IT has been quite a week for the Papua New Guinea men's squad after arriving in Warrington to make their final preparations for the Rugby League World Cup.
Warrington is playing host to the Kumuls for the entirety of their tournament and they will be playing a group game at the Halliwell Jones Stadium home of the town's Super League club, Warrington Wolves.
The PNG boys have received a warm reception in the town, just like the Samoan rugby league squad did in 2013 when the World Cup was last staged in England.
Stanley Tepend's PNG squad, who are staying at The Village Hotel on Centre Park close to the town centre and the village of Stockton Heath, have been keeping themselves in good shape and busy since flying in from Port Moresby on Saturday.
They have been making good use of The Wire's state-of-the-art training facilities on the university campus at Padgate, spending time both in the gym and out on the field.
As well as hard work, they have been putting some smiles on faces showing there is a great team spirit within the camp.
Members of the PNG party attended the official Rugby League World Cup launch event at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on Monday.
The Mayor of Warrington, Cllr Jean Flaherty, hosted a civic reception for the Kumuls at the Town Hall on Wednesday afternoon, leading to a community welcome event that night when hundreds of townsfolk turned up at The Halliwell Jones Stadium to greet the players, coaches, staff and travelling party.
The players were called to a photo-shoot and had a bit of fun with the cameramen.
On Thursday, the Kumuls trained with the Warrington Wolves and Priestley College Academy teams and a contested match was staged to aid the Kumuls' tournament plans and team tactics while also providing the local youngsters with important experience mixing it with some of the greatest players on the planet.
An unreal experience for our young Wires & @priestleysfc Development Academy who got the opportunity to train with the PNG boys 🇵🇬🐺 pic.twitter.com/7hJZxZIkQf
— Warrington Wolves (@WarringtonRLFC) October 14, 2022
Some of the PNG players visited Green Lane Community Special School in Warrington on Friday, spending some fun time with the children there.
As the days and weeks progress, the Kumuls will be joining in with various other community events and meeting people who have made them feel very welcome in the town.
But the focus firmly remains on being ready for their first match against Tonga which will be played just down the road at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens on Tuesday.
The Kumuls' game in Warrington will be against Cook Islands on Tuesday, October 25.
Papua New Guinea's match against Fiji in June resulted in a 24-14 Pacific Test win at Wests Tigers' Campbelltown Sports Ground in Leumeah, Australia. Watch the highlights below:
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