The Papua New Guinea Junior Kumuls have etched their names into the history books following first win 18-10 at the Santos National Football Stadium.

It was an emotional day for the Junior Mens national team as they secured their first ever win against the Australian School Boys on Home soil.

Led by Coach Joey Grima, the team had a positive energy throughout the week with the mindset to come out victors which paid off today in the nation’s capital.

Grima said their win proves that rugby pathway systems are working and the future of the Kumuls is bright with the ultimate goal to defeat the Australian Kangaroos in the future.

“We’ve been trying for about three or four years and there was something special about today and it’s hard to put it into words,” Grima said.

He said having a couple of elite junior players from the NRL pathway added the level of elite-ness to this side while results of their academy program had a positive outcome from this historic win.

“We didn’t make the errors that we usually do, today we didn’t have to make the boys, because they knew what they were going to do out there and they delivered.”

It was a slow start in the first 10 minutes of the match however, the Junior National team cruised past the Australian School Boys scoring their first try through centre Jason Daniel who drew first blood for the home team.

Before half time, Junior Kumuls added double points to the board when Otto Thomas found his way through a tough defense. This helped the Junior Kumuls secure a 10-0 lead at halftime.

In the second half it took a few minutes to settle before the Australian School Boys scored their first try. PNG however returned the favor and extended through Daniel again just moments after.

The Australian School Boys added another unconverted try however fell short. To secure a historic win, Junior Kumuls co-captain Elijah Birve converted a penalty goal to extend just three minutes before full time.

After pulling off a draw in 2024 and losing last year, Birve said it was proud moment represent and win on home soil.

Meanwhile Grima is positive that the next five years looks promising with a standard set today at the National Football Stadium.

FT: PNG 18 AUS 10