Howarth’s PNG Aims High

The rising star of rugby sevens in Oceania – Papua New Guinea – has another opportunity to shine at the 2011 Oceania Sevens in Apia starting tomorrow.

Former New Zealand and Wales fullback Shane Howarth took over as coach 12 months ago and immediately brought success to the Pukpuks, guiding them to a Bowl victory over Canada at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.

A 14-12 win over Scotland followed at the Wellington leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series while a further milestone was reached with the winning of the bronze medal at the XIV Pacific Games in New Caledonia in September.

“That result (10-5 over Niue) was important for the team as it meant they qualified for the first leg of this year’s HSBC Sevens World Series on the Gold Coast,” said Howarth.  “Our goal this weekend is to make the top four which would get us to Wellington and Hong Kong in early 2012.”

Since 2003 PNG have only ever played at Wellington or Adelaide on the IRB circuit and are keen to extend to that itinerary with a long-term goal of making the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Howarth notes that the improved conditioning of a core group of players, and a focus on the off-field habits, is paying dividends for the squad.

“We have worked really hard on things like time management and showing respect to your fellow teammates,” said Howarth.  “I say to the guys ‘if you are late you are disrespecting the other 11’ and the results of that discipline are starting to show.

“If you get the environment right off the field the on-field results tend to take care of themselves, and the senior players, such as co-captains Roland Namo and Smith Lakas, are leading the way for the young squad – average age 23 – which is great for the future.”

Papua New Guinea are grouped with Fiji, Tonga, American Samoa and New Caledonia in Pool A of the Oceania Sevens at Apia Park and take to the opening day with some scores to settle.

“We went down in extra time to Fiji (19-24) in Nouméa, and could have actually won that, while we lost by one try to Tonga in both Adelaide this year and in the playoff for third at last year’s Oceania Sevens” said Howarth.  “But the Fiji result doesn’t mean it will just happen again – we need to put the work in this weekend to try and play like that consistently.”

Howarth has an unchanged squad from Nouméa and says speedsters Albert Levi Jr and Henry Liliket are players to watch this weekend.

Finishing second in the pool is the first target for Howarth and co. as it would take them away from a likely quarter-final against either hosts Samoa or reigning champions Australia.

The two powerhouses are drawn in Pool B with the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands and Niue in the annual tournament which is funded by the IRB as part of their investment in Oceania.

Click here for the draw for the 2011 Oceania Sevens Championship and results and updates can be found on this website here:

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Montgomery Diave (Metro, age 25)

Smith Lakas (Kavieng, 25)

Billy Torea (Metro, 19)

Douglas Guise (Metro, 28)

Chris Kakah (Metro, 22)

Eugene Tokavai (Kimbe, 19)

Henry Liliket (Kimbe, 20)

Roland Namo (Metro, 25)

Tisa Kautu (Metro, 25)

Albert Levi (Kimbe, 25)

Jason Missian (Lae, 24)

Gairo Varo (Metro, 27)