Port Moresby delivered a rugby league afternoon that will not be forgotten quickly. On Saturday 17 October, the Papua New Guinea Orchids played their first Rugby League World Cup match on home soil and beat France 58-4, running in 12 tries at Santos National Football Stadium.
Winger Naomi Kelly scored four of them, equalling the record for most tries by an Orchids player in a single international match, previously set by Belinda Gwasamun against Brazil at the 2022 Women's Rugby League World Cup, according to RNZ.
A debut the Orchids controlled from the start
The match was also the first time the two nations had met in the women's game, and the home side treated the occasion as a statement. Relna Wuruki-Hosea of the Canberra Raiders opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a powerful run from a scrum outside the French 10-metre zone, and North Queensland Cowboys playmaker Emily Veivers converted.
Hooker Ua Ravu directed the ruck, Cynthiah Peters ran the attack at seven, and captain Elsie Albert carried hard up front. By the end of the first 35-minute spell, the Orchids led 32-0 with six tries on the board, including doubles in progress for Shellie Long, Fleur Ginn and Tia Molo. Former Wallaroos Ivania Wong added her name to the scoresheet with a sharp run back between the posts.
France's only reply came just after the restart, when Manon Samarra crossed after playmaker Lisa Diraison engineered the opening. It was a brief moment of resistance. PNG closed the game out with six further tries, and Kelly finished with four after smart work from Ginn and Peters put her over twice more.
Albert said the preparation had been the difference.
It was a great win, in front of the home crowd. I thought we had a good preparation leading up to this game and I thought everyone went out there and did what we exactly needed to do.
Coach Craig Sandercock echoed her assessment.
I was really pleased. They've trained so hard. Really pleased for them and having the crowd support, it was fantastic.
Why this matters beyond the scoreboard
The Orchids are one of the great untold stories in international sport. Women's rugby league in Papua New Guinea has grown against significant odds, and the team's rise to World Cup co-host status has given the country's women athletes a platform that previous generations never had. The BBC's coverage of the tournament noted that the Kumuls, and now the Orchids, have come to