Link to video: Rugby League World Cup 2013: five things to look out for
Australia The heavweights and odds-on favourites but not the holders, as the result of their shock 34-20 defeat to New Zealand in the 2008 final in Brisbane. It ended a run of six consecutive World Cup wins stretching to Great Britain’s triumph in France in 1972 and the bad news for the rest, notably England and the Kiwis, is that it should remove any trace of complacency, at least in the seven survivors of the 2008 campaign – including Greg Inglis, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith, the awe-inspiring Melbourne hooker who has succeeded Darren Lockyer as captain.
One to watch Take your pick, really, but the Sydney Roosters centre Michael Jennings, who represented his Tongan ancestry in the last World Cup, showed what he can do with a spectacular Grand Final try.
Success would be Regaining the trophy. Anything else would be colossal underachievement.
England The best-prepared England rugby league team in history, containing the most generous sprinkling of world-class players in recent memory – Sam Tomkins at full-back, Ryan Hall on the left-wing, James Graham and Sam Burgess up front and arguably James Roby and Sean O’Loughlin, too. But worrying questions remain in the key playmaking positions. Can Rangi “Roger” Chase sparkle against high-class defences as he has done for Castleford? And can Kevin Sinfield lead England as effectively as he has done for Leeds in the last decade?
One to watch Kallum Watkins. The loss of Jack Reed, the Yorkshire-born Brisbane Broncos centre, to injury has left holes to fill out wide and the powerful young Mancunian has the ability to bust any defence.
Success would be Reaching the final, which would also go a long way to ensuring a successful tournament overall. Anything else would be a colossal bonus.
Fiji Surprise semi-finalists in Australia in 2008 and although they have lost the star of that campaign, Jarryd Hayne, to the Kangaroos this time, the Bati are arguably stronger across the board, with three big Sims brothers in the pack – Ashton, Korbin and Tariq – and more-seasoned siblings in the backs (Kevin and Wes Naiqama, and Daryl Millard of the Catalan Dragons alongside his younger brother Ryan). They will be led by Petero Civoniceva, the indomitable former Brisbane and Australia prop fulfilling a long-term promise and ambition to represent the land of his birth.
One to watch Akuila Uate. Aka Akuila the Thriller, a Newcastle Knights wing who was the subject of lavish praise from the great Andrew Johns before scoring five tries in the 2008 World Cup, and makes a welcome return to the Bati.
Success would be Another run to the semi-finals.
Ireland Another surprise package of the 2008 tournament, as they qualified from a group also including Tonga and Samoa, and emerged with great credit from a quarter-final defeat by Fiji. There are enough survivors of that hugely enjoyable campaign – Damien Blanch and Pat Richards on the wing, Liam Finn at scrum-half and the Grix brothers Scott and Simon – to encourage quiet optimism. This time they have an even tougher draw and the lack of credible development in Ireland over the past five years must be seen as a huge missed opportunity.
One to watch Brett White. Fiery former New South Wales and Australia prop, who says playing for Ireland will mean just as much as he represents his late grandfather, Arthur Costello, who emigrated from Portarlington to Jindabyne in 1954 to work in the Snowy Mountains.
Success would be Beating Fiji to make the quarter-finals or, failing that, just being credible and competitive.
Group B
France The founders of rugby’s first World Cup in the early 1950s, courtesy of the former Resistance leader Paul Barrière and the battling treizistes of the south, have retained a special love for it, as they showed in providing rare highlights of the mostly miserable 2000 tournament in Carcassonne and Perpignan. That is why the abject failure in Australia in 2008, under the former Wigan coach John Monie, hurt so much. Now they have turned to an intelligent Yorkshireman, Wakefield’s Richard Agar, and he has some exciting talent with which to work but they are in a very tough group.
One to watch Morgan Escare, a speedy young full-back who emerged from nowhere this season to score 19 tries in 20 appearances for Catalan Dragons.
Success would be Qualifying for the quarter-finals, ideally by winning one of their home games, against New Zealand in Avignon or, more likely, Samoa in Perpignan.
New Zealand Can lightning strike twice? There is an argument that this Kiwi squad are stronger than the one who stunned Australia in the 2008 final to secure New Zealand’s first World Cup, especially following the surprise decision of Sonny Bill Williams to make himself available. This time there is no Wayne Bennett, Queensland’s version of Clint Eastwood, who provided such a reassuring background presence for the coach Stephen Kearney five years ago. They also have an inexplicably poor recent record in England, having failed to reach the Four Nations finals of 2009 and 2011.
