Pacific Championships Week 1 | Super League stars

Week 1 of the Pacific Championships got underway with a number of Betfred Super League stars representing Papua New Guinea in their 10-22 victory over Fiji.

Nene Macdonald, Rodrick Tai, Lachlan Lam, Liam Horne, Rhyse Martin and Sylvester Namo all starred for the Kumuls in Saturday’s opening match, with Macdonald and Namo both on the scoresheet at either side of each half.

#SuperLeague stars representing the Kumuls in victory over Fiji ?? pic.twitter.com/ah4t9EOPop

— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) October 20, 2024

Martin converted 3 out of the 4 goals and made the most tackles (40) for his side.

Macdonald and Tai were amongst the top three runners with 22 and 17 runs made respectively, with Macdonald continuing his monstrous metre-making that fans became accustomed to in the 2024 Super League competition – with 277 metres made.

As his fine form continued into Week 1 of the Pacific Championships, Macdonald also took on the fullback role for PNG and earned an impressive Player of Match performance.

Martin and Tai also surpassed 100 metres in PNG's Pacific Bowl victory.

In defeat, Ben Nakubuwai, Kevin Naiqama and Waqa Blake featured for Fiji.

Tui Lolohea was the sole representative in Tonga’s 18-0 Pacific Cup defeat to Australia, playing in the halves.

International Rugby League continues this weekend as Fiji take on the Cook Islands, while Australia entertain New Zealand - with more Super League stars set to be in action - live on Sky Sports for viewers in the UK.

England will also face Samoa in a two-match Test series sponsored by ABK Beer – starting at The Brick Community Stadium, Wigan next Sunday, and finishing at AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds, on Saturday 2 November.

Tickets are available to buy now at rugby-league.com/tickets with the series to be televised by BBC Sport domestically and on SuperLeague+ overseas.