After a 12 month delay the Rugby League World Cup finally gets underway on Saturday when 16 nations head to England for what should be one of the biggest and best showcases of the international game we have seen.
The 2017 World Cup was decent in its own right and Australia won it on home soil. They have put together a strong squad to head to England in a bid to make a successful defence of the title. This feels like the most open competition there has been though.
Recent Winners
2017 – Australia
2013 – Australia
2008 – New Zealand
2000 – Australia
1995 – Australia
The Format
The field has increased by two this year to make for a much simpler format to understand. The 16 teams have been placed into four groups of four where each team plays the other three in their group. At the end of that stage the top two in each group progress to the knockout stage where the quarter finals, semi-finals and final are played. The champion will be crowned at Old Trafford on November 19.
Group A
England
Coach: Shaun Wane
Previous Best: Runners Up
Odds: 16/1
Key Players: Sam Tomkins & Morgan Knowles
England go into the tournament a little less fancied than they were five years ago despite having home advantage. That might not be a bad thing for Shaun Wane’s men given how long this tournament has been in the offing. Wane has named a young squad with a bit of inexperience but one which has a good mix of Super League and NRL experience. They face Samoa in their opening match and that might tell us plenty about their chances of glory.
France
Coach: Laurent Frayssinous
Previous Best: Runners Up
Odds: 500/1
Key Players: Benjamin Garcia & Arthur Mourgue
France have dropped down the standings of the world game since the last World Cup and that means they are third seeds for this group. In one of the other groups that wouldn’t necessarily be a problem but they have landed in one with two powerhouses here. They should get the better of Greece but as much as French rugby is improving with the Catalans Dragons and Toulouse in Super League last season, qualifying from this section is a big ask.
Greece
Coach: Steve Georgallis
Previous Best: Debutants
Odds: 2500/1
Key Players: Lachlan Ilias & Jordan Meads
Greece are one of two debutants in the competition this year. You would imagine with a strong Greek heritage in Australia that they would have had a number of players to choose from but a third of their squad have come from their home system which makes you think this will be a tough ask for the Europeans. They have nothing to lose but at this stage of their development in the world game just being competitive against three strong nations will be an achievement.
Samoa
Coach: Matt Parish
Previous Best: Quarter Finals
Odds: 10/1
Key Players: Jarome Luai & Josh Papali’i
Samoa have never been beyond the quarter final stage of the World Cup but having announced themselves as pretenders in the last World Cup, they head to this tournament as genuine contenders courtesy of six NRL champion Penrith Panthers players in their side. Samoa have a good mix of power and pace with some creativity in the key positions. One issue is how quickly they will come together as a team and with England in their opening match they’ll need to do it quickly if they are to win the group. With Australia and New Zealand in the other half of the draw don’t be surprised if Samoa gatecrash Old Trafford.
Group B
Australia
Coach: Mal Meninga
Previous Best: Winners
Odds: 4/7
Key Players: James Tedesco & Daly Cherry-Evans
Australia are the defending champions and overwhelming favourites to keep hold of their crown but if they are going to win the tournament they’ll have to do it the hard way this time with New Zealand their potential semi-final opponents. Australia have been reluctant to play international rugby in recent times but the State of Origin produced a strong series once again this year so they’ll be up for the battle. Australia are the favourites but this might be the hardest one for them to win so far.
Fiji
Coach: Wise Kativerata
Previous Best: Semi-Finals
Odds: 250/1
Key Players: Kevin Naiqama & Viliame Kikau
Fiji had a period of turmoil last month when they were forced to change coach after Joe Rabele went down ill. Wise Kativerata has replaced him and will be looking to lead Fiji into the knockout stages at the very least. On paper, this doesn’t look as strong a Fiji squad as the one they had down under five years ago but they do have three NRL champions in their squad and if they can use the Fijian passion to good effect then there could still be a deep run in them.
Italy
Coach: Leo Epifania
Previous Best: Group Stages
Odds: 1000/1
Key Players: Nathan Brown & Daniel Atkinson
Italy will be competing at their third successive World Cup and now that they know what it is all about they will be expected to deliver an improved showing. The big issue they have is James Tedesco is now firmly in the Australian ranks while Mark Minichello and Josh Mantellato are a thing of the past so a much less experienced squad has to go to battle here. They will hope to be competitive but it is hard to see them escaping the group.
Scotland
Coach: Nathan Graham
Previous Best: Quarter Finals
Odds: 1000/1
Key Players: Ryan Brierley & James Bell
Scotland are seeded to reach the quarter final of the competition and that will be a decent achievement for a team who have lost some talent in the last few years. Danny Brough was a talisman in previous World Cup campaigns but he isn’t around any more. Salford full-back Ryan Brierley comes in here off the back of a very good season in the Super League but there are too many lower league players in the squad for comfort.
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Group C
Ireland
Coach: Ged Corcoran
Previous Best: Quarter Finals
Odds: 500/1
Key Players: Ritchie Myler & Luke Keary
Ireland will be looking to make it through to the knockout stages of the tournament once again and have a good mix of Super League and NRL talent to pick from. James Bentley, Ritchie Myler and Dan Norman were involved in Grand Final squads last month while Luke Keary is of a decent NRL standard. Ireland don’t lack for power in the forwards so if Keary and Myler can have good tournaments then the Irish could be dark horses for a good run.