One to watch Shaun Johnson. The loss of Benji Marshall to Auckand rugby union was a blow but in Johnson, the Kiwis have a half-back who honed similarly dazzling skills playing touch rugby as a youngster.
Success would be Retaining the trophy. Anything other than a final appearance would be a failure.
Papua New Guinea Arguably the most charismatic management partnership of the tournament, in the former Kangaroo captain Mal Meninga and Adrian Lam, probably PNG’s favourite son after his success with Sydney Roosters, Queensland, Wigan and the Kumuls. Their inspirational gifts may well be needed because, despite rugby league’s status as the No1 sport in PNG, they do not have as many players with as much top-level experience as the other Pacific nations. Having said that, if they can maintain the performance levels of gallant defeats against Australia, New Zealand and England in 2008, they should still make the last eight.
One to watch David Mead. Gold Coast wing who was known as David Moore when the Kumuls gave England a real fright in Townsville five years ago and has scored some spectacular NRL tries.
Success would be A quarter-final place.
Samoa Should be dangerous dark horses, given the growing number of players with Samoan heritage who have made a major impact in NRL and Super League. A worrying number of those players have made themselves unavailable, most recently Roy Asotasi, the former Kiwi prop, who will join Warrington next season, and whose late withdrawal left Samoa’s Australian coach Matt Parish unimpressed. They flopped in 2008 and were heavily beaten by Tonga earlier this year, so the signs are not good. An opening game against the Kiwis will provide a stern test of their resolve.
One to watch Harrison Hansen. Born in Salford, near the East Lancs Road, and has played all his club rugby for Wigan. Would surely have been an England fixture for years but preferred to represent the Samoan roots of his father, Shane, who settled in the north after coming over to play for Salford in the 1980s.
Success would be Like France and the Kumuls, making the last eight but three into two does not go.
Group C
Italy Exotic newcomers, albeit owing more to Sydney than Sicily, and those accents make them dangerous opening opponents for Wales in Cardiff. Anthony Minichiello, their captain, is the classiest of acts, on and off the field, and he will have plenty of high-calibre support, especially in the pack from his younger brother Mark, the St Helens prop Anthony Laffranchi and Aidan Guerra, a Sydney Roosters team-mate in the Grand Final win against Manly. Questionable whether enough has been done to ensure that any success helps those trying to establish the code in Italy itself.
One to watch James Tedesco. A 20-year-old Wests Tigers full-back who may be shunted up to the halves following the absence of Terry Campese and Craig Gower with injuries.
Success would be Beating Wales and going on to win their group to make the last eight. If they do that, they would relish a possible quarter-final against Australia.
Scotland Another squad short of authenticity but no less passionate for that, as they showed in the 2008 tournament by stunning Fiji, who went on to reach the semi-finals. The Bravehearts, again coached by Steve McCormack, look stronger this time, with a trio of quality Aussie-Scots in Luke Douglas, Kane Linnett and Peter Wallace, whose half-back partnership with Danny Brough could be one of the best in the tournament. It would be good to see one of the four Scotland-born players in the squad – the Workington Town brothers Callum and Brett Phillips, Featherstone’s David Scott or, more likely, the former Wigan full-back Matty Russell – make an impact.
One to watch Matty Russell. Young full-back with a hint of Chris Ashton, who was born in Ayrshire, grew up in Wigan and will return to the Super League next year with Warrington after a year on the Gold Coast.
Success would be Going into their last game against the United States in Salford having already beaten either Italy or Tonga in Workington.
Tonga Not a team to run into down a dark alley. Led by Brent Kite, who has been enforcing effectively for Manly for years, they have a surfeit of bruisers led by Fuifui Moimoi, the Parramatta prop who has been rugby league’s contender for the best name in sport since the retirement of the London Broncos stalwart Steele Retchless. There is back-line class too, notably in Konrad Hurrell of the New Zealand Warriors but they may suffer for a lack of direction in the key playmaking positions.
One to watch Glen Fisi’iahi, a wing from the New Zealand Warriors who can seriously shift.
Success would be Winning their group, which would set up a likely quarter-final against the Kiwis at Headingley.
