Vanuatu Rugby League

But with the 2023 Games in Solomon Islands just over a month away, this time there is good news, with VASANOC confirming that both the men's and women's rugby league squads will be making the trip to Honiara.      

And with one of the medal favourites having already pulled out of the competition, the door may be open for Vanuatu to make an impact at their first attempt. 

Secretary So'oletaua Motuliki told RNZ Pacific from Port Vila last Thursday they were seeking funds to enable them to make the Games trip.

Motuliki said funding would be necessary especially if the Vanuatu Amateur Sports Association and National Olympic Committee (VASANOC) has to make the call on what sports teams might have to be left out.

This is because VASANOC might be restrained financially to send a full Vanuatu squad to the Games.

"The initial budget, unfortunately, is not what was observed initially," she said.

VRL Secretary General, So’o Motuliki hailed the turn-out as a success.

“Our development programme is slowly coming into shape and although it is slow but it is a sure process, being able to provide such a workshop is such an honour and privilege. The sky is the limit and we aim to have more workshops as planned during our sporting year in order to fulfill our objectives as a committee as per our development plans.”

The workshop engaged the participants in learning the basics and rules of the sport.

Woods has described it as a great initiative and one that will open pathways for players from Vanuatu.

Pacifique Treize, who made their bid public last week, are aiming to enter the 2nd tier rugby league competition in Australia, the Intrust Super Cup by 2023.

The Noumea, New Caledonia-based bid has been buoyed by the support of the Vanuatu Rugby League and they aim to play 2 games per year in Vanuatu if they are successful in gaining admission to the Intrust Super Cup.

The Pacifique Treize Rugby League bid was officially launched this week and hopes to follow in the footsteps of the Papua New Guinea Hunters, who have been playing in the Queensland Cup since 2014.

The 2020 ISC season was cancelled in March due to Covid-19 but the group behind the Pacifique Treize bid say their aim is to join the competition in 2023.

The six-member steering committee, which included representatives from the French Pacific, Australia and Vanuatu, had spent the past 12 months investigating the feasibility of the bid.

It will be Vanuatu's first game since a test against Solomon Islands last October.

Harbin said the smaller nations normally didn't get a lot of opportunities to play at the international level.

"It's a pleasant opportunity to see how far we have come," he said.

"We have only been able to play one test a year and this is a great opportunity for not just us, Vanuatu, but all the countries to see how far they are developing and see what else they have to work on and keep developing as minnow nations in rugby league so I reckon it's a great concept. "

Port Vila Powerhouse have contributed half of the 24-man squad, with Ifira Black Bird, Pango KingSharks and the Santo Boars also represented.

"Nineteen members of the 24 man squad currently play in our domestic leagues in Port Vila or Santo and Rob Franklin also came through our domestic system before having opportunities to move to and play in Australia," he said.

The deal will see the team known as Interchange Vanuatu Rugby League Men’s National team. Interchange will also have pride of place on the front of the playing jersey and shorts, as well as across all training gear.

Interchange is a Vanuatu-based organisation committed to a better future for Melanesia by providing nation-building telecommunications technologies and infrastructure to communities throughout the entire region.

The Vanuatu Rugby League stated that tomorrow’s game will be the first ever Rugby League game for women in Vanuatu.

Home ground advantage will be with the Eels as the game will be played at Mele field, in the capital Port Vila.

The game won’t be the only Rugby League on display, with the juniors kicking off at 1:30pm and the final Vanuatu Rugby League Men’s selection trial for the upcoming Rugby League Emerging Nations World Championship following at 3:15pm (local time).

In the third test between Melanesian rivals, Vanuatu raced to a 20-8 lead at half-time before the home side fought their way back into the contest to ensure a close finish.

Saturday's test was the first to be played in Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu team manager and board member Ben Howard said they were definitely made to work for their victory.

"The game was in the balance, we were only up by ten, and all the momentum was with them and we were lucky enough to take an intercept try and run 90 metres, which sort of turned the momentum of the game," he said.