OK, so no one can deny that some of the games so far in the Rugby League World Cup have been absolute blowouts.
But the good news is that while some teams are already locked in to play finals footy, others are still fighting for the chance to progress. Some will just need a win in their last group matches, while others will be relying on results to go their way.
During the quarter-finals, the team who finishes at the top of A will play the team who finished second in Group D.
The winner of Group B faces off against the runner-up of Group C, with the leader of Group C playing against the second-ranked Group B side.
Rounding out the quarter finals, the winner of Group D plays the runner-up of Group A.
As it stands, the likely quarter-final match-ups are:
England vs PNG or Cook Islands
Australia vs Ireland or Lebanon
New Zealand vs Fiji or Italy
Tonga vs Samoa or France
But before we get to that, let’s check out the race to the finals –
The host nation is sitting alone at the top of their group after a 60-6 win against Samoa in the opening round, followed by a solid 42-18 win against France. They next take on Greece who have lost both their opening matches and sit at the bottom of the pool rankings. Whatever happens when these two face off, England will play finals footy and Greece will not.
It’s the match-up between Samoa and France that will determine who joins England in the quarter-finals. Both teams have each won and lost a game and sit equally on two points and a points differential of just 16 points separates them on the ladder. Whoever wins would go through on four points, leaving the other on two.
It comes as no surprise to anyone that the Aussies are up the top of their group rankings after two huge wins and a whopping 118 points differential – 96 points clear of anyone. They face Italy in their final game with the result having absolutely no impact on them strolling into the finals.
The Italians need to better Fiji’s result, though with the Azzurri taking on the Australians, who are yet to lose, and the Bati facing Scotland, who are yet to win, things seem quite cut and dried.
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As expected, the Kiwis are at the top of their pack with two wins. They have a comfortable 84 points differential, 56 points in front of their next opponent Ireland and will play finals footy regardless of the result.
The race between Ireland and Lebanon for the second spot in the finals is still open. While Ireland are currently in second spot and are 33 points clear, they will be relying on the luck of the Irish to hold on to their chance of making the quarter-finals.
If New Zealand beat Ireland – which many are expecting – then Ireland will need Lebanon to lose to Jamaica to stand a chance.
As with the other three groups, Tonga are comfortably at the top with two wins and a 32 points differential, 26 points clear. They should get the win against the Cook Islands who slipped to third spot after their 32-16 loss to PNG.
The battle for second spot is still on between PNG and the Cook Islands. A win – or, indeed, a draw – would be enough for the Kumuls to go through.
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