New Zealand provided one of the greatest upsets in recent sporting history when they defeated Australia in the 2008 World Cup final at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
Led by coach Stephen Kearney and rugby league mastermind Wayne Bennett, the Kiwis ambushed the Kangaroos 34-20 to take the coveted trophy back to New Zealand as World Cup champions for the very first time.
New Zealand Kiwis
RLIF World Ranking: 2
Best Result: Champions (2008)
2008 Finish: Champions
2013 RLWC Odds: $4.25
New Zealand has appeared in every single World Cup since the very first edition in 1954. It took 13 attempts for the Kiwis to finally be crowned champions, having previously failen at the final hurdle in 1988 and 2000.
Currently ranked No. 2 in the world, the Kiwis backed up their 2008 RLWC win with a Four Nations title in 2010, again defeating Australia in the final in Brisbane.
New Zealand will be without the services of Wayne Bennett at the 2013 RLWC, though the playing squad is significantly stronger than the team that took the field five years ago.
Team Line-up (likely)
1. Josh Hoffman
2. Manu Vatuvei
3. Krisnan Inu
4. Dean Whare
5. Jason Nightingale
6. Kieren Foran
7. Shaun Johnson
8. Sam Kasiano
9. Isaac Luke
10. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
11. Simon Mannering (c)
12. Sonny Bill Williams
13. Frank Pritchard
14. Elijah Taylor
15. Ben Matulino
16. Frank-Paul Nu’uausala
17. Alex Glenn
Squad Members: Kevin Locke, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Bryson Goodwin, Thomas Leuluai, Jesse Bromwich, Sam Moa, Greg Eastwood
The squad picked for the 2013 RLWC is the strongest Kiwi line-up in recent memory.
It contains strike power right across the field – an intimidating forward pack and skillful backs complemented by an impressive spine that performed well together in this year’s ANZAC Test against Australia.
In New Zealand’s only international this year, the scores were locked 6-all at the break before the Kangaroos ran away with it in the second half, however New Zealand went into that match with a host of stars out injured.
Stephen Kearney has selected a mix of youth and experience containing a lot of big match exposure, including six players who took part in the 2013 NRL grand final.
Key Player
This choice may cop a bit of flak due to recent headlines, however there is no doubt that the most influential player for New Zealand during the 2013 World Cup will be Sonny Bill Williams.
His return to rugby league this year was everything he would have hoped for, as he regularly starred for the Sydney Roosters side on their way to winning the premiership. This was no more evident than the final 20 minutes of the season, in which Williams put his stamp on the grand final.
He has a fair share of fans, and just as many critics, but no one can dispute that Sonny Bill is an extremely talented footballer – a fact that was evident from his very first season back in 2004. It is not just a coincidence that SBW has tasted success everywhere he has been over the past few years.
If Sonny performs at his best throughout the tournament, the Kiwis will go a long way towards defending their title. Another World Cup victory here will certainly put Williams in a category that very few before him have reached.
Group B Fixtures and Opponents
Vs Samoa @ Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington. Kick-off – Mon 28th Oct 6am AEDT
Vs France @ Parc Des Sports, Avignon. Kick-off – Sat 2nd Nov 7am AEDT
Vs Papua New Guinea @ Headingley Carnegie Stadium, Leeds. Kick-off – Sat 9th Nov 7am AEDT
Key Match
New Zealand is the clear favourite to top Group B of the tournament and is expected to win all three matches against Samoa, France and Papua New Guinea.
The toughest encounter may come up against the French in front of a packed stadium in Avignon. France has troubled the Kiwis over the last decade, with New Zealand just edging the Chanticleers on numerous occasions.
The two nations provided memorable Test matches in 2004 (24-20), 2005 (38-22) and 2007 (22-14), however the last clash between the two resulted in the World Champions thumping the tri-colours 62-12.
All three of the Kiwis’ Group B opponents are expected to field vastly improved sides from 2008.
RLWC 2013 Prospects
Going into a World Cup for the first time as defending champions, there is an expectation that New Zealand will make the trip to Old Trafford on November 30.
The Kiwis are brimming with talent which has produced a squad that is far stronger than the side that won in 2008.
New Zealand perform significantly better in tournaments than they do in one-off Test matches, and the losing streak against the Kangaroos in the ANZAC Tests will have little influence in predicting their fortunes in this World Cup campaign.
The Kiwis will have to address their poor record in the Northern Hemisphere though, in particular the fact that they have not beaten England in the UK since the start of this millennium. They will have to break that hoodoo if they are to go all the way.
