Papua New Guinea 24–22 New Zealand — World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup
17 Aug 1986 · Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea · Attendance: 15,000
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup: Papua New Guinea 24–22 New Zealand, at Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on 17 Aug 1986.
Scorers
| Papua New Guinea | Tries: Haili (2); Ako; Atoi Goals: Kovae (4) |
| New Zealand | Tries: Brown; McGahan; Ropati; Wallace Goals: Brown (3) |
Teams
| Papua New Guinea | New Zealand | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dairi Kovae | Fullback | Gary Kemble | 1 |
| 2 | Joe Katsir | Wing | Dane O'Hara | 2 |
| 3 | Lauta Atoi | Centre | Joe Ropati | 3 |
| 4 | Bal Numapo | Centre | Darrell Williams | 4 |
| 5 | Mafu Kerekere | Wing | Marty Crequer | 5 |
| 6 | Darius Haili | Stand off/Five eighth | Shane Cooper | 6 |
| 7 | Tony Kila (c) | Scrum half/Half back | Gary Freeman | 7 |
| 8 | Joe Tep | Prop forward | Adrian Shelford | 8 |
| 9 | Roy Heni | Hooker | Wayne Wallace | 9 |
| 10 | Ati Lomutopa | Prop forward | Peter Brown | 10 |
| 11 | Bobby Ako | Second row | Hugh McGahan | 11 |
| 12 | Bernard Waketsi | Second row | Owen Wright | 12 |
| 13 | Arebo Taumaku | Loose forward/Lock forward | Ron O'Regan | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Kepi Saea | James Leuluai | 14 | |
| 15 | Noah Andy | Sam Stewart | 15 | |
| Barry Wilson | Coach | Graham Lowe | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Kevin Roberts |
| Player of the match | Arebo Taumaku (Papua New Guinea) |
Match report
A landmark result in Papua New Guinean rugby league history. New Zealand arrived in Port Moresby off a comfortable series-opener win and were expected to continue that form, but the hosts produced a stunning upset in front of 15,000 fans at Lloyd Robson Oval. PNG led 18-8 at halftime, built on two tries from five-eighth Darius Haili plus further tries from Bobby Ako and Lauta Atoi, with fullback Dairi Kovae kicking four goals. New Zealand fought back in the second half through Peter Brown, Hugh McGahan, Joe Ropati and Wayne Wallace, and three goals from Brown, but could not close the gap.
It marked PNG's first-ever Test victory over New Zealand and their first Test win of any kind since 1977. Lock forward Arebo Taumaku was named player of the match. This was head coach Graham Lowe's final match in charge of the Kiwis before he resigned to take up a post with English club Wigan, with Tony Gordon appointed his successor that September.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 66–14 Papua New Guinea
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Papua New Guinea 10–18 New Zealand
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 66–10 Papua New Guinea
- 1995 Rugby League World Cup (Group B): New Zealand 22–6 Papua New Guinea
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): New Zealand 48–6 Papua New Guinea
- 2013 Rugby League World Cup (Group B): New Zealand 56–10 Papua New Guinea