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The 2013 World Cup Champions: The greatest team – Part 3

No-one can beat the Kangaroos – but who could come second? (AP Photo/PA, Lynne Cameron)
Roar Guru
26th October, 2017
6

For the final chapter in the great Australian teams, the 2013 World Cup team makes the list.

The 1982 Kangaroos stand out as one of the best teams ever because they were the first team to go through an entire tour undefeated. The 1986 Kangaroos join them on the list for not only did they match the unbeaten record of the 1982 team, but they matched their brilliance and flair.

Although the 2000 World Cup Kangaroos also went through undefeated, they suffered a scare against Wales, and generally, the opposition was of a lower quality. The 2013 World Cup team can join the class of ’82 and ’86 due to their dominance over better opposition.

This World Cup team may be able to compare themselves to the team of 2013. Some of the players remain in the squad and if they make the final they should play the same amount of games. So the opportunity is there for the current crop to declare their greatness.

Yes, winning a World Cup is enough to be declared World Champions. However, the 2017 Kangaroos should not only be chasing that title; it should be pursuing another essential claim. One that will leave fans talking about them for generations to come – the title of the best Australian team ever.

This is the story of the 2013 World Cup Champions.

Heading into the tournament in England, Australia were favourites, but they were not the current holders or the Paul Barrière Trophy. New Zealand had shocked everyone but themselves to take home the 2008 title.

In the years between tournaments, the Kiwis had also managed to claim a four nations tournament so it was not a given that the Australian team would achieve victory.

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The opening game for Australia was against England. This formed a part of the doubleheader in which Italy played Wales. The 45,000-strong Cardiff crowd saw some dazzling rugby league.

The English skipped out to lead in the seventh minute when a dazzling backline move saw Ryan Hall to crash over in the corner.

The English extended this lead when a Kevin Sinfield put up a kick, and Slater let it bounce. Unfortunately for the Kangaroos, Leroy Cudjoe collected the ball and slammed it down. England after 20 minutes led 10 – nil.

This score had shocked the tourists who still seemed to have their minds stuck on the bus. However, the class of the Australian players does not take much to be revealed.

On the 26th minute and the fifth tackle, Cooper Cronk put up a bomb and Greg Inglis towered above Sam Tomkins, caught the ball and could have scored himself, but decided to pass the ball into a waiting Johnathan Thurston.

It would be Thurston’s magic touch and a poor defensive read by England that would see the game slip away from them. England have notoriously switched off in games against Australia in the last five minutes.

Think of the 2003 Ashes series in which Australia came from behind in every game. Think of Willie Mason and Luke Rooney in Manchester for the tri-nations.

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Johnathon Thurston Australia Kangaroos Rugby League Anzac Test 2017

(Image: NRL)

This World Cup contest would be no different. Tries to Greg Bird thanks to a Thurston precision pass, and then a 60-metre scrum breakaway by Billy Slater right on half-time had Australia out to an 18–10 lead.

The game would be almost out of England’s reach when Brett Morris scored from a backline move in the corner to extend the Kangaroos lead. However, there was some fight left in the English outfit, and a subtle pass from James Roby saw a dominating George Burgess crash over for a try.

The game was in the balance with Australia leading 22-16. A Thurston penalty kick and a Darius Boyd try sealed the game, yet a fortunate try with under five minutes to go by Josh Charnley brought the score to a respectable 28–20.

Although Australia had won, they had not dominated. The rest could not be said for the rest of the tournament. In fact, Australia’s dominance over the remaining games made the other contest in the World Cup a lot more exciting.

New Zealand Vs. Samoa in Warrington was a cracker. Fiji took England to task for the first half.

Papua New Guinea choked with a missed penalty that gave France the pathway to the quarter-finals. The Tonga versus Scotland game was a see-sawing event that exemplified all that is great with the game.

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Meanwhile, the Cook Islands demonstrated a way to lose a contest by throwing the ball away while being over the try line.

For the Australian team, all the others teams were there to make up the numbers. They had one clear goal, and that was domination, and after the lacklustre first game against the English, Fiji would feel their wrath.

