PNG Football Stadium, known by the sponsored name of Santos National Football Stadium and previously as Lloyd Robson Oval until 2015,[2] is a sporting ground in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It hosted three games for the 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup. It has been the home ground for the Papua New Guinea national rugby league team since 1975. It has a total capacity of approximately 15,000 and is the National Stadium of Papua New Guinea. The stadium was completely redeveloped in preparation for the 2015 Pacific Games.[2]
| PNG National Football Stadium | |
 | |
| Full name | Papua New Guinea National Football Stadium |
|---|---|
| Former names | Lloyd Robson Oval |
| Location | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea |
| Coordinates | 9°28′6″S 147°11′54″E / 9.46833°S 147.19833°E |
| Type | Stadium |
| Capacity | 14,800[1] |
| Field shape | Rectangular |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | Yes |
| Construction | |
| Renovated | 2015 |
| Expanded | 2015 |
| Architect | Populous |
| Main contractors | Populous |
| Tenants | |
| Papua New Guinea national rugby league team (1975–present) Port Moresby Vipers (PNGNRL; 1986–present) Papua New Guinea Hunters (Queensland Cup; 2016-present) | |
History
editLloyd Robson Oval hosted its first Rugby league international on 6 July 1975 when PNG played host to England who were on their way to Australia and New Zealand for the down under leg of the 1975 World Cup. In front of an enthusiastic crowd of 12,000 England ran out 40–12 winners in what was the Kumuls international debut game.
PNG played the 1982 and 1986 Kangaroos at the oval. The Australians, unbeaten on both Kangaroo Tours, won both games 38-2 and 62-12 respectively. The 1986 game saw the Oval's record attendance when 17,000 enthusiastic fans saw the Kangaroos defeat the Kumuls.
The opening Test match of the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour was played at the Oval between Papua New Guinea and the British before a crowd of 12,107.
Lloyd Robson Oval was the primary venue of the 2009 Pacific Cup. The four round-robin matches were played at the ground on 24–25 October and 31 October, with the final played on 1 November 2009.[3]
The oval is also home of the Port Moresby Vipers and Gulf Isou who play in the PNGNRL Digicel Cup.
Lloyd Robson is also a regular host of the annual rugby league game between the Kumuls and an Australian Prime Minister's XIII at the conclusion of the Australian-based National Rugby League season. These games are usually well attended, with 16,000 attending the game in 2012 won 24–18 by the Mal Meninga coached PM's XIII.
Soccer is also played at the Lloyd Robson Oval, with both the national men's and women's PNG teams, as well as Papua New Guinea National Soccer League playing matches at the ground, though they both generally use the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.
At the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, it hosted many matches, including the final.
Rugby league test matches
editList of rugby league test matches played at Lloyd Robson Oval.[4]
| Test# | Date | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 July 1975 | England def. Papua New Guinea 40–12 | 12,000 |
| 2 | 29 May 1977 | Papua New Guinea def. France 37–6 | 14,000 |
| 3 | 30 July 1978 | New Zealand def. Papua New Guinea 30–21 | 11,541 |
| 4 | 23 August 1978 | Papua New Guinea drew with France 13–13 | 16,000 |
| 5 | 25 July 1982 | New Zealand def. Papua New Guinea 56–5 | 13,000 |
| 6 | 2 October 1982 | Australia def. Papua New Guinea 38–2 | 15,000 |
| 7 | 12 July 1987 | New Zealand def. Papua New Guinea 36–22 | 15,000 |
| 8 | 13 October 1991 | Australia def. Papua New Guinea 40–6 | 14,500 |
| 9 | 31 May 1992 | Great Britain def. Papua New Guinea 20–14 | 7,294 |
| 10 | 26 June 1994 | Papua New Guinea def. France 29–22 | 5,000 |
| 11 | 27 October 1994 | New Zealand def. Papua New Guinea 30–16 | 15,000 |
| 12 | 6 October 1996 | Australia def. Papua New Guinea NRL 52–6 | 15,000 |
| 13 | 17 June 2001 | France def. Papua New Guinea 40–6 | 15,000 |
| 14 | 7 October 2001 | Australia def. Papua New Guinea 54–12 | 14,000 |
| 15 | 24 October 2009 | Cook Islands def. Fiji 24–22 | 3,269 |
| 16 | 25 October 2009 | Papua New Guinea def. Tonga 44–14 | 9,813 |
| 17 | 31 October 2009 | Fiji def. Tonga 26–16 | 2,000 |
| 18 | 1 November 2009 | Papua New Guinea def. Cook Islands 42–14 | 10,151 |
Rugby League World Cup
editList of Rugby League World Cup matches played at Lloyd Robson Oval.
Results are from the 1985-88, 1989-1992, and 2017 World Cups.
| WC Game# |
Date | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 August 1986 | Papua New Guinea def. New Zealand 24–22 | 15,000 |
| 2 | 4 October 1986 | Australia def. Papua New Guinea 62–12 | 17,000 |
| 3 | 2 June 1990 | Great Britain def. Papua New Guinea 40–8 | 7,837 |
| 4 | 11 August 1990 | New Zealand def. Papua New Guinea 18–10 | 7,837 |
| 5 | 28 October 2017 | Papua New Guinea def. Wales 50–6 | 14,800 |
| 6 | 5 November 2017 | Papua New Guinea def. Ireland 14–6 | 14,800 |
| 7 | 12 November 2017 | Papua New Guinea def. United States 64–0 | 14,800 |
Non-test internationals
edit| Game# | Date | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 September 2005 | Australian PM's XIII def. Papua New Guinea 34–0 | N/A |
| 2 | 30 September 2006 | Australian PM's XIII def. Papua New Guinea 28–8 | N/A |
| 3 | 23 September 2007 | Papua New Guinea drew with Australian PM's XIII 24–24 | 10,500 |
| 4 | 27 September 2008 | Australian PM's XIII def. Papua New Guinea 54–30 | N/A |
| 5 | 27 September 2009 | Australian PM's XIII def. Papua New Guinea 42–18 | 13,469 |
| 6 | 26 September 2010 | Australian PM's XIII def. Papua New Guinea 30–18 | 10,865 |
| 7 | 23 September 2012 | Australian PM's XIII def. Papua New Guinea 24–18 | 16,000 |
| 8 | 24 September 2016 | Australian PM's XIII def. Papua New Guinea 58–0 | 15,011 |
| 9 | 23 September 2017 | Australian PM's XIII def. Papua New Guinea 48–8 | 13,468 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "National Football Stadium nearly ready". 9 October 2015.
- ^ a b "PNG National Football Stadium". Populous. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
- ^ ARL (Press Release) (2009-07-28). "Pacific Cup announced". Australian Rugby League. Archived from the original on 2009-09-13. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
- ^ Lloyd Robson Oval @ Rugby League Project