WORLD CUP 2013

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Bennett expects upsets with NRL stars in 'minnow' nations

Wayne Bennett, the mastermind behind New Zealand's shock World Cup victory in 2008, believes this year's edition will be the best and most unpredictable tournament in history.

Bennett, a former Kangaroos coach who assisted Kiwi mentor Stephen Kearney five years ago, said the influx of NRL talent to the so-called ''minnow'' nations has improved the profile and standard of the World Cup.

''I'm looking forward to watching the football,'' he said. ''In 2008, the way it was played and the result, gave it the credibility for 2013. There are now so many NRL players playing with the other nations [outside the top three], which wasn't as prevalent in 2008 after an eight-year gap between the World Cups.

''I think the league has done a great job, it's wonderful. There will be some upsets, which is great.

''You look at Fiji and there are some absolutely quality players there. [Same with] Samoa and Tonga. Mal Meninga is over there with the PNG side. You don't know what they could throw up, there's some toughness in those blokes.

''Certainly Fiji, with the quality of players [coach] Rick [Stone] has got there, they got through to the semis last time from memory.

''The result the other day [Italy defeated England in a warm-up match] showed everyone is capable. So anyone writing off Samoa or Tonga or someone like that is being a bit delusional because they have plenty of players with plenty of ability.''

Australia will go in as overwhelming favourite but its coach, Tim Sheens, has warned his team against complacency. New Zealand and England are the teams most likely to cause another World Cup boilover. ''Australia will always be the favourite, that just goes with the territory,'' Bennett said. ''I've heard Tim a number of times and he's right on the money - this will be a pretty tough tournament,'' Bennett said.

''Who knows what England is going to throw at you? A lot of their players have been in the NRL system for a couple of years and they have some good quality players there. And they are playing at home as well.

''Australia could get a couple of injuries and all of a sudden you're back to the field a bit. And the Kiwis are full of talent.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...#ixzz2ioXtj0RK

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PNG v France next up! Two of my fvourite nations contesting. I'd prefer France to win but feel it'll be hard to overcome a tough Kumuls outfit.

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Was I the only one quickly trying to install freeview channels on my main TV?

My main TV uses foxtel over sat, so does not have 7Mate! But no force in the universe would come between me and a World Cup game!

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Big names want to keep playing at RLWC

Australia's big guns won't be volunteering themselves for a rest in coming pool games as they seek some much-needed rhythm at the Rugby League World Cup.

Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens fielded his strongest side in Saturday's opening 28-20 win over England in Cardiff but plans to rotate his 24-man squad for matches against Fiji and Ireland.

Sheens could make up to seven changes for next Saturday's match against Fiji in St Helens, with debutants Boyd Cordner and Josh Papalii set to come in along with Daly Cherry-Evans, Michael Jennings and Jarryd Hayne.

Australia's first-choice players are understanding of the rotation plans and willing to put the team first, but they are eager for game time, with superstar fullback Billy Slater putting up his hand to play next week.

The tournament favourites were slow out of the blocks against England, trailing 10-0 in the first half, and Slater cited a lack of recent game time for the sluggish start.

"Obviously we've got a very talented squad and anyone can fill in and do a great job. That's the benefit of playing for Australia," Slater said.

"Myself individually, I feel that another couple of games under my belt would be beneficial for me.

"So I've put my hand up to play next week and I'd imagine I'd do that the week after and the week after that.

"But Tim's got the decisions to make and obviously the ultimate goal is the last week in the tournament.

"We want to be playing our best football then and if to have a week off is the best thing for the side, then that's the best thing for me."

It's unlikely any of the squad will play in all six matches during the tournament, and star playmaker Johnathan Thurston echoed Slater's sentiments that they will be guided by the coach.

"But I'm fit to play and I'll be putting my hand up to play," Thurston said.

Slater was named Australia's players' player against England, but felt he needed to correct some deficiencies in his game.

The two-time international player of the year was among a host of players guilty of early sloppy errors, but redeemed himself with a superb 60-metre try on the stroke of halftime.

Slater famously threw a shocker of a pass that helped New Zealand to an upset win in the 2008 final, but again played down talk of personal redemption at this tournament.