14 thousand fans packed Langtree Park to see the brilliance of players like Smith, Thurston, Cronk, Hayne, Inglis and Slater.

However, the Australian dominance was not shown in the opening stanza. Fiji opened with a penalty kick and was competitive against the Kangaroos. Their resistance could not last and in the 14th minute, the defensive wall of Fiji finally cracked.

cameron-smith-australia-kangaroos-rugby-league-four-nations-2016-tall

(Simon Cooper/PA via AP)

Josh Papalii on debut broke through close to the line to put the Australians on the front foot. Although Darius Boyd was to score the next try, it would not have happened without the strength of Inglis who brushed aside defenders with his fend and managed a sneaky offload so that the play could continue.

At the 30th minute mark, Fiji were technically in the game only trailing 10–2. The reality, however, was that the Bati were going to be no match for the skill of the Australians. A simple backline passage saw Michael Jennings cross for an easy try.

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The second half offered no respite to the Fijians as Josh Morris, Daly Cherry-Evans and Luke Lewis all crossed for easy scores to extend Australia’s winning margin to 34 – 2. The scoreline was respectable; however, it seemed that this Australian team was still warming up for the tournament.

Thomond Park in Limerick was the venue for Australia’s contest against Ireland. The word contest should be used loosely in this context as the Irish offered little resistance to the dominating Australians.

In fairness, this game presented world-class players against part-timers, so one can consider that the Irish did pretty well in only losing 50 – nil.

A small crowd of five thousand spectators attended the match, and despite seeing some exciting footy by the visiting team, the festivities of the locals following the game would have been more interesting.

When Australia played the United States in Wrexham Wales, no one expected anything but Australian domination. The try-scoring for Australia began with Jarryd Hayne in the second minute and closed with Hayne in the 72nd minute.

The Tomahawks team was not expected to achieve anything in the tournament. Their campaign had started with controversy when numerous players who played in the domestic competition and had helped the national team qualify for the World Cup were overlooked for ex-pats with loose links to America.

Despite this, the team came together and played some exciting rugby league making the quarter-finals. The game in Wrexham offered the five and half thousand fans a glimpse into the quality of the Australian team. It was a sparse crowd considering that Wrexham does have a bit of a rugby league following.

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Nonetheless, the game was a non-event for the Australians. Inglis scored a try from pure strength, pushing off multiple defenders to score. Breaks were made at will by the Kangaroos, and a total of 12 tries were scored.

Johnathan Thurston kicked 7 from 12 to round off a strong night for Australia. The final score read Australia 62 – the United States of America 0.

In hindsight, this match was a turning point for rugby league in America. The local administrators and players were frustrated that so many local players had been overlooked for the tournament.

The game had also been in turmoil, and since the conclusion of the contest, the USARL have taken full control of the game with the national team now known as the USA Hawks.

They are currently only prepared to select players who are consistently willing to play for America, and if the results don’t go their way, they at least know the players involved are dedicated to the cause. This change in attitude is very much a step in the right direction not only for the American game but the international game.

The semi-final saw Fiji take on Australia once more. This was Fiji’s second semi-final in as many tournaments. Though, there was pretty much no chance of a reversal from the two teams’ first meeting in the round stages of the competition.

Played as part of a doubleheader at the majestic stadium of Wembley, Australia romped to an 11-try victory. The 64 – nil score-line had shown all that the Australian team had been using all their games as a simple warm-up to the final that was to come.

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The other match of this doubleheader featured an absolute classic between New Zealand and England. This game was played at a frantic pace, and it was only a fatigued George Burgess high shot that gave New Zealand another chance to win it late.

Then some Shaun Johnson magic sealed the game for the tourists. New Zealand had a chance to defend their World Cup title, while England had lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals in three straight World Cups.

Old Trafford, Manchester was the home venue for the 2013 World Cup final. The sold-out crowd was either hoping for a solid contest or a repeat of the 2008 final. They did not get their wish.

