Papua New Guinea Women's 7s team in action against Solomon Islands at the 2023 Oceania Rugby Sevens Championship. November 2023 Photo: Oceania Rugby
The Papua New Guinea Rugby Union (PNGRU) has been suspended from the Regional Association of World Rugby, Oceania Rugby has confirmed.
The Oceania Rugby Executive Board issued a 'Notice of Determination' to the PNG Union on Thursday, after several failings by the PNG governing body to comply with orders imposed by the Regional Association of World Rugby.
Oceania Rugby general manager Frank Puletua said they have no choice but to suspend PNG Rugby.
That means the union will not be able to pariticpate in any regional, Oceania or international meet until their suspension is lifted.
Puletua said they are hopeful the PNG union officials will act.
"As a result of non-compliance to the Notice of Orders issued by Oceania Rugby in July, the Executive Board have had to make the difficult decision [Thursday] to suspend the membership of Papua New Guinea Rugby Union, effective immediately," he said.
"Whilst this decision is one that we do not take lightly, it has been determined with the interests of all stakeholders involved with PNG Rugby in mind.
"I am confident that PNG will be in a position to activate its true potential on the national and world rugby stage in the not-too-distant future, and the Executive Board remain committed to supporting PNG Rugby in its endeavours to being recognised as a full member of Oceania Rugby again."
PNG Rugby was warned in July and gievn time to right the wrongs identified by Oceania Rugby.
The suspension comes after months of dialogue between Oceania Rugby and PNG Rugby on concerns raised by numerous stakeholders, including Provincial Unions, regarding the conduct of the board and management.
Consideration was also attributed to the failure of PNG Rugby to attend the first round of the Oceania Rugby Women's Championships in Brisbane earlier this year, as well as the Olympic Sevens repechage qualification tournament in June.
The suspension entails loss of Voting rights for the PNG Rugby Union and prevention from participation in Oceania Rugby competitions and development programs as well as deferral of funding.
RNZ Pacific had reached out to PNGRU in July for comments but did not receive any response from them.
Efforts have been made again to reach out to them following the new development.
NBC reported on Thursday that three provincial unions have boycotted the PNGRU annual general meeting, citing unresolved issues by the rugby body.
The report said Capital Rugby Union, Morobe RU and Daru RU have withdrawn from participating in the AGM, scheduled for today (1pm) at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium in Port Moresby.
The Oceania Rugby had instructed PNGRU in July to host the AGM after failing to comply to the regional body's constitution.
Capital president Kori Chan had raised concerns in June about the management of the PNG union after the PNG sevens teams failed to make it to the HSBC Sevens series play-offs then.