living
sport
PASSION play Rugby league has become a national obsession in PNG. Dorian Mode investigates.
Explosive ... PNG rugby league player Thompson Tetah.
I
love rugby league. Played it at school. Played it at uni. Indeed, when I was a student at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music I formed the first-ever rugby league team there called the Mozart Maulers. Our team comprised mostly brass players in the forwards and string players in the backs. In our inaugural game we defeated the premiers, Sydney University, 24–20. In fact, such was the intensity of the game, one of the opposition players was knocked unconscious in the final minutes. No one was more surprised than the
Conservatorium with its surprise victory. We thought we were on a Haydn to nothing (groan). Anyway, I wrote a funny book about it, aptly titled, The Mozart Maulers. But if you think I’m a fan of the game, I’ve got nothing on fans in the Pacific. Rugby league isn’t simply the most popular team sport in Papua New Guinea, it’s the national religion. Indeed, don’t be surprised if the local bishop arrives at mass with his cassock trimmed in team colours. PNG is rugby league crazy. Rugby league first gained ascendency in PNG in the 1930s, when Australian gold miners were prospecting in the
March – April 2015
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