Papua New Guinea have won the inaugural SP Brewery Pacific Cup tournament and booked themselves a spot in the 2010 Four Nations with a 42-14 win over the Cook Islands in Port Moresby today.

The Kumuls thrilled a packed Lloyd Robson Oval crowd of more than 10,000 in what was a spirited tournament final, running in eight tries with man-of-the-match David Mead bagging a hat trick.

The win sees the PNG Kumuls advance to the 2010 Four Nations where they will take on league heavyweights Australia, New Zealand and England.

“It means so much to all our boys and everyone here in this country,” PNG Kumuls captain John Wilshere said.

“Rugby league is our national sport, we love it, and next year we’re going to be playing in the Four Nations and that’s a massive boost for Papua New Guinea.”

Kumuls coach Adrian Lam said:

“I thought our defence was outstanding today, and it has been for the last two weeks.”

“There are a lot of young players in our side and we’ve certainly got a great balance between them and our older guys.

“I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet that we’re in the Four Nations, but we’re excited about it, and we’ll get our heads around it soon enough.

“Thank you to all that have supported us not only during this tournament, but over the last couple of years.”

An emotional Cook Islands captain Tere Glassie, who led his side to two stunning upset victories over Samoa and Fiji to reach the tournament final, said the tournament had been a “great experience”.

“PNG… from my country to yours, we love you very much and thank you very much,” Glassie said post-match.

Cook Islands coach David Fairleigh, said:

“Tere probably typifies the spirit that we have in the side.

“We wish PNG good luck in the Four Nations.

“Thank you to all of the fans from PNG, the support has been overwhelming and thanks to my young guys.

“No-one gave us a chance to do anything [but] what they’ve shown in these two weeks hopefully gives the Cook Islands Rugby League something to build on.”

Today’s final of the SP Brewery Pacific Cup concludes a two-week campaign for the PNG, Fiji, Cook Islands and Tongan teams in Port Moresby.

All teams participated in numerous community activities throughout their stay to help promote critical health and social messages to the people of PNG.

In an effort to assist local sports administrators for future events, tournament staff conducted a Sports Conference featuring presentations on sports administration, sports science and medicine, marketing, operations and media, with up to 40 representatives from various sporting bodies on hand.

Tournament director, Brian Canavan, said;

“This tournament was a great opportunity for players to exhibit their pride in their countries and participate in an intense international event,” Canavan said.

“The teams were wonderful ambassadors to their countries and to the game of rugby league and they are to be congratulated for their cooperation and efforts.

“The tournament final exemplified the unequal passion for our game, which stands PNG in good stead for its future endeavours.

“I would like to specifically thank our sponsors, particularly SP Brewery and the National Gaming Control Board, Coca Cola, Air Nuigini, bemobile and Ela Motors, and our host broadcasters EM TV and FM 100.

“This group and the people of the Papua New Guinea Rugby League enabled this event to be conducted at its professional level.”