Edwin Ipape (born 2 February 1999) is a Papua New Guinean professional

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 ...

footballer who plays as a for the

Leigh Leopards The Leigh Leopards are a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. Leigh play homes games at Leigh Sports Village and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. ...

in the Betfred Super League and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

at international level.

Career

Ipape made his international debut for

in their 24-6 defeat by

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

in the

2019 Oceania Cup The 2019 Oceania Cup was the inaugural edition of the Oceania Cup (rugby league), Oceania Cup. Contested by six teams, the competition began in June and concluded in November. The competition was announced at the Rugby League International Federa ...

. Ipape was on a train and trial contract with the

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...

as part of their 2020 pre season. He played two games for the Manly 9s team during the NRL 9s. On 28 May 2022, Ipape played for the Leigh Centurions in their

2022 RFL 1895 Cup The 2022 RFL 1895 Cup, known as the 2022 AB Sundecks 1895 Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the third playing of the RFL 1895 Cup, a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom. The competition is for clubs who play below the ...

final victory over

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

. On 3 October 2022, Ipape played for the Leigh Centurions in their

Million Pound Game Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual rugby league game that decides which Championship teams will be promoted to Super League, and which Super League teams would be relegated for the following season. Instituted in 2015 and ...

victory over the

Batley Bulldogs The Batley Bulldogs are an English professional rugby league club in Batley, West Yorkshire, who play in the Championship. Batley were one of the original twenty-two rugby football clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. ...

which saw the club promoted back to the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

. In October he was named in the Papua New Guinea squad for the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received � ...

. In November he was named in the 2021 RLWC Team of the Tournament. On 12 August 2023, Ipape played for Leigh in their 2023 Challenge Cup final victory over Hull Kingston Rovers. It was Leigh's first major trophy in 52 years.

2023

Ipape played 25 games for Leigh in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished fifth on the table and qualified for the playoffs. He played in their elimination playoff loss against

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

2024

Ipape played 19 games for Leigh in the 2024 Super League season which saw the club finish fifth on the table.

2025

On 24 February 2025, Leigh announced that he had signed a 6 year contract extension to remain at Leigh until the end of 2031. Ipape rejected an NRL deal to remain at Leigh.

Statistics

source:

References

External links

Leigh Leopards profilePNG Hunters profileManly Warringah Sea Eagles profile
1999 births Living people 21st-century Papua New Guinean sportsmen Lae Snax Tigers players Leigh Leopards players Papua New Guinea Hunters players Papua New Guinea national rugby league team players Papua New Guinean rugby league players People from Hela Province Rugby league players from the Western Highlands Province Rugby league five-eighths {{PapuaNewGuinea-rugbyleague-bio-stub