"What's happened in the past, whether it was last week, two months ago or 10 years ago, it doesn't really come into what I'm going to do in the future," he said.

"I'm always about trying to improve myself and that's what I've always tried to do."

http://www.nrl.com

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The fans in the UK are setting a very high standard of support and attendence for us Aussies and Kiwis to live up to in 2017!

[Skyfire]

Ive been impressed with the tournament, how unlike rl to run a professional event. Well done. Great venue choice and the pool system some people cried about in 2008 is proving a winner.

I pray the weather holds out and crowds should continue to improve. Hope for a big crowd at the wembley stadium for the semi finals.

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70,000 sold for the World Cup Final!

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It's great to see Scotland process to the quarters.

Ive really become a convert of them due to their bravery in the pool matches.

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World Cup 2013 sells Rugby League's sport and family values

The UK is in the midst of a "golden decade" of hosting major events, from the 2010 Ryder Cup to the 2019 Cricket World Cup, via the 2012 Olympic Games, 2014 Commonwealth Games, 2017 Rugby Union World Cup and more.

But one event some sports fans may not have caught up on is the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, currently being staged in England and Wales, with some other games in the Irish Republic and France.

Rugby League bosses say that as well as staging a popular and successful sporting contest, this event is as much about spreading interest in the game outside of its north of England heartlands.

"We are delighted with how things are going so far, we are more than pleased with it," says Brian Barwick, chairman of the Rugby Football League.

"It has exceeded our expectations in terms of people going to games, the quality of the games, and media interest,"

Sell-outs

He points to an attendance of more than 10,000 for the game at Leigh between Tonga and the Cook Islands, two small nations, and without any connections to the north-west of England.

Other highlights for Mr Barwick have been the sellouts at Warrington, Rochdale and Workington, and a gate of more than 7,000 for the USA v the Cook Islands game in Bristol, a rugby union - rather than rugby league - heartland.

Mr Barwick has experience in both sport administration and broadcasting
Another surprise has been the powerful form of the US team.

"We were very pleased with this, in what is not a traditional rugby league base," says Mr Barwick, who was attending a Sport Industry Group gathering in London.

The former BBC and ITV television sport executive, says World Cup organisers are also happy with TV viewing figures to date, and with the fact that every game so far has been "televised somewhere".

"This event had to do things for rugby league," he explains, saying that organisers' aims were more than just raising enough cash to bankroll the sport for the coming years.

"We had to introduce rugby league to a new set of people in this country. Fortunately, we had a good run in the media in the run-up to the event.

"One of the reasons I came on board was to broaden its media perspective, and holding five weeks of World Cup sport can only help."

Olympic legacy

He says that after a "classy" opening ceremony, the decision to play two games - including the high-profile England v Australia match - on the same Cardiff pitch on the event's opening day, paid off.

More than 45,000 people watched that opening-day double-header.

And Mr Barwick says ticket sales are healthy, and that more than 70,000 have been sold for the final at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Saturday, 30 November.

"I think it is the legacy of [London] 2012, people have got into the habit of going to events," the former Football Association chief executive says, adding that the volunteering legacy from the Olympic Games has also rubbed off on his event.

While at the FA, he saw through the completion of the new Wembley Stadium - which will host a Rugby League World Cup semi-final double header - and was involved in the appointment of Steve McLaren as the England football manager.

'World class sport'

Having experienced the national sporting domination of football, he believes that rugby league offers an equally exciting sporting alternative to both the round ball game and rugby union, and one "with unique qualities".

England played Australia in a high-profile opening day to the tournament
"Rugby league is a world class sport, played by world class athletes, but is has got a family feel to it.," says the 59-year-old, who was appointed to his RFL post in January this year.

"You can have a grandfather attending with his grandchildren - it is inter-generational.

"We want to bring more people in, we want wider recognition... but sometimes we are seen as poorer relations to the other [rugby] code."

He says the Rugby League World Cup will make money, and says that one immediate legacy of the World Cup is that people are enjoying the event.

But he says that a bigger challenge is to see if they can retain and increase the current level of interest.

"Those attending [World Cup] matches might stay with us, they might not, but our aim is to bring more people in.

