It is the penultimate day of the group stage of the Rugby League World Cup on Sunday and while the knockout stuff doesn’t officially begin until next week, we have an effective knockout game to enjoy in a triple header of action.
We will see the conclusion of Groups A and C throughout the course of the day on Sunday and the other match takes us into Group D where England could find out their quarter final opponent ahead of next week.
Lebanon vs Jamaica (12.00 – BBC iPlayer)
Venue: Leigh Sports Village
The opening match of the day comes from Group C where Lebanon look to book a quarter final spot against Australia when they play their final match of the opening part of the tournament against the wonderful Jamaica side.
Jamaica are going home after this match but they haven’t come this far to just roll over without putting up an entertaining show. Last week they made history when they got their opening try in a World Cup against New Zealand and you fancy they’ll be out to be really competitive here. Lebanon have little to gain and everything to lose in this match. They are expected to win the match and run the score up which comes with its own pressures. Even if they deal with that they are out again on Friday night so you would imagine there will be a let up at some point which might stop them covering a large handicap.
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Tonga vs Cook Islands (14.30 – BBC iPlayer)
Venue: Riverside Stadium
The second match of the day takes us into Group D where the favourites Tonga will look to complete a clean sweep of wins in the section when they take on a Cook Islands team who have shown more than enough to suggest they can be competitive here.
The Cook Islands beat Wales in their opening match and were in the game with Papua New Guinea in their second one before failing to live with the pace in the second half. I don’t think we’ve seen anything close to the best of Tonga but with Jason Taumalolo back from suspension for this one he is likely to inspire them to be at their best. They will want to put on a show and put some fear into whoever they end up facing in the quarter final. Tonga are being asked to cover 28 which you would imagine is in their capabilities but at the same time this group has been tighter than that so I’m in no rush to get involved either way.
Samoa vs France (17.00 – BBC Two)
Venue: Halliwell Jones Stadium
The last of the matches on Sunday is the big one as Group A concludes with what is a straight fight for the second quarter final spot from the section when Samoa take on France at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.
Both these teams have been well beaten by England in this tournament while both have eased past Greece. We saw a terrible Samoa performance against England but a pretty emphatic one against the Greeks while France laboured against Greece in their opening match and were probably flattered by the scoreline in their loss to England. This is sure to be a tasty clash with Samoa giving up around 26 or 28 points which looks about right to me if Jerome Luai is anything close to his best. The discipline of the French is a huge concern if you was to back them so it might be that the best way to play this match is over 54.5 points. Samoa could pile up the points if they fancy the task but there is enough creativity and mercurial play in the French for them to go over the try line as well so we could be in for something of a point fest here.
Tips
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