Group D
Cook Islands Will be desperate to make a point after missing out in the 2008 tournament and the fact they earned their place by beating Fiji and Samoa in the 2009 Pacific Cup should not be overlooked. Have a highly rated coach in the former North Sydney and St Helens forward David Fairleigh and plenty of NRL and Super League experience in Keith Lulia, Zeb Taia and Dylan Napa. Their game with Tonga in Leigh should be a cracker.
One to watch Dylan Napa. Just missed out on a place in the Sydney Roosters 17 for the NRL Grand Final but made a major impact through the season. His red hair will inevitably stand out.
Success would be Win the group, and have a crack at one of the big guns in the last eight.
US Seemed in danger of squandering the huge opportunity, for league as well as the Tomahawks, of their World Cup debut, with the departure of two Australian coaches in the months leading into the tournament – Matthew Elliott and Brian Smith – reflecting huge problems behind the scenes. But a completely unexpected warm-up win against France in Toulouse suggested they could yet make an impact and crucially, unlike Italy, do so with some players raised in their domestic competition.
One to watch Clint Newton. Son of the former Australian golfer Clint, who was born in South Carolina during the 1981 US Open, and a strong-running, intelligent second-row who gave excellent service to Hull KR.
Success would be The win in France has already exceeded some expectations and another one in the tournament proper would be a remarkable achievement.
Wales Highly creditable semi-final defeats in 1995 and 2000, by England and Australia respectively, but failed even to qualify for the 2008 tournament, underlining the scale of the rebuilding job taken on by Iestyn Harris when he was appointed coach. The short-lived experiment of introducing a Welsh club, originally the Celtic Crusaders, into the Super League has paid dividends, with a new generation of young league players emerging from the Valleys – two of whom, Gil Dudson and Ben Flower, played for Wigan, who now have a centre of excellence in Maesteg, in the Super League Grand Final earlier this month.
One to watch Rhys Evans. A tall centre from Bridgend who came north to Warrington with his very unidentical twin brother Ben, who is also in the squad, as a teenager and has given Harris a real boost by deferring his bid to win England selection.
Success would be Victory over Italy on the grand stage of the Millennium Stadium on the opening day, which would leave them well-placed to earn a quarter-final in Wrexham.
Group A fixtures
26 Oct Australia v England, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff; 8 Oct Fiji v Ireland, Spotland Stadium, Rochdale; 2 Nov England v Ireland, John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield; 2 Nov Australia v Fiji, Langtree Park, St Helens; 9 Nov England v Fiji, KC Stadium, Hull; 9 Nov Australia v Fiji, Thomond Park, Limerick.
Group B fixtures
27 Oct Papua New Guinea v France, MS3 Craven Park, Hull; 27 Oct New Zealand v Samoa, Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington; 1 Nov New Zealand v France, Parc des Sports, Avignon; 1 Nov Papua New Guinea v Samoa, MS3 Craven Park, Hull; 8 Nov New Zealand v Papua New Guinea, Headingley Carnegie Stadium, Leeds; 8 Nov France v Samoa, Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan.
Group C fixtures
29 Oct Tonga v Scotland, Derwent Park, Workington; 3 Nov Scotland v Italy, Derwent Park, Workington; 3 Nov Tonga v Italy, The Shay, Halifax.
Group D fixtures
30 Oct US v Cook Islands, Memorial Stadium, Bristol; 3 Nov Wales vs US, Glyndwr University Racecourse Stadium, Wrexham; 3 Nov Wales v Cook Islands, The Gnoll, Neath.
Group C/D fixtures
26 Oct Wales v Italy, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff; 5 Nov Tonga v Cook Islands, Leigh Sports Village, Leigh; 7 Nov Scotland vs US, Salford City Stadium, Salford.
Quarter-finals
15 Nov Winner B v Winner C, Headingley Carnegie Stadium, Leeds; 16 Nov Winner A v Winner D, Glyndwr University Racecourse Stadium, Wrexham; 16 Nov Runner-up A v 3rd place B, DW Stadium, Wigan; 17 Nov Runner-up B v 3rd place A, Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington.
Semi-finals
23 Nov Winner QF 1 v Winner QF 3, Wembley; 23 Nov Winner QF 2 v Winner QF 4, Wembley.
Final
30 Nov Old Trafford
Article source: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/other-sports/347496/Rugby-Union-Stuart-Lancaster-to-give-players-the-Fergie-treatment
Rugby League World Cup 2013: Andy Wilson"s team-by-team guide
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