"It will ebb and flow, but this is an opportunity for us to put our flag in the ground."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24835527

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OVER TWO MILLION VIEWERS WATCH ENGLAND IN RLWC2013 ON BBC

The official viewing figures from Saturday’s live coverage of Rugby League World Cup 2013 on the BBC show a peak audience of 2.2m watched England’s final group game against Fiji. The match, which England won 34-12, had a 15% share of the total viewing audience across all channels.

These latest figures compare very strongly with other sport available to audiences on Saturday and shows how Rugby League World Cup 2013 is capturing the interest of the British sporting public. For example the ATP Tennis World Tour Finals on BBC2 at the same time had a 1.2million peak audience, the rugby union England v Argentina international had a peak of 571,000, while the live Premier League football on SKY had a peak of 810,000.

Tonight sees the final group match of RLWC2013 taking place between France and Samoa in Perpignan, kick off 8pm local time (9pm GMT). This game will determine who England and Fiji will play in their respective quarter-finals this weekend and full coverage of the match is available on 5 Live Sports Extra, with highlights on BBC2 at 11.20pm.

RLWC2013 Tournament Director Nigel Wood said: “These figures demonstrate how the excitement and high-quality matches we have seen in Rugby League World Cup 2013 are capturing the wider sporting public.

“It has been fantastic to have seen so many record attendances at the group matches themselves, as well as such excellent viewing figures and the next few weeks, as we enter the drama and tension of the knock-out phases of the tournament, are a wonderful opportunity for the sport to build on this initial success.”

For tickets to the knock-out stages of Rugby League World Cup 2013, including ‘The Big Hit’ semi-final double header at Wembley on November 23 and The Rugby League World Cup final at Old Trafford on November 30, visit www.rlwc2013.com or call the 24 hour ticket line 08448472013

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World Cup update: group stage wrap-up

The Americans will face a massive jump in class when they take on Australia in the World Cup quarter-finals.

The 2013 Rugby League World Cup group stage has been completed, with eight nations advancing to the quarter-finals and six others bowing out. Here is how things look going into this week's quarter-finals.

GROUP A

Australia go through undefeated with a points differential of +90 to easily top the group, with England taking second spot as expected. Fiji's win over Ireland was enough to take them through in third place, with the Irish beaten by a combined 92-0 in their final two matches against England and Australia.

GROUP B

New Zealand are the highest-scoring team of the tournament so far, averaging almost 50 points a game thanks to big wins over France and Papua New Guinea. Samoa – who at least tested the Kiwis on the way to a 42-24 defeat – have taken second place after beating France in their final group match, with the French taking the third qualifying spot ahead of the luckless Papua New Guinea who lost all three of their matches.

GROUP C

In the closest-fought group of the tournament, Scotland pipped Tonga by two points, drew with Italy, and managed to knock both highly-fancied teams out of the World Cup. Their win over the USA made them the only undefeated team of the group, with Tonga recovering from their first-up defeat to beat the Cook Islands and then Italy, who suddenly dropped from first in the group to last.

GROUP D

The Welsh were arguably the flop of the World Cup, losing their three matches against Italy, the USA and the Cook Islands. The Americans were the first team in the tournament to book their passage to the knockout stage after beating both their group rivals, while the Cooks ended their campaign on a high with a 28-24 win over Wales.

QUARTER-FINAL MATCH-UPS

Reigning champions New Zealand will start warm favourites against plucky Scotland, Australia should continue their charge towards the final with a win over the USA, England will take on the unconvincing French and Fiji take on Pacific Islands rivals Samoa.

Source: http://www.nrl.com

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Northern Pride are saying they will announce signing a RLWC player over the next few days. Exactly what we want to see from the tournament.

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Scotland prematch uniform.

[C-Whiz]

Have I mentioned how good the commentary has been? So GREAT to hear Vossey calling again. He knows the game but fills the voids with some funny commentary. I'd take him as my #1 caller.

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Yea Vossy has been great. And the Poms love him. They want to steal him for Super League. It's a shame that Nine screwed him over. The best thing is that he is actually a real deal fan of international footy.

Sounds like he is having the time of his life covering the World Cup.