It’s so exciting: Rugby League World Cup time! Can you believe it’s only been however many years it’s been since the last one?
Approximately between three and five years passes so quickly in the heady world of international rugby league.
The Rugby League World Cup has provided us with so many memorable moments over the years.
Like the time Billy Slater stuffed up, and that try that I think got scored once.
And remember that time when a country where nobody plays rugby league cobbled together a team of second-tier professionals with tenuous links to the country in question and was humiliatingly thrashed by one of the only three teams that actually take the sport seriously?
You’ll probably remember that one in particular – it’s happened about a hundred times.
Let’s not be too harsh on rugby league’s really rather adorable efforts to be an international powerhouse.
After all, by splitting Great Britain into England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the authorities have managed to take what is usually a single league power and turn it into a single league power, another team that looks sort of like it could do OK, and Scotland and Ireland.
That really bolsters the ranks.
And by giving a stage on which the Pacific island nations can strut their stuff, the RLWC really provides an excellent way to keep New Zealanders who aren’t good enough to play for New Zealand off the streets.
And let’s not forget, naysayers, that those who claim that all the teams outside the Big Three are just pointless padding have already taken a body blow in Italy’s defeat of England in a warm-up game.
Although let’s also not forget that those who claim that any of the teams outside the Big Three have any credibility as actual representatives of the sport in their home country have also taken a body blow in the fact that the Italian team contains not only the Minichiello brothers, but Kade Snowden and Paul Vaughan, and if he weren’t injured, would include Craig Gower.
It’s heartwarming to see that Chris Centrone of the North Sydney Bears, and Ben Falcone of the Souths Logan Magpies, have also won their Italian caps: any tournament in which finely-honed, supremely talented millionaire super-athletes get to compete against part-time amateurs from minor suburban leagues is one guaranteed to be not only fiercely-fought, but hilarious.
Other notable warm-up results have been New Zealand’s 50-point victory over the Cook Islands, which under any reasonably-formulated handicap system must surely count as a 70-point victory to the Cook Islands; and the USA’s victory over France.
This may be the most incomprehensible result in sporting history. I have no idea what I’m supposed to think about the sentence “America just beat France at rugby league”: it’s like hearing that Angola just lost to Taipei in a standing bear-toss; there’s just no way to process it.
And that’s the problem with the Rugby League World Cup: its main purpose seems to be to produce news reports that read like a random word generator.
Admittedly, league is one step ahead in the global domination stakes of the AFL, which is so hard-up it is now trying to convince the media that sending a squad on a pub crawl in Dublin counts as a world championship.
But this still leaves the RLWC lagging behind genuine world games like soccer, rugby union, basketball, netball, cricket, hockey, ice hockey, baseball, softball, tennis, European handball, table tennis, touch football, indoor cricket, curling, and mock trial.
Which is not to say there is no value in international rugby league competition at all.
In fact, in recent years the rivalry between Australian, England and New Zealand has become ever more ferocious, and with New Zealand actually holding the title (I know right? I’d forgotten too), and England now possessing somewhere between two and fifteen Burgess brothers, this year’s should be a cracker.
It’s just an arguable matter as to whether preceding the competition for world supremacy with some vicious ritualistic floggings of hapless Frenchmen and bewildered weekenders from Wentworthville and Tuggeranong representing countries there seems a reasonable chance they’ve never even visited is a worthwhile expenditure of anyone’s time.
The true nature of the tournament is fairly well symbolised by the fact that three of the four teams in groups A and B qualify for the quarter-finals, while one out of three in groups C and D go through.
It’s like even the organisers can’t be bothered pretending it’s a real world cup.
But look, let’s enjoy the pageantry and fun, and cheer our country on, unless our country is Fiji or Scotland, in which case really, save yourself the grief.
We don’t get a football World Cup until next year, so we may as well bask in whatever we can get for now.
And if nothing else, it’ll really make the Commonwealth Games seem like life-or-death.
Adam Smith
Guest
Mate, I had better spelling and grammar in primary school than you do now. FFS go back to school!
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Russ old buddy, I was being facetious with the thread.The author is a ru fan first .Always smile at a crocodile. To clarify I have spent from my 20th year to where I am at now,(and it äint"pretty),watching following rugby league ,and in that time being season ticket holder and just renewed 2014 on Tuesday.I have watched a Challenge Cup final at Wembley and been on a Kangaroo's tour. I have literally spent a hoot of loot watching and supporting rl.I switched form ru in my late teens,hence my moniker.I don't even bother to spend time on union threads. If you will observe my multitude of posts ,I spend my ill gotten hours defending the code(particularly the RLWC) and will continue with such vigour, till I snuff it. I have watched the occasional game of union,which I can count on my hand in the last 20 years.I gave that code the flick,because basically for me it became ho hum.And the historical aspect only turned me away even further. To imply I like both sports ,is to suggest I like surfing and blue bottle stings.
