National Sports Institute
Goroka, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea
National Sports Institute, Goroka, Papua New Guinea — opened Not confirmed, 1 rugby league games hosted, home of PNG Orchids (PNG women's national rugby league team).
Sourcing caveat: No independent source confirmed the reported 7,000 attendance figure specifically -- it rests on Rugby League Project alone, though nothing contradicts it.
Ground facts
| Opened | Not confirmed (No source found gives a precise founding/opening date, capacity, or full facility history for this venue beyond its role as PNG's National Sports Institute training complex in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province.) |
| Home club | PNG Orchids (PNG women's national rugby league team) |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 1 |
| Top recorded crowd | 7,000 |
| Years used | 2019 |
| Location | Goroka, Eastern Highlands |
Name history
Rugby league history
This Highlands sports-development facility hosted a genuinely landmark fixture on 9 November 2019: the PNG Orchids beat England Women 24-10 in front of 7,000, part of a two-Test series and framed by regional media as a significant moment bringing full international women's rugby league to Goroka. The match is independently corroborated by Wikipedia's Papua New Guinea women's national rugby league team results and extensive UK rugby league press coverage, all agreeing on the date and scoreline. The venue has continued to develop as an elite rugby league site since, hosting an SP PNG Hunters Hostplus Cup pre-season trial against the Ipswich Jets in February 2026 -- outside the scope of this entry's recorded 2019 match, but evidence the ground remains in active top-level use.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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