PNG Orchids Suffer Heavy Loss to Cook Islands Moana in Pacific Championships Opener
The PNG Orchids endured a tough 34–6 loss to the Cook Islands Moana as the Pacific Championships Women kicked off at Santos National Football Stadium on Saturday.
Papua New Guinea opened the scoring through Emily Veivers, who converted her own try in the seventh minute. But that was the only joy for the Orchids as the Moana side stormed back with seven unanswered tries.
Paulina Morris-Ponga’s hat-trick and Chantay Kiria-Ratu’s double set the tone for a dominant performance by the visitors. Hannah Makira, Memory Paitai, and Kerehitina Matua also added to the scoreboard, while Kiria-Ratu converted three goals.
The Cook Islands led 20–6 at the break and continued to dominate possession and territory in the second half.
The Orchids struggled to contain Moana’s pace and offloads, missing key opportunities to strike back.
As they regroup from this defeat, the PNG Orchids will be aiming to refine their combinations and improve defensively ahead of their next match.
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