The World Cup co-hosts for whom rugby league is a national obsession

World Cup co-hosts Papua New Guinea's love of rugby league manifests itself in the Kumuls and the Orchids national teams, two badges of hope and unity for the island. The World Cup co-hosts for whom rugby league is a national obsession "Back home when we play in front of our own fans, just to see the fans, the crowd get behind us, singing the national anthem… it makes me cry every time." Edwin Ipape gets emotional when travelling with his Papua New Guinea team-mates to the national stadium. Children, so mad about rugby league that they will fashion a ball out of anything they can find, run alongside the team bus, eager to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

Players are mobbed wherever they go. The buzz around rugby league in Papua New Guinea can sometimes be daunting for visiting teams. In the past, passion has boiled over to the point where police have fired tear gas into the crowds. But the national game – and in particular its men's national team, the Kumuls – is also a powerful symbol of unity in a land that can be torn apart by tribal fighting and where more than 800 different languages and dialects are spoken. When the PNG fans are at their best and noisiest, a 15,000 crowd can sound like