England-based Rhyse Martin, Edwin Ipape, Wellington Albert and Keven Appo are definite starters for the Papua New Guinea Kumuls when they take on the Vodafone Fijian Bati side on Sunday.

The quartet were unavailable for the opening match of the tournament against the Cook Islands.

The Kumuls and Bati play in consecutive weeks after both teams beat Cook Islands to ensure their places in the Pacific Bowl final ahead of Sunday’s final round of the tournament in Port Moresby.

However, Kumuls coach Justin Holbrook insisted his side’s approach to Sunday’s Test wouldn’t change.

“It is a tricky one because we do know that we’re going to play again the week after but, for myself and for our team, we’re just going to treat it as a two-Test series,” Holbrook told NRL.com

“We’re playing at home, and we have a big fan base here that we don’t want to disappoint, so while we know the week after is much more important, and it is tricky when you know you’re playing them twice, the best way to approach it is as a two-Test series.

“Obviously, the second Test is much more important because that will be a final but for us, we want to enjoy playing well and work hard so we’re going to treat both games the same.”

Rankings

The Kumuls are hoping that successive wins against Fiji will enable them to rise from sixth spot on the world rankings, particularly if fifth-placed Tonga loses their remaining two Tests against England.

Samoa is ranked third but suffered heavy defeats against Australia and New Zealand in the opening two rounds of the Pacific Championships and is likely to drop down the rankings list after England beat Tonga in the opening Test.

“All we can do is play well and win games and then that’ll hopefully shift in our favour,” Holbrook said. The match kicks-off at 5pm.

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