Jamaica
Coach: Romeo Monteith
Odds: 2500/1
Previous Best: Debutants
Key Players: Ashton Golding & Michael Lawrence
The Reggae Warriors are going to be a fantastic addition to the tournament. What they might lack in competitiveness they will certainly make up for in colour and passion. Every nation has to begin their journey somewhere and Jamaica begin theirs in a really tough group to come out of. Crossing the try line a few times and bloodying a nose or two would be a decent achievement but with six domestic players in the squad there is no reason why this squad can’t grow Jamaica rugby here.
Lebanon
Coach: Michael Cheika
Odds: 1000/1
Previous Best: Quarter Finals
Key Players: Josh Mansour & Mitchell Moses
Lebanon will be looking to build on their effort of five years ago which saw them reach the quarter finals. They are going to have their work cut out to achieve that though because this is a very tricky group. They have a blend of NRL experience in their squad but probably lack the standout talents they had in the last tournament in the form of Robbie Farah and Anthony Layoun. Their knockout hopes come down to their clash with Ireland.
New Zealand
Coach: Michael Maguire
Odds: 7/2
Previous Best: Winners
Key Players: Jesse Bromwich & Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
New Zealand go into this tournament almost under the radar for once. They probably had a stronger squad nine years ago when this event was last on these shores but this squad should still be able to mix it with the very best. It will need to though because they are on a collision course with Australia in the semi-finals but if they can cause an upset there they will be favourites for the title. A New Zealand team with the brute they have in the pack should never be discounted.
Group D
Cook Islands
Coach: Tony Iro
Odds: 500/1
Previous Best: Group Stages
Key Players: Brad Takairangi & Zane Tetevano
The Cook Islands are back in the tournament having missed out on the 2017 renewal and they will be looking to make their mark in the most competitive of the four groups. That probably isn’t ideal but they will feel that second place is up for grabs at the very least. There is a good core of Super League players in the squad but the second tier level players will have to be at their very best if they are to make it out of the group.
Papua New Guinea
Coach: Stanley Tepeno
Odds: 250/1
Previous Best: Quarter Finals
Key Players: Rhyse Martin & Xavier Coates
Papua New Guinea have made it back into the tournament and they will be looking to emulate their run to the quarter finals in 2017. They were at home in the first stage of that event which was undoubtedly a help and their fans lit up that competition. Things are likely to be a little harder this time around but they will play with passion and flair but there is no David Mead to James Segeyaro in this squad this year so this could be a long month for Papua New Guinea.
Tonga
Coach: Kristian Wolff
Odds: 14/1
Previous Best: Semi-Finals
Key Players: Tui Lolohea & Jason Taumalolo
Tonga go into the tournament looking to build on their semi-final appearance four years ago in what will be coach Kristian Wolff’s final assignment on UK soil as the former St Helens coach heads home after this tournament. He knows all about winning in England having won the Grand Final in all three years at Saints and he has a very talented squad at his disposal, one with the right blend of power, pace and skill. Tonga are in the right half of the draw for a very deep run in this tournament.
Wales
Coach: John Kear
Odds: 1000/1
Previous Best: Semi-Finals
Key Players: Elliot Kear & Matty Fozard
Wales look to have the toughest task of all the teams in this competition. They drew the short straw in 2017 when they had to play their group matches in the intense heat of Papua New Guinea and now they have lost talisman Morgan Knowles to England and they look a stretched outfit. John Kear is no stranger to the impossible though and if anyone believes he can get Wales to achieve something it will be him but the reality is that just avoiding finishing bottom of the group will be a decent outcome for this Welsh outfit.
Outright Betting
This has the feel of a wide open tournament about it and one of the reasons why that is the case is the draw. The seeded semi-finals will see Australia and New Zealand meeting in one semi-final and England and Tonga in the other. Samoa will have a bit to say about the latter but I’m really underwhelmed by this England squad and so I fancy one of the Pacific Islanders to make it through to the final. Samoa look a decent outfit but I really like Tonga under Kristian Woolf.
They probably won’t be the most exciting team to watch if the Woolf style at St Helens is anything to go by but as we saw with that club, it is a winning brand that he plays. Here he has a half-back pairing to do some damage in Tui Lolohea and Junior Amone. There is no shortage of skill across the back line and the likes of Jason Taumalolo, David Fifita and Felise Kaufusi bring real presence to the middle of the park. Tonga’s group looks competitive but they should be too good for the others in it and are the value to go all the way here.
Top Tryscorer
New Zealand look to have the easier of the tasks in the group stage of the competition and it might be that they run in a huge number of tries which will give the likes of Jordan Rapana every chance of being the leading try scorer in the competition. He will go up against a Jamaica defence which is likely to be there for the taking while the Lebanon one might be opened up with the power of this New Zealand side as well.
There are a number of players in the New Zealand setup who could cross for a few tries. Ronaldo Mulitalo on the other wing would be another but I like Rapana at the bigger price. New Zealand might go out in the semi-final but the fact they have two easier group matches than Australia will hopefully cover that. You can make a case for an Australian top try scorer but with Fiji in their group and then a possible clash with Ireland I think it will be New Zealand who go big on tries and so Rapana is my selection.
Tips
Back Tonga to win Rugby League World Cup for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 with Coral
Back J.Rapana Top Try Scorer (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 12.0 with Coral (1/4 1-4)
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