By Alan Nicolea
October 14th 2008 @ 12:33am
Get a Roar profile
Loading ...Ireland need more than just luck in World Cup
While luck is something Ireland pride themselves with, it hasn’t been nice to them recently with the departure of star winger Brian Carney to rugby union and the injury to Melbourne premiership forward Brett White.
It is no surprise, then, to think the men from the Emerald Isle will be hoping the ‘luck of the Irish’ is in full swing when their rugby league World Cup campaign kicks off in two weeks time.
Indeed, their journey to ultimate glory will not be easy.
Tonga and Samoa occupy Ireland’s group, second tier sides most punters are predicting will cause the most concern for the likes of Australia, New Zealand and England.
But if recent results on league’s world stage are anything to go by, the Irish have faired better than expected.
Thus far, Ireland have only competed in one league World Cup (2000), and they finished as quarter-finalists in probably the only surprise in a tournament that was considered a financial disaster.
It took an established and experienced England outfit to knock Ireland out in 2000, beating them in a close contest 26-16.
Despite the exit, Ireland took great heart in that showing and this has enabled the nation to grow in the rugby league fields, with players regularly playing in the Engage Super League and the NRL.
Although the Irish have enough competitive players to keep them in contests, they lack the one individual that can set them on course for victory.
The injury to Brett White in particular will hurt the Irish big-time.
White is a leading forward in the NRL and has won a premiership with the Storm. He has also played for NSW in Origin football, meaning his big game experience is unmatched among the Ireland roster.
His aggression around the middle of the park will be sorely missed.
Ireland, however, do have one reasonable player in former NRL premiership winner Pat Richards.
Richards caught the eye thanks to his performances for the Wests Tigers in 2005, scoring one of the tries of the century in the Grand Final against the Cowboys (courtesy of the Benji Marshall flick).
He also possesses one of the biggest drop out boots in the game.
The move overseas has been productive for Richards, displaying consistent form for the Wigan Warriors in scoring 45 tries in 83 games.
In all, Ireland have played enough league to suggest they will not be easy beats against the likes of France, Samoa and Tonga.
They have played 22 internationals, winning 14 and losing 7 with 1 draw. As it is not a full member of the Rugby League International Federation, these matches are not considered to be tests.
And although their presence in the 2008 World Cup will probably not rival their performance in 2000, it will provide the building blocks for Irish League to become more competitive so they can perhaps one day rival England, Australia and New Zealand.
Free Email updates:
Our daily emails are only sent if there is content for the sport or that author. You can subscribe to multiple daily emails; or get the daily Roar email with all our content in it. We value privacy. More...
(33)
We were talking about the important things in life, mainly sport.
sledgeross said | October 14th 2008 @ 8:40am | Report comment
Keep up the “minnow” reporting Alan!
The one thing against the Wolfhounds is their severe lack of depth. The Island nations, and even PNG have a few players who have had exposure to top shelf competition (be it NRL or SL), whereas Ireland will be drawing from domestic and lower leagues in the UK, with the occasional expat/import.
oikee said | October 14th 2008 @ 8:53am | Report comment
If ireland win just one game i will buy them 1st class tickets back to ireland.
True Tah said | October 14th 2008 @ 8:58am | Report comment
oikee,
I dont think all of the Irish league team need to go back to Ireland.
Its a shame that Brett White isn’t playing, cos it would only be a 1 hour flight to Melbourne.
oikee said | October 14th 2008 @ 9:03am | Report comment
chris said | October 14th 2008 @ 9:54am | Report comment
i think every team outside of australia and nz needs the best of wishes. Some would even say nz.
sledgeross said | October 14th 2008 @ 10:46am | Report comment
I noticed the youthful Welsh team got absolutely smashed by the Poms a few days ago. DOes anyone know if Iestyn Harris is playing for them?
CumberlandsAshes said | October 14th 2008 @ 11:23am | Report comment
No, Ietsyn Harris has retired from the International game. The team was pretty experimental (not to mention young) with 7 Crusaders / Crusaders Colts players in the line-up :
Halley (Bradford), Gibson (Halifax), James (Crusaders), L Williams (Crusaders), R Williams (Warrington), Lennon (Crusaders), Watson (Leigh), Kopzcak (Bradford), Penkywicz (Halifax), Mills (Hull KR, capt), Flower (Crusaders), Davies (Crusaders), Bracek (Warrington). Subs: Webster (Crusaders), Griffiths (Castleford), James (Crusaders), Barron (Gateshead).
Crusaders are obviously the future of the game in Wales and will form the backbone of the National team - this is the beginning of that building process.
oikee said | October 14th 2008 @ 11:26am | Report comment
Not sure sledge, he might be injured but it really showed that the welsh team need to rebuild, thats why they did not make the cut, and they will rebuild no dought, dont underestimate the poms, they are very strong, the nrl players who go over there now are starting to look average compared to 5 years ago.
