RLWC 2013: Talking points from week 3 of the World Cup

The group fixtures of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup have now passed and eight teams have qualified for the business end of the competition.

This year’s tournament has set a new benchmark for International Rugby League and the quarter finals this weekend will hopefully continue to raise the bar. Before I start discussing the knockout fixtures, here are my thoughts from week 3 of the RLWC.

Should the Kiwis be favourites?
The defending champions were in sublime form in the first half of their final group match. The Kiwis tore shreds through the PNG defence on their way to a 56-10, recording the highest score of the tournament so far.

New Zealand produced a clinical first half performance that saw them take a 40-0 lead with SBW being involved in just about everything.

Should the Kiwis actually be favourites for the title? They are the current World Champions and their for and against differential from the group stages is the best in the tournament. They demolished all opposition in one of the super pools although it’s debatable whether the opposition they faced were as strong as those faced by Australia and England in Group A.

Stephen Kearney will no doubt be pleased by what he is seeing from his side and there is certainly a good enough case to suggest they could be favourites.

The Bravehearts remain undefeated
Scotland along with Australia and New Zealand remain the only undefeated teams in the tournament. This result would have been at long odds prior to the tournament and the Bravehearts have done incredibly well in 2013 reaching the quarter finals of the RLWC for the very first time.

The Scots possess one of the best halves combinations in the tournament in Danny Brough and Peter Wallace and as the old rugby league adage suggests, quality halves will win big games. The 2013 Man of Steel is showing the world why he was regarded as the best player in the northern hemisphere this year. This is a huge achievement for the Scottish side and Steve McCormack is the longest serving coach of a national side having been in charge of the Bravehearts for a decade and it appears all his hard work is now being rewarded.

The best of the rest
Six of the fourteen competing nations at this RLWC are now on their way home after failing to qualify for the quarter finals.

I was most impressed by Italy out of the six with the Azzurri putting together a dream debut losing only one game during the tournament being their last one against Tonga. Had Italy won that game, they would be playing New Zealand in the first quarter final however they have still completed an impressive World Cup debut.

Tonga went into the tournament with heavy backing from punters and failed to reach those expectations. Charlie Tonga will be proud of his team as they performed well in every match however privately the team may feel a little disappointed.

Wales finished the tournament without a win and would be very disappointed in their effort considering they played each game at home.

Ireland were drawn into the pool of death and I wrote in my preview that this would be the toughest campaign yet for the Irish. The Wolfhounds performed admirably but were always going to be up against it having been placed in the same pool as 3 of the semi-finalists from the last World Cup. This is the first time Ireland has failed to qualify for the knockout stage.

Papua New Guinea also came away without a win however they certainly won’t lose any support. The Kumuls were the crowd favourites in every match they played and who could forget the moment 18,000 fans chanted in unison at Headingley for PNG while they trailed by 50 points.

The Cook Islands won their first ever world cup game and competed at a high level in each game they played. All six teams can walk away holding their heads high and can now look at building a platform towards the 2017 tournament.

DCE or Robbie?
My line-up for the Kangaroos has included Cherry-Evans as the utility on the bench from the very start. I simply cannot understand the decision to pick Farah on the interchange. Removing Cameron Smith from the field for Robbie Farah at any point in any game is a major setback. He can’t cover the halves position or play in the forwards so there is really no point having him there. Daly Cherry-Evans has to be on the bench for the Kangaroos in the finals of this World Cup if we are to field our best 17.

Best of the week
Team Performance – As per my earlier point on the defending champions, New Zealand were brilliant in the first forty minutes. Arguably the best 40 minutes by any side in this tournament.

Individual performance – Sonny Bill Williams was at his devastating best in the Kiwis win over the Kumuls. He scored three tries in the first half, set-up a few and was performing offloads at will. It was almost like he didn’t want to get tackled with the ball. He was also unlucky not to get a fourth try in the second half. Anthony Milford was instrumental in Samoa’s win and Sam Burgess had his best game for England in a long time against Fiji.

Match of the round – I couldn’t go past the France vs Samoa game that completed the preliminary rounds. This was a tremendous game with a lot at stake and contained a lot of feeling being played at a great intensity. The lack of attacking options from the French ruined a tight finish in the end however the battle between the small yet dynamite fullbacks for each team were a highlight. Anthony Milford and Morgan Escare lit up the match throughout the 80 minutes.

Looking ahead at the four knock out matches this weekend, the Samoa vs Fiji clash is promising to be an absolute ripper with one of the pacific nations certain to book a semi-final spot at Wembley Stadium. The other matches will see the ‘Big Three’ nations take on Scotland, France and the USA respectively.

Is there any chance of an upset in the Quarter Finals? It’s highly unlikely but hopefully we continue to see brilliant contests as we have thus far in the 2013 RLWC.