With this well balanced line-up, Stephen Kearney will be quietly confident that his men can go back-to-back and return to New Zealand still as World Cup champions.
guru
Guest
Dont forget Ivan cleary is part of the coaching staff
guru
Guest
Kearney a lot older and considered a good coach by many including the broncos where heis currently the assistant coach.If the kiwis win the world cup he could possibly become a bronco coach and tim sheens sacked. Wayne Bennet has never been a aggressive coach.
Renegade
Roar Guru
Isaac Luke is a great player Edward and I'd have him as the second best number 9 in the world... the Australian Captain and Hooker is the answer to your question. Cameron Smith is not just better, his probably the best dummy half the game has ever seen.
edwardkelly
Guest
I would not be suprised to find that Isaac Luke will be the Kiwi man of the series.If there is a better dummy half in the game i would like to see him
Pineapple
Guest
The keys for the Kiwis are the 6, 7 and 9. Get those boys firing and they'll be ready for anyone.
T
Guest
1. Locke 2. RTS 3. Hoffman 4. INU 5. Manu 6. Foran 7. Johnson 8. Kasiano 9. Luke 10. JWH 11. Sonny 12. Mannering 13. Eastwood 14. Matulino 15. Frank Pritch 16. J Bromwich 17. E Taylor *if added Jeremy Smith they win it, regardless too much discrepancies in the betting $4 great value with sonny bill in the side.. I'm an Aussie but ill be on the kiwis at the price.. Australia will need Greg (who shld been fullback) Cam Smith, Fifita, Thurston to all dominate and if that happens then lights out but even if 1 of them are hurt or abit off then kiwis with sonny will knock them off again
Joe Kingman
Guest
1. Locke Better ball player than Hoffman. Can set up try's with kiwis sweeping second man plays. Like Hohia use to. Justin Hodges would back this call also. If Hoffman could ball play out the back I would pick him. 2. RTVS 3. Mannering/Glenn 4. Inu 5. Vatuvei. Can win you a game. Great meter eater. 6.Foz. His communication and direction will be the reason we win the world cup. 7.Johnson. He is going to carve the Ozzies up because the amazing go forward from our pack. 8.JWH. The key to our go forward. 9. Luke. The man. 10.Moa 11 Pritchard 12 Glenn 13 SBW (let him roam wherever he wants) 14 Bromwitch. 15.Matalino/Kasiano 16Eastwood (prop, 2nd row, lock, centre) 17Taylor (2nd row, lock, hooker, centre) Our only weakness is in the centres. SKD loss is huge for us. What a great last 8 weeks he had with the Roosters after a shit first half of the season. Matai is a huge loss. Would of been nice to get Joey Leilua. I know we will win this World Cup. You should hear the way the Aussies are talking about Johnson & Foran causing a lot of damage because of our amazing forward pack lead by JWH. Then they talk about SBW on top of that as the X factor, something they don't have. We got this.
Renegade
Roar Guru
The Kiwis appear to be ready for the task.... 50-0 win over the Cook Islanders this morning in the final warm up match.
Awesome person
Guest
Kearney is a good coach. I agree he needs to be more aggressive but he did coach them in 08 and took out the title. It is great he has Cleary as assistant as I think their similar styles will work really well together. I wouldn't be suprised if the kiwis won it this year but I'm backing Australia for the title.
Awesome person
Guest
My Team 1. Josh Hoffman 2. Jason Nightingale 3. Bryson Goodwin 4. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 5. Sam Perrett 6. Keiran Foran (c) 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Issac Luke 10. Sam Moa 11. Adam Blair 12. Sonny-Bill Williams 13. Jeremy Smith 14. Nathan Fein 15. Simon Mannering 16. Frank-Paul Nuuasalla 17. Jesse Bromwich
Johnno
Guest
Sam Perret should of been in this squad, classy player. Nightingale, is very reliable, good in defence and under the high ball, but he offers nothing in attack at this level.
