Part of the joy of watching any major international sporting event is tracking the progress of the so-called ‘minnows’.
Like becoming an instant expert in handball or fencing every four years during the Olympics, there’s something strangely alluring about backing the unbackable underdog – like Senegal at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Eric the Eel in Sydney or the Jamaican bobsled team whenever you watch Cool Runnings.
And so it is with the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.
These part-time league nations – giants in more popular sports at home – are supposed to be making up the numbers, but so far have made the bulk of the entertainment, while pre-tournament favourites steamroll opponents with monotonous and inevitable ease.
Few have been as surprising as the USA Tomahawks, who upset Wales 24-16 in Wrexham on Monday morning (ADST) to top Group D and earn a quarter-final berth.
Competing in their first ever World Cup, the USA boast just four current NRL players, a few NSW or Queensland-based players, with others scattered around Europe and America.
Nevertheless, the Tomahawks have caused upset after upset over the last few weeks.
Kicking off with a pre-tournament 22-18 defeat of fourth ranked France, the Tomahawks earned a surprise 32-20 victory over the Cook Islands in the first round of the group stages, before the piece de resistance on Monday against Wales.
Not bad for a side whose plane tickets home were booked before the tournament even began.
“Under tournament rules, you are supposed to fly out two days after you are eliminated,” Tomahawks team manager Steve Johnson told Fairfax journalists after the Welsh victory.
“Well, we were booked to leave on November 9 – two days before the last pool game when we could always have still been alive. It shows how little was expected of us.”
Like the tournament organisers, Wales had different plans for the Americans, opening the scoring through Christiaan Roets with some impressive play down the left edge, before tries to Tomahawks captain Clint Newton and Matt Petersen gave the visitors an 8-4 halftime lead.
A solo effort from Parramatta Eels utility Joseph Paulo and a four-pointer to Tui Samoa extended the advantage after the break, before Newton’s second pushed the gap to 24-8 and ensured a historic win with 15-minutes still to play.
Wales mounted a late fight-back, but tries to Roets and Anthony Walker were too little too late as the Dragons – who are two-time semi-finalists and currently ranked fifth in the world – were unceremoniously dumped from the tournament.
The USA now prepare for their last group match against Scotland before most likely taking on Australia in the quarter-finals on November 16.
Hopefully someone can get refunds on those tickets back across the Atlantic.
In the other game on Monday morning, Italy recorded a draw with Scotland at a muddy ground in Workington in the cold north-west of England.
Leading 30-26 in the closing stages, Italy – featuring the Minichiello brothers, Anthony Laffranchi and Aiden Guerra, among others – conceded a great try to Ben Hellewell after an opportunistic chip-kick by Scottish playmaker Danny Brough.
The conversion missed and the hard fought match ended in an entertaining stalemate.
They say crunch end of the tournament over the next couple of weeks will produce the best football, but I reckon the minnows have nailed it so far.
None of the Tomahawks’ games will be forgotten anytime soon; neither will the Scotland-Tonga classic last week. And who could forget Italy’s first up win over Wales?
Even the lucky French win over Papua New Guinea had its fair share of entertainment – if the quality of play left a bit to be desired.
Anyone else looking forward to France-Samoa or Tonga-Cook Islands?
Geoff
Guest
Don't have to get far to see your comment is irrelevant to this article. It's not even 10 lines in: [The minnows] "so far have made the bulk of the entertainment, while pre-tournament favourites steamroll opponents with monotonous and inevitable ease".
Don
Roar Rookie
Couldn't have put it any better. Perfect.
Russell johnson
Guest
I must admit sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake. First of all there were all these yoonion people having a bagging festival, and then there were lots of people who professed to be leaguies but couldn't ever seem to scrape a positive word together even when they arrived in clumps (this is the collective noun for people with nothing better to do -usually reserved for a c and k crowd) . Then it came to me there are two that's 2 types of people who are actually terrified THE World Cup might be a success: the first clump are of course the my sport's better than your sport crowd from the dark side ( my wife refers to them as Rent-a-nasty) and then there's the Phil Gould Clone clump (" I'm just going to stay here sound reasonable and rain on your parade.") Now you have to imagine them as either the one left over when the teams are picked or next to the fridge and the oven at parties. Maybe a better collective noun might be Marvin like the robot in the hitch hikers guide then you wouldn't even need to differentiate between them. What a great WORLD CUP ! It serves two purposes at once those of us what are interested love it and it annoys all the people who don't! Fabulous TGG
Paul
Guest
more like SL and NRL players playing against each other
Don
Roar Rookie
It will be really interesting to see a PNG team in the Queensland Cup if it comes together as planned. Given the law and order issues in PNG it would be a brave move if a few current players running around in Sydney and Brisbane 2nd Div comps were to join the PNG team. If they can get a good coach and a few players with the right ability, they could lift the skills of the others around them and we will surely see PNG RL improve overall. One thing missing with the Kumuls this year is the lack of really big hits. They are usually super physical albeit often off target, but not so much this year.
madrid john
Guest
How about the thrilling Somoan fight back against NZ that so abosrbed 15,000 fans in Manchester! Rugby League at its best.
oikee
Guest
PNG still have one good beating left in them surely. hehe. If they thought Samoa gave them a hard game, wait until they come up against the current world champs, out to deal them a good lesson and keep their form going. PNG need to improve, their ball control is not a-grade quality. They are now on Wales level, and that is one step out the back door, Canada and Jamiaca will end up taking their spots if they dont improve.
Relic
Guest
PNG, come home. You can't compete out there.
Epiquin
Guest
Even so, it wasn't that long ago where these minnows were being beaten by the "Big 3" by over a hundred points. Last World Cup it was 50-60 points. This time its 20-30 points. At this rate, the next world cup will be fantastic.
bbt
Guest
Apart from the winners, it is the upsets that we remember from all World Cups. The minnows are always the interest as we expect the All Blacks to win, Brazil to win and Usain Bolt to win. The RLWC2013 has been really entertaining so far. I think that once the dust has settled, the organisers, players etc must take a big bow for how this competition has been played out.
Emric
Guest
The minnos have been great when they have been playing other minos. When NZ, England or Australia are getting their hands on them and turning up to play the story is very different. Anyway a world cup is not about who wins but who competes and from this point this world cup has been good.
Lidcombe Magpie
Guest
I tried.
Brendan Bradford
Roar Pro
Scotland were ranked higher but if you look at the lineups you'd probably back the Italians. Heaps of NRL talent.
Cleveland Steamer
Guest
Been enjoying the minnows fight it out And the bigger minnow teams in the quarters will be good with Fiji, Samoa and Tonga if they get there Who was favourite going into Scotland v Italy?
Brendan Bradford
Roar Pro
Did you actually read the article?
Lidcombe Magpie
Guest
The minnows have been pathetic. On the weekend we had 3 games where against the big 3 the minnows couldn't score a try.