Dede Sophie

At RLWC2017, schoolgirl Gloria Kaupa was the youngest player in the Papua New Guinea Orchids squad and played just a handful of minutes against New Zealand in the team’s final match of the tournament. But she channeled her disappointment into motivation – and rose to become vice-captain of the team by the time of the 2019 test series against England. It has been a long journey for Goroka-based Gloria, who stars in the internationally released PNG Orchids documentary Power Meri, to persuade her community to support her playing rugby league as a woman (for religious reasons). She says the turning point was the Orchids’ match against England in 2019 in her hometown. “When we played in Goroka, it was the first time half of my church members, as well as my community came to watch…more than 50 people who knew me. After that, they were more supportive and started to take women in rugby league more seriously,” she says. Gloria has taken it upon herself to develop women’s rugby league in Goroka

Irish motorists are being reminded that they have a responsibility to make sure their car is in safe running order, even if there are long delays in getting appointments for statutory NCT tests, writes Brian Byrne. Tom Dennigan of Continental Tyres Ireland says  there are a number of simple checks that motorists should regularly carry out on their vehicle. “For example, with your car’s tyres, the vehicle’s only contact with the road, a tyre check can be done very simply and quickly by checking the tread depth and tyre pressures as well as keeping an eye out for any bumps or bulges in the tyre,” he says. “As tyres are consistently in the top five reasons for a failure in the NCT, motorists should get into the habit of performing these simple checks at least every two weeks and certainly before a long journey.” Since the introduction of the National Car Test in 2000, Tom Dennigan says the initiative has ‘done a great job’ in ensuring the vast majority of cars on Irish roads are roadworth