And new zealand must be strong if they can reject moi moi and talarki. ?
sledgeross said | October 14th 2008 @ 1:12pm | Report comment
Thanks Cumberland, for teh line up. I rate Penckywicz from what Ive seen he has a classy look.
Alan Nicolea said | October 14th 2008 @ 1:36pm | Report comment
Sledgeross
Ireland do lack depth, especially with Carney and White gone. They will be hard pressed to qualify for the next round in their group. For some reason though, i still think they will be competitive.
Oikee
Talarki? do you mean the Wests Tigers winger Tuiaki? I am not bagging you out. I just want to know if there is a player named Talarki. Is he a rising star or something?
oikee said | October 14th 2008 @ 2:26pm | Report comment
No thats him alan, i dont worry to much about spelling, at least you know who i mean.
sledgeross said | October 14th 2008 @ 3:12pm | Report comment
Actually oikee, it should be “I don’t worry TOO much about spelling”
Dublin Dave said | October 14th 2008 @ 4:47pm | Report comment
True Tah
WRT your comment “I dont think all of the Irish league team need to go back to Ireland”
Change “all” to “any” and you’d be closer to the truth.
We don’t play league here. Even the odd native born abberation like Carney had to go to England to play.
alan nicolea said | October 15th 2008 @ 7:07am | Report comment
Dublin Dave
How about if you guys win the damn thing. Would that help?
oikee said | October 15th 2008 @ 4:41pm | Report comment
Thank you sledge.
Dublin Dave said | October 15th 2008 @ 5:17pm | Report comment
Alan Nicolea
If you believe in the likelihood of that, you’ll believe in leprechauns.
Next thing you know, you’ll turn into an American tourist.
Be warned.
Alan Nicolea said | October 15th 2008 @ 5:28pm | Report comment
Dublin Dave
There is always hope. Hope is a good thing - if you watched the Shawshank Redemption
Guy Smiley said | October 16th 2008 @ 11:30pm | Report comment
I’m Irish. These boys pulling on the green aren’t. Not only do they qualify by the most tenuous of threads but the sport is not played in Ireland. They have no currency or relevance and are a shining example of what a transparent and pointless farce this comp is, just like in 2000. Austraia will win at a canter against either NZ or England but then that happens every time.
Steffy said | October 17th 2008 @ 12:26am | Report comment
“the sport is not played in Ireland”
http://rli.ie/club-finder
Alan Nicolea said | October 17th 2008 @ 7:12am | Report comment
Guy Smile
Whats the big deal man. I am only previewing all the teams chances at this world cup. Is that really a crime?
If you are Irish, just support the bloody team, win or lose. It should be easy for you considering you are in a win win situation (considering Ireland are in a very tough group).
The first football world cup was pointless, it was always going to be an Argentina v Uruguay affair. But now look at the tournament. Every sport has its roots mate. League has only now started to grow.
oikee said | October 17th 2008 @ 10:17am | Report comment
Go get them alan, welcome to league.
its all uphill from here son but you will love the fight. 
they knock you down time and time again but like all league supporters we just brush it off and get off the canvas and come out punching. You know the most interesting fact alan, other codes would have laid down and died by now, hehehehe
Alan Nicolea said | October 17th 2008 @ 10:34am | Report comment
Oikee
I guess all we can do in the end mate is cast our support so League can prosper on the world stage. But in time, i think it will prosper and it will start in this years world cup.
Millster said | October 17th 2008 @ 10:53am | Report comment
Alan - just a point of order. You may be right in terms of the first football world cup, but aren’t we talking the 8th League World Cup and 50 years of history? Where was the FIFA tournament after 8 comps and/or 50 years? You can’t pass this League comp off as something new here when you’ve stressed its history elsewhere.
Anyway by comparison, the 8th FIFA World Cup (Switzerland 1954) had the followng features:
- 45 teams entered qualification split into 3 broad groups - Europe, Americas, Asia. Notable absentee was Africa (though Egypt was represented via Europe, along with Israel). 57 qualifying matches were played
- 16 teams in the finals
- West Germany won 3-2 over Hungary in a classic final dubbed forever after as “The Miracle of Berne”
- first full television coverage
Also Alan, I do see Guy’s objection. From the surface, it seems the teams have country names but sometimes not much else. The ability for Australia to “take back” a supposedly Tongan player, combined with the clearly non-local people in many teams, really throws the whole point of a national squad in doubt.
Millster said | October 17th 2008 @ 11:05am | Report comment
I should also add that even looking at the first World Cup is a lesson for you League guys.
1930 Uruguay was caused due to the need for a world championship after FIFA and the IOC had major disagreements about what constituted ‘amateur’ status vis-a-vis olympic football as a pinnacle event.