New Zealand attack the Kangaroos' line in the Rugby League World Cup final, 2013 at Old Trafford, Manchester. (Photo: Daniel Wighton).

(Photo: Daniel Wighton).

The first 15 minutes were tight. Both teams were going through the softening up period trying to test the defence of the opposition and strike at any weakness. Penalty goals to each side had the score locked at two-all when Thurston’s pinpoint kick landed in the hands of Billy Slater for Australia to hop to 8 – 2 lead after 18 minutes.

Australia’s second try involved some skill and luck, but it was the dedication to follow the ball that allowed the result to be achieved. A sneaky Thurston offload reached Slater who then passed out wide for Darius Boyd to make his way down the sideline. The Kiwis had him covered, which forced Boyd to put boot to ball.

The wobbly kick in-field escaped the clutches of the Kiwi defenders and was scooped up by a persistent Cooper Cronk who then barged over for a try. A late penalty kick had Australia out to a 16 – 2 halftime lead.

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New Zealand needed to open the scoring in the second half of the match to remain a contest. Australia would play no part in their plan. In fact, they destroyed any hopes of a Kiwi fight back in the first minute of the second half.

In a move, which had been seen countless times before and after, Cameron Smith scooted from dummy half attacking the retreating defenders before offloading to Johnathan Thurston, who smartly passed to Boyd before he cut the ball back in for Billy Slater to race away for an easy try.

If the game was not over already, it most certainly was after the 51st minute. A sweeping ball movement to the backline saw Brett Morris place in a chip kick. Jarryd Hayne won the race to the ball but did not have time to regather and so chipped the ball further downfield. Morris easily won the race and scored.

Unfortunately, the turf in England and at Old Trafford is slippery at the best of times, and with such short in-goals, Morris slammed into the hoardings at the end of the grounds. Luckily, he could continue in the contest.

New Zealand just could not compete. Even when the Australians were defending, they were ready to attack if the moment presented itself. In the 71st minute, Sonny Bill Williams pushed a wide pass that was clutched out of the air by Jarryd Hayne.

Hayne raced downfield before offloading to Morris which allowed him to place his second and the final try of the night. Australia had won back the World Cup.

The Kangaroos were world champions once again. The final reflected Australia’s superiority over the sport of rugby league. They had gone five games without a single try being scored against them. Apart from the opening weekend against England, only two penalty kicks had been converted and at no stage had any team threatened to beat them.

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For the record the 2013 Kangaroos achieved the following:
– Games 6
– Scored 48 tries
– Posted 272 points for – a 45.3 score average per game
– Allowed 24 points against – a 4 point average per game

Naturally, it can be argued that World Cup teams should not be compared to the old touring teams as they present a different style of contest. If that were the case, I would still suggest that the 2013 Kangaroos were the best World Cup team and that the 1982 Kangaroos were the best touring team.

Sam-Thaiday-Australia-Kangaroos-Rugby-League-Anzac-Test-2017

(NRL Photos/Grant Trouville)

Though, since this is my article and I can compare all Australian teams and rank them concerning their greatness, I decide on the following ranking:

1st – 1982 Kangaroos
2nd – 1986 Kangaroos
3rd – 2013 World Cup Champions

Obviously, this is just my opinion. So, what is yours? Which team do you believe showcased the best-attacking flair, the most hardened defensive resolve and demonstrated a pure passion for the green and gold? Which Australian rugby league team do you rate the greatest?

The 2013 Rugby League World Cup squad

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Coach: Tim Sheens

Captain: Cameron Smith
Vice-captain: Paul Gallen
Andrew Fafita
Billy Slater
Boyd Cordner
Brent Tate
Brett Morris
Copper Cronk
Corey Parker
Daly Cherry-Evans
Darius Boyd
Greg Bird
Greg Inglis
James Tamou
Jarryd Hayne
Johnathan Thurston
Josh Morris
Josh Papalii
Luke Lewis
Matt Scott
Michael Jennings
Nate Myles
Robbie Farah
Sam Thaiday

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