The 1977 Pacific Cup was the second edition of the

Pacific Cup The Pacific Cup was a rugby league football competition, inaugurated in 1974, as a development competition for national teams from the Pacific region outside of Australia and New Zealand. The tournament ceased in 2009. In 2019, a similar com ...

, a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

tournament held between Pacific teams. The tournament was hosted by New Zealand and eventually won by the New Zealand Māori side, who defeated

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

35-12 in the final.

Background

The 1977 Pacific Cup was run by the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in rugby league in New South Wales, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Co ...

, following the success of the inaugural 1975 Pacific Cup. The tournament involved three Australian state sides as well as Papua New Guinea, who did not yet have Test match status, and the New Zealand Māori. In the end the 1977 Pacific Cup proved to be expensive to run and resulted in the cancellation of the planned 1979 Pacific Cup.

Squads

Each team was allowed to choose a 22-man squad for the tournament. * New Zealand Māori: Reg Tamihere, Noel Rollo,

James Leuluai A'au James Leuluai (born 4 February 1957) is a New Zealand former international rugby league . Background He is the father of former Widnes Vikings player Macgraff Leuluai and Wigan Warriors and New Zealand international Thomas Leuluai, and t ...

, Pesa Sua, Ray Harris, Dennis Key, Murray Netzler, Neil Aspin,

John Wilson John Wilson may refer to: Academics * John Wilson (historian) (1799–1870), author of ''Our Israelitish Origin'' (1840), a founding text of British Israelism * John Wilson (agriculturalist) (1812–1888), British agriculturalist * John Matthias ...

Josh Liavaa Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J *Big Josh, stage name for America ...

, T. Tolea, Ian Bell, K. Jenkinson (

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

);

Dick Uluave Stephen Jeffery "Dick" UluaveUluave, Stephen Jeffery (Dick) 1979 ...

( Manawatu); C. Morgan, Warren Rangi, Harry Waikai, Rick Muru, Pop Raihe ( c) (

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

); Jack Knuckey (

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

); Eddie Orchard (

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

); R. Tiananga (Hamilton). * Papua New Guinea: Dikana Boge, Tara Gau, Bob Greathead, Garia Kora, Steve Malum, Paul Tore, John Wagambie ( c), Asi Winnie ( Southern Region); Joe Gandel, Sukope Iko, Paul Kombinari, Jack Metta, Alan Rero, Stainer Sapu, Joe Tomerup, Linus Gene (

Highlands Region Highlands Region is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. Subdivision The Highlands Region is administratively divided into seven provinces: * Chimbu (Simbu) *Eastern Highlands * Enga *Hela * Jiwaka * Southern Highlands * Western Highlands S ...

); Openi Geno, Vai Karava, Kaiva Kako ( Northern Region); Peter Pais, David Pukuntap, David Tangoa (

Islands Region The New Guinea Islands Region is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea (PNG), comprising the Bismarck Archipelago and north-western Solomon Islands Archipelago, located north-east of New Guinea island (the mainland). This is the least populo ...

Team of the Tournament

Following the final, a 17-man squad was named consisting of the best players in the tournament. Papua New Guinea

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John Wagambie was named the player of the tournament. * New Zealand Māori:

, Ray Harris, Eddie Orchard, Dennis Key, Murray Netzler, Ian Bell, Warren Rangi; * Papua New Guinea: Bob Greathead, John Wagambie, Alan Rero, Tara Gau * Western Australia: Martin Ridley, John Fielding, Alec Lockley * Northern Territory: Brian Allia, Bob Dowie * Victoria: Dave McFee

Results

An opening ceremony was held at Turangawaewae Marae in Huntly.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Final

References

External links

International Competitions 1977
''The Vault'' {{Rugby League in Oceania

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

Pac Pac or PAC may refer to: Aviation * IATA code PAC Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama City, Panama * Pacific Aerospace Corporation, New Zealand, manufacturer of aircraft: ** PAC 750XL ** PAC Cresco ** PAC CT/4 ** PA ...

Pacific Cup 1977 in Oceanian sport