1 Can England enjoy a week without controversy?
So far Steve McNamara’s side have produced three encouraging displays in the tournament, albeit against a backdrop of disruption and breaches of squad discipline. England proved on Saturday that spirit in the camp is good and that their resolve is strong, responding immediately after going behind to Fiji during a tight first half. So far Gareth Hock and Zak Hardaker have been sent packing, while others who were involved in the drinking session after the warm-up defeat to Italy that led to Hock’s expulsion have fought their way back into contention. McNamara’s handling of the various incidents has received strong criticism, but performances appear to have been unaffected. He will hope all talk from now on focuses on the rugby.
2 Chase and Sinfield could prove a successful half-back pairing
Perhaps McNamara’s biggest gamble so far has been the selection of Kevin Sinfield and Rangi Chase as half-backs for the tournament, yet the pair combined to great effect against Fiji and showed signs that they could become a formidable force as the World Cup continues. Sinfield played an integral part in England’s first try during the 34-12 victory, with a swift turn and offload to Ben Westwood, who scored at a crucial time with the wind in the Fijians’ sails and half-time looming. It was Chase, though, who particularly impressed, producing possibly his finest display in an England shirt, linking up well with Ryan Hall and creating a number of scoring chances. McNamara has put his faith in the Sinfield-Chase axis, with Danny Brough representing Scotland, and perhaps it is a gamble that will pay off.
3 Scotland can enjoy their moment in the spotlight
“I’m immensely proud,” said the Scotland coach, Steve McCormack, after watching Tonga beat Italy 16-0 to provide his side safe passage to the quarter-finals. So he should be, given the scale of the achievement and the fact that they are unbeaten in the tournament despite some tricky opponents. “Every Tongan tackle and try and break was met with a big cheer and, when we heard the Halifax crowd begin chanting for Tonga, we starting chanting as well,” added McCormack, who watched the game in the team hotel with the squad amassed in a single room. Scotland will almost certainly bow out of the World Cup at Headingley on Friday when they come up against champions New Zealand but they have achieved a great deal already.
4 Manchester hasn’t been a happy home for Australia … so far
The World Cup final will be played at Old Trafford at the end of the month, but by then the Australia squad may well have become well and truly sick of Manchester. Two unsavoury incidents have blighted their stay in the north west, the latest of which came in the early hours of Monday morning when the Australia full-back Billy Slater was detained by police following a scuffle in a nightclub – he was later released without charge. Slater had been out with team-mates celebrating their 50-0 demolition of Ireland when he was reportedly attacked and then acted in self-defence, with police saying that the Australian has the opportunity to press charges himself. Before the tournament had kicked-off, the forward Josh Papalii was also threatened and robbed of £200 during a night out in the city. Australia will be hoping they are celebrating in Manchester with the title on 30 November without any more problems.
5 England need Samoa to overcome France
The loser of Samoa versus France on Monday night will play England in the quarter-finals in Wigan on Saturday. Samoa will be the favourites to prevail but roared on by a French crowd in Perpignan, there is the potential for an upset. From England’s perspective, they will be expected to beat whoever they are pitted against in the last eight ahead of a potential semi-final meeting with New Zealand. Yet McNamara will surely hope to avoid a potentially bruising encounter with the Pacific islanders before a showdown with the Kiwis. Against New Zealand, Samoa fought their way back into the game with wonderful courage and impressive attacking after a first half in which they looked dead and buried. The deficit in the end was 18 points, while New Zealand dismantled France 48-0 who themselves only advanced past Papua New Guinea 9-8.
Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/rugby-league-giants-reclaim-top-spot-salford-rout-162604644.html
Rugby League World Cup: Five talking points from the tournament so far
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