Competed by 13 teams in 4 groups - Argentina, Chile, France, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Romania, Peru, USA, Paraguay, Belgium. No tiny island nations there you’ll note, a limited group but all sizeable European or North and South American countries. Though the final was an all South-American affair, all three continents were represented right up to the semis (in which Yugoslavia and the USA were the losing teams). The final was played at the “temple of football”, the Centenario, in front of 93000 people. Almost twice what the RL final will have at Suncorp 78 years later, even if Suncorp is filled to capacity which is not a given.
oikee said | October 17th 2008 @ 12:15pm | Report comment
I will add a small but unflattering piece to that , 107 thousand to a league final, and that was not even a world cup game, hehehe Not sure but i think thats a world record,,, Crowds are just a fundamental argument these days, if you look at a origin match then selling all tickets within 1 hour might be considered a world record, even a better point might be how many more could you have sold with-in lets say 5 hours.? There might have only been 52 thousand who wanted tickets. Not likely but who knows, and should we really care that much.
The point is, if the games are good then people will watch, after all its only a game now.
I also will add that the penrith crowds this year were laughable, 7-8-9 thousand, and this is a hotbed for league talent.
Alan Nicolea said | October 17th 2008 @ 1:18pm | Report comment
Millister
I too thought the Tongans were harshly done by when Anthony Tupou was called into the Australian squad. I do know for a fact football will be the world game for many years to come so you do not need to stress your points. I know!!!!!!!!!
All i am saying is that League will grow. That’s it. How hard is it for you guys to understand? everything has its roots and although League’s roots have grown very slowly, i see the speed of international growth increasing if all nations in this world cup put their hands up - Which they will.
Millster said | October 17th 2008 @ 1:27pm | Report comment
Alan - actually I’ll be more positive and say I quite like the game of League and I hope it will grow. Especially as I see a merger with Union in the next 20-30 years so whoever has some power will be able to retain some culture and some of their features in that merger rather than be swamped by the other. I’m not at all anti-League and I watch maybe 6 to 10 games per year on TV and have seen a few live. My main point (as per my other article) is that it should be more creative in the way it is run. Have something else than a World Cup, get rid of so many clubs in Sydney and make the survivors really storng and sustainable, and also think about how it is promoted and run in key expansion areas. But you know what, for all my criticism I want it to do well and I think its a pretty good game. My aggro is mostly because I think the way it is currently run is not so smart, especially given its limited footprint and audience in the world.
Alan Nicolea said | October 17th 2008 @ 3:43pm | Report comment
Millster
Good to have you on board then.
oikee said | October 17th 2008 @ 3:46pm | Report comment
Good, now you see how lucky football is in this country millster, you have a clean sheet to work with, league has been bogged down in every country it is and has been played, so our little wins are small but sweat, and really are not a threat to any code, including Union. Good post alan, and on the rugby league world cup site way back before the season started i had already picked tonga as the dark horse. Hope i have not jinxed them. I might go for samoa instead.
Alan Nicolea said | October 17th 2008 @ 11:29pm | Report comment
Oikee
Samoa or Tonga. Both have potential to cause a few surprises. I
Ian Noble said | October 18th 2008 @ 5:17am | Report comment
Oikee
Accept the RLWC2008 for what it is, a tournament cobbled together for the benefit of TV. A skewed pool system designed to make sure that the top teams progress to the semis. Emphasis on the top pool to avoid the embarassment of too many mis matches. Squads bought together to give the impression that league has a wider spread than is a reality. The reality it is a glorified tri-nations tournament with bolt ons.
There will be some good games and I hope England do well, but to have Ireland and Sotland as participating teams beggars belief and seriously questions the creditability of the tournament.
One other point, league is not a threat to union and indeed there is more to be gained by the codes working together particularly at grassroots and school level to convert youngsters to rugby. They can then decide whether they want to play union or league. Unfortunatley league seems to have an enormous clip on it’s shoulder and continually harks back to the past. What has happened has happened and league should move on and if the game is as wonderful as you say then spreading the game should not be a problem. There seems be an inbred culture of finding excuses why the game can’t move forward.
The classic case of the outcry when Celtic Crusaders were awarded a franchise for the reformed SL to 14 clubs away from the heartland of RL in England. Doomed to failure was the cry with Quins RLcaught up in the debate as an example of were the gates were poor compared to Widnes and Leigh in spite of being in existence for a number of years. There is a need for people of vision, but drawing a few guys out of hat and giving them a country to play for discredits the game.
oikee said | October 18th 2008 @ 12:28pm | Report comment
Probably ian, so manbe your right, i can tell you there is one scottish player who is happy, and he plays in their local league.
Next world cup there might be 2,
local players.
oikee said | October 18th 2008 @ 12:29pm | Report comment
Oh and i forgot to mention, if this happens then they can say they have improved by 100% ? well its true.