VANUATU takes centre stage in the Nines universe this weekend while in Papua New Guinea an elaborate mini-season of the abbreviated form of rugby league has been announced.
All stops have been pulled out for the island of Espiritu Santo to hold the Luganville Nines on Saturday, with teams from neighbouring Malo island competing and an administrative team flying in from Port Vila to make sure everything runs smoothly.
This is the second Nines tournament in Vanuatu this year but the first rugby league of any kind on Espiritu Santo since the onset of COVID-19.
The teams, all mem, in this weekend’s tournament are: South Santo Hunters, Lycee De Luganville, Vanuatu Police Forces, Vanuatu Miltiary Forces and Wild Hogs.
On another level of complexity entirely is the planned Agarobe Dabaris in Papua New Guinea next month.
An amazing 12 satellite tournaments will be played in the space of 10 days with the winners then gathering in late November at Wagula Park in Aroma to decide a champion
Dabaris director Hubert Warupi told The National: “The championship round would be followed by the provincial challenge,” he said.
“With regards to our commitment to the Central government sponsorship, the franchise is working to achieve Governor Robert Agarobe’s strategic direction for sports, using the Dabaris as the high performance platform.
“We have a development team participating in the Southern Super League competition.
“The team comprises rural players selected from last year’s nines and provincial tour by the franchise.
“The development team’s role is to expose top rural players to the best possible standards in preparation for the Digicel Cup.”