Ret
Guest
"Most people had France as favourites" in the 99 RWC final after they beat NZ? Against Australia who then held the Bledisloe Cup and had conceded only one try in the whole RWC? That's certainly not how I remember it. In fact every Rugby supporter I spoke to were convinced we had it won BECAUSE we were playing France and not the ABs. Exactly how it turned out. I do agree France were probably unlucky in the 2011 final, but being beaten by Tonga earlier showed where they stood in reality.
Dan
Guest
France were never a shot? You're having a laugh... The All Blacks looked like they would lose in the last final before hanging on for a paltry 7-8 victory. Hardly an uncompetitive final...
TREX
Guest
Most people and fans had France as favourites in 1999 after they upset the All Blacks and even in 2011 France were in it as they have beaten the All Blacks many times at home and in New Zealand.
hutch
Guest
Daniel eyre obviously has a massive chip on his shoulder. I would hate to spend all of my time trolling the Internet commenting on sports that I hate. Not to mention that you are making things up and completely incorrect. But hey, whatever floats your boat. I'm off to watch a replay of aus v eng. I love watching the best rugby players on earth do their thing!
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
If 15 of the team are born in Fiji,how is that heritage.You are either born in a ountry or you are not.It's not hard.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Talk about prone to exaggerate "the code gets massive amounts of media coverage".The code gets more coverage than the AFL,in Sydney ,yet the AFL gets more coverage proportionately in Sydney based on its support. Of course NRL has had compettiton in Sydney for ages,they have had it since the Swans came to town,since Union went openely pro. The WSW are going well.Its a free enterprise system rugby lerague thrives on competition FHS. NRL crowds are down this year because of one thing,the biggest drawing clubs EEls,Dragons,Tigers and Broncos were poor performers.The NRL stated so,ch9 and Foxtel stated so,the clubs stated so. Then you contradict your own argument,when you suggest the Tahs will somehow come good next year ,and come back then. Your doom and gloom prediction is fantasy.
In Brief
Guest
Johnno, in Australia every man and his dog bags rugby union. I know you are a rugby union fan so find it a bit sycophantic that you put the boot in too on these forums. Support both sports by all means, but let's not pretend a proud nation like Fiji is to not a great rugby nation. Who can forget Fiji versus Scotland at the SFS in 2003? Or Fiji vs Wales at 2007 World Cup in France?
In Brief
Guest
Fiji rugby has a very long and proud history and they have provided a lot of great games. Playing NZ is not easy for any team. But I would prefer to see a team of home grown talent that has worked its butt off to get to a world cup, than a manufactured 'heritage' team. If that means blow outs, than so bit it.
In Brief
Guest
The Waratahs were on the nose. Poor example. Come back next year and we'll see if things have changed.
In Brief
Guest
You make a factual error in your post in claiming the NRL gets 'huge crowds.'
In Brief
Guest
The NRL gets massive media support and coverage and has been professional since the 1980s. It is at saturation point. Yet the crowds remain poor. The A League is now a major competitor for rugby league as is AFL. The 'greatest game of all' no longer gets all the love. And rugby union, despite getting no coverage or support in mainstream media has higher average crowds than rugby league. Extraordinary achievement.
nzmate
Guest
Superstar... yes the waratahs have rubbish crowds and they have sucked for about 5 years, but then so have the wallabies... and yet the 5 games the wallabies play in the northern hemisphere will top the 300,000 tickets sold so far for the entire RLWC. Add in the all blacks 4 games against Japan, england, ireland and France and for both teams you will have more people through the gate than if all 500,000 tickets for the RLWC were sold.
Steve
Guest
The link with schools has a lot to do with Rugby, as they are the backbone of Rugby ra-ra culture, and a major source of players. Rugby Union has no grounds to brag of its 'international' status compared to League anyway, but this is compounded by the fact that a ra-ra rugger bugger from St. Cholomondley's, Somerset is barely distinguishable from his brethren in Aus, NZ or SA. The Union world cup has only ever been won by interchangeable citizens of the ra-ra archipelago.
PhillNZ
Guest
Because the Warahtahs suck?Play boring losing footy even their hard core fans are crying.
Ret
Guest
Australia 124-0 Namibia in the 2003 RWC. And France may have done well over the years, but did anyone seriously think they were going to win any of them? No.
bemused
Guest
well said
katzilla
Roar Guru
Well heeled schools in British colonies are similar to those in the British homeland they were designed on? Well done. It has nothing to do with rugby though.
Daniel Szabo
Roar Guru
If union is so superior to league then explain to me why the Waratahs who can draw crowds from the entire state of NSW, average 15000 per game, yet the Rabbitohs who only represent the area known as South Sydney can average 22000 per game?