Tom
Guest
Ignore the above^ I have decided to change it a bit. Ok so this the squad. I have placed my starting side in the first positions and the covering players beside for better visualisation. New Zealand 1. Josh Hoffman / Kevin Locke 2. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 3. Alex Glenn (2RF) / Dean Whare 4. Krisnan Inu / Bryson Goodwin 5. Manu Vatuvai 6. Kieran Foran (c) / Thomas Leuluai (HOK) 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Issac Luke 10. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 11. Simon Mannering 12. Sonny Bill Willams 13. Elijah Taylor Interchange 14. Greg Eastwood 15. Frank Pritchard 16. Frank-Paul Nuuausala 17. Sam Kasiano / Sam Moa / Ben Matulino Firstly I would pick Tuivasa-Sheck over nightingale due to the fact that Jason has had trouble scoring points having had an overall poor attacking performance for the dragons this year, and Roger is just all over more dangerous not to mention good under the high ball and consistent (things nightingale is notable for.) I am aware how he lifts for New Zealand every time and that he would do the job justice if picked but I just prefer Roger as a player. That and the combination he has with SBW and WOULD have had with Kenny-Dowall on the right edge (so this builds for the future, with Kenny anyway.) The centres I've picked are the inconsistent Inu has size and freak skill to match Inglis and Alex Glenn. Alex has shed size and gained notable speed plus has had some great performances covering for hodges at the broncos late year. I wouldn't pick the young and inconsistent Whare or Mannering as the covering second rowers aren't good enough right now to fill his spot. The halves Johnson and Foran have only gotten better this year and are second to none in their positions ATM (for the kiwis.) I pick the in form mammoths Brommich and Hargreaves as starting props and Kasiano on the bench with FPN primarily as back row but to back up as prop since the big fellas do tire quickly. The starting back row is pretty obvious but I opted to pick Eastwood on the bench due to his underrated mobility and overall ability, with taylor starting at lock. And finally Luke at hooker because he has done more than enough to solidify his spot there.
Tom
Guest
Ok so this the squad. I have placed my starting side in the first positions and the covering players beside for better visualisation. New Zealand 1. Josh Hoffman / Kevin Locke 2. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 3. Dean Whare 4. Krisnan Inu / Bryson Goodwin 5. Manu Vatuvai 6. Kieran Foran (c) / Thomas Leuluai (HOK) 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Issac Luke 10. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 11. Simon Mannering 12. Sonny Bill Willams 13. Elijah Taylor Interchange 14. Alex Glenn 15. Frank Pritchard 16. Frank-Paul Nuuausala / Greg Eastwood 17. Sam Kasiano / Sam Moa / Ben Matulino Firstly I would pick Tuivasa-Sheck over nightingale due to the fact that Jason has had trouble scoring points having had an overall poor attacking performance for the dragons this year, and Roger is just all over more dangerous not to mention good under the high ball and consistent (things nightingale is notable for.) I am aware how he lifts for New Zealand every time and that he would do the job justice if picked but I just prefer Roger as a player. That and the combination he has with SBW and WOULD have had with Kenny-Dowall on the right edge (so this builds for the future, with Kenny anyway.) The centres I've picked are inconsistent but Inu has size and freak skill to match Inglis, and Whare much like RTS is electrifying (also like Jennings) and they are the best specialists in the squad. Also I wouldn't pick Glenn there (albeit has shed size and had some great performances covering for hodges at the broncos late year) or Mannering as the covering second rowers aren't good enough right now to fill their spots. The halves Johnson and Foran have only gotten better this year and are second to none in their positions ATM (for the kiwis.) I pick the in form mammoths Brommich and Hargreaves as starting props and Kasiano on the bench with FPN primarily as back row but to back up as prop since the big fellas do tire quickly. The starting back row is pretty obvious but I opted to pick glenn on the bench due to his ability to come on as centre in case the centres play poorly, with taylor starting at lock. And finally Luke at hooker because he has done more than enough to solidify his spot there.
watcher
Guest
For a fly in the ointment look at the Tongan team, strong forwards, experience and speed to burn
Kuruki
Roar Guru
SKD has more punch sideways then forward. Whare was excellent in the last test and an in Form Inu can do anything, he has size also.
Renegade
Roar Guru
I agree. It's the most impressive Kiwi line-up ever and certainly stronger than the 2008 side that claimed the World Cup. Benji Marshall at his peak would be a great inclusion however he was no chance of making this line up in his 2013 form.
Seb Vettel
Guest
rugby league is popular in 2 states of Australia, a few suburbs in Auckland, the north of England, the south of France, and world super power PNG
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
No, by cynics I mean those who consider the world cup of rugby league to be a joke. The same people who use the old "rugby league is popular in 2 states of Australia, a few suburbs in Auckland, the north of England, the south of France, and world super power PNG" argument to dismiss international rugby league. Even if Australia demolish England and NZ at this world cup and win it comfortably, that argument is a complete load of rubbish. Those are the "cynics" that I was referring to.
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
I stand by my statement that this is the strongest Kiwi team ever despite the absence of Marshall. At his peak he is probably NZ's greatest ever five eighth. But I'm talking about the whole team 1-17. Not just 1 player. The teams that Marshall played in were not as strong as this team, but with his individual brilliance he was able to catapult them to World Cup and 4 Nations glory. If NZ win this world cup it will be much more of a team effort. From 1-17, this is the strongest NZ side I have ever seen.
cantab
Guest
Given that we only need to win 1 or at most 2 hard knock out games, then yes, it's definitely a possibility.