New Zealand staged a miraculous upset to win the 13th Rugby League World Cup (RLWC), defeating Australia 34–20 in the final at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium last Saturday to finish a hugely successful tournament.
The underdog Kiwis victory delighted tournament organizers just days after announcing that the competition, which began in France in 1954, has left the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) sitting on a $3.2 million profit.
New Zealand defied the odds, outplaying the Kangaroos to claim the World Cup for the first time. The remarkable victory comes after Australia had scored 50 points in three of their four previous matches.
The incredible form of the Australians has been the talking point of the past month along with questions asked about the hugely disappointing English. Up to 10,000 Lions supporters traveled “Down Under” to see their team, who promised so much after pre-tournament thrashings of France and Wales following a 3–0 series defeat of New Zealand in 2007.
But while Australia and New Zealand reveled under local refereeing interpretations, Australia’s semifinal opponents, England, seemed a different side when faced with a vastly slower match speed.
Different Rule Interpretations
England’s capitulation provided ammunition to critics who argue that rule interpretations in the European Super League (ESL) differ so strongly from the Australian-based National Rugby League (NRL) as to give an unfair advantage to the southern hemisphere sides playing under local referees.
The Australians in particular made the most of stricter “ruck” interpretations to slow the speed of the match and limit the opposition’s creativity. The Kangaroos also used their expertise to draw crucial penalties as the English failed to adjust to a different style of play.
France was the other major disappointment. After being tipped by most to qualify easily from their pool, a heavy defeat to Fiji saw Gallic dreams shattered. A loss to Samoa in the last-place ranking match sealed coach John Monie’s fate. He was fired soon after.
Tri-colors players who just weeks before had starred in the ESL finals series suddenly appeared below international standard, with the brief exception of 80 minutes of their usual flashy rugby against the Scots.
Thankfully, the lowly ranked Scots and Irish unexpectedly saved European pride. Despite a large contingent of players qualifying via the heritage rule, national passion was at a premium for both sides. With many players plying their trade in the lower leagues, both sets of players performed well above expectation.
After five previous attempts, Scotland won their first ever World Cup match, defeating eventual semifinalist Fiji.
Irish eyes were smiling as they topped their group to unbelievably make the quarterfinals. Despite a loss, the Wolfhounds bravely pushed Fiji all the way for a chance to play Australia in the Sydney semifinal.
Other Successes
The other success stories of the World Cup were Papua New Guinea and Fiji. The pacific islanders provided thrilling moments for supporters from around the world.
PNG made the most of their position in the “Super Pool” with Australia, New Zealand, and England, establishing themselves as sentimental favorites. Their finest moment came in the opening match of the Cup when they pushed a rusty England all the way, even leading at half time.
Fiji had systematically prepared for the tournament after securing qualification in 2006. Their efforts paid off with a quarterfinal victory against Ireland, securing a semifinal spot against then reigning world champion Australia.
Despite a heavy defeat against an impressive Australian side, the Fijians were rightly proud of their efforts and will look forward to the Pacific Cup in 2009.
Samoa and Tonga lived up to their enigmatic reputations, occasionally showing the quality to win the Cup, but mostly reverting to old habits, making simple errors, and losing games they had been expected to win with ease.
While the Samoans and Tongans supplied the passionate, free-flowing game we have come to expect from them, New Zealand and Australia were the standouts in what was arguably the most successful Rugby League World Cup ever.
U.S. Tomahawks
After narrowly missing out on RLWC08, America will begin planning for the next incarnation in 2013.
The Tomahawks’ chances of qualifying in 2012 will be increased with news that the RLIF will add two more qualifiers to the 2013 tournament, which England are likely to host.
The success of the “minnow” nations in 2008 will give America hope of replicating their 2004 heroics against Australia, when they came within minutes of beating the Kangaroos.
