Rugby League World Cup stats and facts sheet
FACTS
• This is the 13th World Cup (and the first since 2000. The first was in 1954)
• 10 countries are taking part
• It is the fourth time Australia have hosted the World Cup
• There are 18 matches (played at 12 different venues, across four states)
• This year marks the centenary of the game in the Southern Hemisphere
• The tournament director is Colin Lowe, the Chairman of the Rugby League International Federation
• Teams will receive TWO points for a win, and ONE point for a draw
• The following countries earned automatic qualification: Australia, New Zealand, France and PNG
TEAMS
Team Coach Captain Ranking 2000 World Cup Result
Australia Ricky Stuart Darren Lockyer 1st Winner
New Zealand Stephen Kearney Nathan Cayless 2nd Runner-Up
England Tony Smith Jamie Peacock 3rd Semi-Final
Tonga Jim Dymock unknown 4th Group Stage
France John Monie Jerome Guisset 5th Quarter-Final
Fiji Joe Dakuitoga Wes Naiqama 6th Group Stage
Papua New Guinea Adrian Lam Stanley Gene 7th Quarter-Final
Ireland Andy Kelly Stuart Littler 9th Quarter-Final
Scotland Steve McCormack Danny Brough 11th Group Stage
Samoa John Ackland Nigel Vagana 12th Quarter-Final
SCHEDULE
Group Stage
All teams from Group A with the exception of the bottom qualifying team will progress to the semi-finals, the other two groups the top finisher will progress to a playoff match, in which the winner will qualify to the semi-finals.
Group A – Australia , England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea
October 25
England v Papua New Guinea (Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville)
October 26
Australia v New Zealand (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney)
November 1
New Zealand v Papua New Guinea (Skilled Park, Gold Coast)
November 2
Australia v England (Telstra Dome, Melbourne)
November 8
England v New Zealand (EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle)
November 9
Australia v Papua New Guinea (Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville)
Group B – Fiji, Scotland and France
October 26
France v Scotland (Canberra Stadium, Canberra)
November 1
Fiji v France (WIN Stadium, Wollongong)
November 5
Scotland v Fiji (Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford)
Group C – Ireland, Samoa and Tonga
October 27
Ireland v Tonga (Parramatta Stadium, Sydney)
October 31
Tonga v Samoa (CUA Stadium, Penrith)
November 5
Ireland v Samoa (Parramatta Stadium, Sydney)
Ranking Stage
7th Place Playoff
November 8
2nd Group B v 2nd Group C (Browne Park, Rockhampton)
9th Place Playoff
November 9
3rd Group B v 3rd Group C (CUA Stadium, Penrith)
Knockout Stage
Qualifying Final
November 10
1st Group B v 1st Group C (Skilled Park, Gold Coast)
Semi-Finals
November 15
2nd Group A v 3rd Group A (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
November 16
1st Group A v Winner Qualifying Final (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney)
Final
November 22
Winner semi-final 1 v Winner semi-final 2 (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
History
Year Host Winner Runner-Up
1954 France Great Britain France
1957 Australia Australia Great Britain
1960 UK Great Britain Australia
1968 Australia / NZ Australia France
1970 UK Australia Great Britain
1972 France / UK Great Britain Australia
1975 Worldwide Australia England
1977 Australia Australia Great Britain
1985–1988 Worldwide Australia New Zealand
1989–1992 Worldwide Australia UK
1995 UK Australia England
2000 UK Australia New Zealand
Useful websites
http://www.rlwc08.com/default.aspx (official website)
http://www.rlwc08.com/teams/England.aspx (England link on RWC website)
http://fluidab1.memset.net/~englandr/videos.php (official England website)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Rugby_League_World_Cup_squads (squad lists)
FACTS
• This is the 13th World Cup (and the first since 2000. The first was in 1954)
• 10 countries are taking part
• It is the fourth time Australia have hosted the World Cup
• There are 18 matches (played at 12 different venues, across four states)
• This year marks the centenary of the game in the Southern Hemisphere
• The tournament director is Colin Lowe, the Chairman of the Rugby League International Federation
• Teams will receive TWO points for a win, and ONE point for a draw
• The following countries earned automatic qualification: Australia, New Zealand, France and PNG
TEAMS
Team Coach Captain Ranking 2000 World Cup Result
Australia Ricky Stuart Darren Lockyer 1st Winner
New Zealand Stephen Kearney Nathan Cayless 2nd Runner-Up
England Tony Smith Jamie Peacock 3rd Semi-Final
Tonga Jim Dymock unknown 4th Group Stage
France John Monie Jerome Guisset 5th Quarter-Final
Fiji Joe Dakuitoga Wes Naiqama 6th Group Stage
Papua New Guinea Adrian Lam Stanley Gene 7th Quarter-Final
Ireland Andy Kelly Stuart Littler 9th Quarter-Final
Scotland Steve McCormack Danny Brough 11th Group Stage
Samoa John Ackland Nigel Vagana 12th Quarter-Final
SCHEDULE
Group Stage
All teams from Group A with the exception of the bottom qualifying team will progress to the semi-finals, the other two groups the top finisher will progress to a playoff match, in which the winner will qualify to the semi-finals.
Group A – Australia , England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea
October 25
England v Papua New Guinea (Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville)
October 26
Australia v New Zealand (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney)
November 1
New Zealand v Papua New Guinea (Skilled Park, Gold Coast)
November 2
Australia v England (Telstra Dome, Melbourne)
November 8
England v New Zealand (EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle)
November 9
Australia v Papua New Guinea (Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville)
Group B – Fiji, Scotland and France
October 26
France v Scotland (Canberra Stadium, Canberra)
November 1
Fiji v France (WIN Stadium, Wollongong)
November 5
Scotland v Fiji (Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford)
Group C – Ireland, Samoa and Tonga
October 27
Ireland v Tonga (Parramatta Stadium, Sydney)
October 31
Tonga v Samoa (CUA Stadium, Penrith)
November 5
Ireland v Samoa (Parramatta Stadium, Sydney)
Ranking Stage
7th Place Playoff
November 8
2nd Group B v 2nd Group C (Browne Park, Rockhampton)
9th Place Playoff
November 9
3rd Group B v 3rd Group C (CUA Stadium, Penrith)
Knockout Stage
Qualifying Final
November 10
1st Group B v 1st Group C (Skilled Park, Gold Coast)
Semi-Finals
November 15
2nd Group A v 3rd Group A (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
November 16
1st Group A v Winner Qualifying Final (Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney)
Final
November 22
Winner semi-final 1 v Winner semi-final 2 (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
History
Year Host Winner Runner-Up
1954 France Great Britain France
1957 Australia Australia Great Britain
1960 UK Great Britain Australia
1968 Australia / NZ Australia France
1970 UK Australia Great Britain
1972 France / UK Great Britain Australia
1975 Worldwide Australia England
1977 Australia Australia Great Britain
1985–1988 Worldwide Australia New Zealand
1989–1992 Worldwide Australia UK
1995 UK Australia England
2000 UK Australia New Zealand
Useful websites
http://www.rlwc08.com/default.aspx (official website)
http://www.rlwc08.com/teams/England.aspx (England link on RWC website)
http://fluidab1.memset.net/~englandr/videos.php (official England website)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Rugby_League_World_Cup_squads (squad lists)
Labels: Rugby league, World Cup
