Italy, USA Show that Rugby League World Cup not all about the Big Three Teams

Mark Green,

Correspondent (Sport)

The Rugby League World Cup is in full flow and, surprisingly, it is the less established countries that are making the headlines.

The two countries that have stood out so far are Italy and the USA. Neither were fancied to be successful before the tournament began, however, both have surpassed expectations and pulled off some fantastic results.

England started the tournament by creating headlines for all the wrong reasons, as Gareth Hock was sent home for breaching disciplinary rules, and stories emanated from the England camp that everything was not quite right. This was reflected in their performance in the tournament opener in Cardiff, as Australia won 28-20. The world class kicking of Johnathan Thurston left England, chasing the game, and put Australia in pole position to qualify through the group.

In the tournament’s second game there was a surprise defeat for Wales, as they suffered at the hands of an Italy team, that looked more like an established team than a country still learning the game. The 32-16 gave Italy confidence and seemed to demoralise the Welsh squad.

Sunday saw the teams of Group B showcase their skills, and it quickly became apparent that New Zealand may well be the team to beat in this year’s competition. Three tries from Manu Vatuvei saw the Kiwis beat Samoa 42-24 and in the other match France narrowly beat Papua New   Guinea 9-8 in a match that ended up a lot closer than they would have wanted.

On Monday attention turned back to Group A with the match between Fiji and Ireland. And it was the men from the pacific island that came out on top, and they demolished Ireland by 32-14.

After seeing Wales suffer an upset in their opening match, Scotland were focused and determined to make sure the same fate did not happen to them. And they managed to avoid any embarrassment when after a close match with Tonga it was Scotland who came away with the win. A 26-24 win was confirmed mainly thanks to the kicking of Danny Brough, as he kicked five penalties to confirm victory.

With only two teams left having not played a game, it was the turn of the USA and the Cook Islands to show what they could offer the tournament. And after a tight first half which saw the teams go into the break with the score 10-10, it was USA who provided the stronger second half display and ran out 32-20 winners.

With every team having played one match it was time for the second round of group matches to begin. And it started with the top two teams in Group B going head to head. However in the most one-sided match of the tournament so far New Zealand demolished France in a 48-0 win. The win all but guarantees New Zealand’s qualification however defeat left France needing a win from their final group game in order to stand a chance of qualifying.

With England needing a win to stay in the tournament a strong performance was required against Ireland. And they provided the goods as they dominated from start to finish. In front of a sell out crowd in Huddersfield, England scored 8 tries in a 42-0 win. The defeat meant Ireland could no longer qualify and will play against Australia for pride in their last group game.

So, with one of the home nations already out, Sunday saw Wales and Scotland try to restore some pride. However, Wales seemed to still be deflated from their defeat to Italy, and up against a USA team full of confidence, they struggled to control the game. The USA ran out 24-16 winners which meant that Wales as well as Ireland would not be progressing from the group stages. Attention then turned to Scotland to see whether they could build on their opening win. However, Italy again pulled out a fantastic performance and matched Scotland in every department. The final score of 30-30 was a fair result and left both teams tied at the top of Group C.

After only losing narrowly to France, Papua New Guinea were full of confidence. However, they were quickly put on the back foot by a Samoa team with a point to prove. A 38-4 win gives Samoa a good footing going into the final group game looking to qualify from Group B.

Tuesday’s game between Tonga and the Cook Islands was vital for both teams. Defeat for either would leave them with very little chance of progressing. And it was Tonga that prevailed by 22-16. The result leaves Tonga with a chance of progressing while the Cook Islands look likely to finish bottom of their group.

Attention over the weekend will turn to the big three teams of England, Australia and New Zealand, as all three look to build on previous results and look towards the latter stages. However, the performances of teams, such as Italy and the USA, have not gone unnoticed, and both will be looking to go further in the tournament and try to cause further upsets.

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