatives but with manpower issues, we have not been able to do that. We have our partners such as Marie Stopes, but they are more tailored toward family planning.” He stressed that this is also a key area that needs to be addressed and there is a need to build capacity for the health workers to go out and work in the communities. He believes that those working in the Public Health space, should also provide this community service by educating young people who would grow up to potentially become responsible adults.

A 12- all draw with the top of the Pepsi Cup CRU Ladder Defence Rugby Union Club, has brought the MBB Marlins into the 8th position on the ladder. Coming off a horrendous loss to the University Piggies, Coach Rawali Bokuik stated that he was happy with the points and hopeful that they can maintain their defensive style of play heading into their clash against the Moni Plus Nova team, jammed packed with a palate of striking attackers. “After last week’s performance, we returned home and all week we worked on the shape of our structure. That’s why there is a difference in the score line today (Saturday 20th May).” He said he was happy with the 2 points, which pushes them up into the 8th position, further stating that it shows where they are at in both their defence and attack and how they can be able to maintain their game plan. Going up against Eddie Galele’s men next week, Coach Bokuik stated that the Marlins have the back line to match them in attack and are also hoping to match them in the forwards as well.

The Family of Late Miriam Pandan, the woman who was brutally murdered by her husband Mr. Nige Kaupa in the early hours of this morning, is satisfied that Kaupa is now in the custody of the police and are now hoping that they will receive justice for the death of their loved one. Faith Pandan, the younger sister of late Miriam, said now that the suspect is in custody, they want assurance that he will face the full brunt of the Law. “What has happened has happened, there is nothing much that we can do but now that it is in the hands of the Law; we just want to see justice for our sister.” Ms. Pandan stated that in the early hours of this morning when the couple’s argument turned violent, witnesses heard the suspect beating his wife to a pulp and when they tried to intervene, Mr. Kaupa in his drunken state said to just let her die. A report was placed at the Gordons Police Station following the death of late Maxine and the suspect was apprehended and brought to the station at 7am this morning. The husband, Mr. Kaupa is from the Simbu province and is also the First Secretary to the Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Kerenga Kua.

Police in the nation’s capital Port Moresby have arrested the First Secretary to the Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Kerenga Kua, following an incident that occurred in the early hours of this morning that led to the death of his wife.  The suspect, Nige Kaupa from Sinasina-Yongumugl in Chimbu Province is now detained at the Gordons Police station whilst awaiting charges. According to police officers who had detained Kaupa, the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) are now conducting an investigation at the crime scene and will soon transfer Kaupa to Boroko, where he will receive his charges.  Word from witnesses on scene mentioned that the suspect used an empty gas canister to beat his wife when an argument went sideways.  According to police report, Kaupa under the influence of alcohol had gotten into an argument with his wife, which turned violent, leading him to willfully beat his wife, Miriam Pandan Kaupa to death outside their family home at the Kennedy Estate.  Both the deceased and the suspect have 4 children together. The body is now at Port Moresby General Hospital morgue. 

Panthers five-eighth Jarome Luai has received a Grade 1 Contrary Conduct charge for making contact with a match official in Thursday night's win over Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium. The incident occurred in the 13th minute of the match and as it is Luai's second offence he faces a fine of $1800 fine with an early guilty plea. Should he contest the charge and be found guilty at the judiciary the fine increases to $2500. Broncos prop Martin Taupau was also charged by the match review committee following the opening game of Round 12. Taupau's tackle on Lindsay Smith in the 79th minute resulted in a Grade 1 Careless High Tackle charge, which carries an $1000 fine with an early guilty plea. The fine increases to $1500 should he fight the charge at the judiciary and be unsuccessful.

Billy Slater has spoken of Josh Papalii’s immense contribution to the Queensland Maroons following the Canberra Raiders star’s decision to retire from State of Origin football. The Raiders forward spoke with Slater earlier this week to inform the Maroons head coach of his decision. “I was fortunate to feel both the presence Papa gave as a teammate and the confidence he gave me as a coach,” Slater said today. Photo: Scott Davis/NRL Imagery “Josh’s commitment and performance in his last Origin game typified his career in Maroon – heart, selfless and committed to his team… a warrior of the Origin arena.” Papalii, who has represented Queensland on 23 occasions, made the call ahead of this year’s Origin series which kicks off in Adelaide on May 31. He said it allowed him to concentrate on his club football, and would also give the next generation of players the opportunity to represent Queensland. “I’ve loved every minute of my time playing for Queensland and representing the state and I have memories from my time in maroon I will never forget,” Papalii said. “For me, it’s about giving the next generation of Queensland players the chance to represent and it also allows me to concentrate on my football for the Raiders during the middle part of the season.” “I want to thank all of the coaches over the years that have given me the opportunity to play for Queensland and all of the players who I have taken the field with.” Source: NRL.Com