Theworld has now seen each of the 14 nations compete on two occasions at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, with the brilliant match between Tonga and Cook Islands on Wednesday morning (AEDT) bringing an end to the second round of the tournament.
The World Cup has continued to impress both on and off the field, gaining further strength and momentum at the same time as we head towards the business end of the tournament.
In week two we saw the first teams to be eliminated, USA continuing to write their fairy tale, the ‘Big Three’ stepping up and some more classic matches and performances.
Two down, Twelve to go
In what has proved to be the most competitive World Cup in history, 12 nations still remain a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages going into the final round of pool matches.
The first two teams eliminated from this year’s tournament are going to be Wales and the Cook Islands. Both Group D sides will play their final match of the tournament against each other this Sunday in Wales – the loser to end up with the wooden spoon in 2013.
Neither side has won a game thus far and cannot catch the USA as the Tomahawks will top the pool regardless of the result of their final pool game.
Ireland and Papua New Guinea are both mathematically still a chance to progress to the quarter-finals, but are very unlikely to do so. Both sides will have to cause major upsets in their final group games, against Australia and New Zealand respectively.
The other remaining contenders will face off this week in must-win games to continue their RLWC campaigns.
USA Tomahawks continue to #ShockTheWorld
Going into the 2013 RLWC, the USA were the biggest outsiders in the tournament with bookies listing them at the longest odds of 1501/1.
In my preview of the Tomahawks I mentioned that they were “ready to take on the world” in their first World Cup appearance and a win would be seen as a successful debut.
Forget that – the Americans remain undefeated and are the first team to book their quarter-final match.
On paper, the Tomahawks appeared to be the weakest team in the tournament, however they are playing with a lot of passion and pride, possessing a certain calmness and confidence throughout their performances.
Despite what happens from here on in, the USA can consider this tournament a successful one considering they were paying $33 just to top Group D!
A quarter final appearance will be a tremendous achievement and the team is starting to get some exposure in the US press. They’re being helped along by The Wiggles, who’ve dedicated with a new song to the team – USA Tomahawks Shock The World.
The Powerhouses flex their muscles
Australia, England and New Zealand stepped it up a notch in their second matches, showcasing their superior overall talent.
It was a case of ‘anything you can do, I can do better’ (or at least as well), with all three keeping their opposition tryless.
New Zealand defeated France 48-0 in front of a packed house in Avignon. England then savaged the Irish in the first half on their way to a 42-0 victory at a sold out JS Stadium in Huddersfield, before Australia hammered the Fijians 34-2 at Langtree Park in St Helens.
All three sides put in an improved performance from week one, however England appeared to be the pick of the three this week.
This is the most competitive World Cup we’ve ever seen, but it will be a major shock if two of the ‘Big Three’ aren’t competing at Old Trafford.
Best of the week
The best matches of the week were the Group C Scotland-Italy match and the battle between Tonga and Cook Islands.
These two matches were thoroughly entertaining and a great example of the high quality football that we have so far witnessed in the 2013 RLWC.
The best team performance from week two was the effort from Samoa in their 38-4 drubbing of Papua New Guinea. The Samoans were very clinical against the Kumuls and continued the effort that we saw against New Zealand in the second half of last week’s game.
Papua New Guinea were disappointing, but the performance from Samoa would have been what Matt Parish had hoped for. The Kumuls came back strongly in the second half, however Toa Samoa stuck to the game plan and will be very hard to beat if they continue to improve and play as they did.
In terms of standout individuals, Isaac Luke was the best player on the field by a long way for the Kiwis against France. He has really cemented his place as the second best hooker in the world in 2013.
Anthony Milford played a major role in Samoa’s victory over Papua New Guinea, breaking the line at will – he is clearly the most important player for the side.
Sam Tomkins was superb for Englan, while Konrad Hurrell and Jason Taumalolo were at their devastating best for Tonga.
Joseph Paulo put in another impressive display as Captain America as he leads the Tomahawks charge.
Looking ahead to week three
We have some incredibly important games being played in the final round of group matches. There are still five undefeated teams in this World Cup and who would’ve thought that Italy, Scotland and USA would be three of them right now?
The Bravehearts will battle the Tomahawks in Salford in what will be a crucial game for Scotland. If the Scots are to suffer their first loss of the tournament in this match, it will bring an end to their campaign.
The Americans have their eye on a quarter-final clash with Australia, however they will need to ensure this doesn’t affect them mentally as they would want to go into that game keeping their six-game winning streak intact.
Scotland’s Group C rivals, Italy and Tonga, will clash against each other in a must-win game. The result of the Scotland-USA game could lead to this match being a playoff for a quarter-final spot.
Set your alarm for both of these two games as they are sure to be crackers.
England and Fiji will fight out for second place in Group A at KC Stadium in Hull. England will go in as favourites, thoughFiji are closing the gap on the big three quicker than anybody else.
The Bati will certainly provide the hosts a contest, with both sides hoping to go into the quarter-finals on the back of a win.
The opening game of the World Cup between Australia and England was in my mind the most important match of the preliminary rounds.
The second most important was always going to be the final game of the group stages, when France played hosts to Samoa in Perpignan. This game is going to be enormous for both sides, with the winner to take second place in Group B.
The winner will avoid a clash with the heavyweights in the quarter-finals – an extremely enticing prospect. The French will be at home in front of a capacity crowd, though they will need to improve on their last effort to beat a Samoan side that appear to be hitting their straps at the right time.
It will be the last time we see some of these sides run out in the 2013 World Cup, and the final seven matches of the preliminary rounds are shaping up to be the best we’ve seen in this tournament yet.
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