Ireland has claimed one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, downing Samoa 34-16, claiming the top place in the group and booking a playoff with the winner of Group B for the right to play Australia in the World Cup Semi Finals. Ireland were outstanding and improved on their impressive performance against Tonga…
Australia have secured the top spot in Group A with a crushing 52-4 win over England. As usual England come out playing physically and they were helped along when Australia played terribly for about ten minutes. However from that point on it was all one way traffic and to be honest, England were lucky a…
Fiji have easily beaten France 42-6 in the worst game I have ever seen a French side play. They just were not in the contest from the first minute as they lacked intensity and offered nothing in attack. Fiji meanwhile were what you’d expect, they always play well at the World Cup, but they really…
New Zealand have belted Papua New Guinea 48-6 in a game that really tied off a lot of lose ends in this World Cup. Many were looking at this contest as a marker towards how England will fare tomorrow night against Australia, and the signs were not good for Pommy fans. While PNG didn’t play…
Samoa has beaten Tonga 20-12 in the most important match of the World Cup so far. The win means Samoa is now in the box seat to claim the top of the group and look on track to play Australia in the World Cup semi finals. Forget all of that though, this game was a…
This is the footage I know some of our friends in the UK may not have seen yet. This is the moment the “Welcome To Australia” game between the Australian Aboriginal Dream Time Team faced off with the New Zealand Maori. This ended up being a great contest in which the Aboriginal side won 34-26…
I’ve upset some people (Poms) by saying that France will contend for Australia’s crowd as World Champions before England ever do, and after watching their win over Scotland (I know…I’m late!) just yesterday I have to say my opinions have only been reinforced. Scotland played pretty well, much better than they did in the qualifiers….
After watching the New Zealand Maori Haka being challenge by the Aboriginal war dance and seeing both proud teams look like they may come to blows before the game started, you could help but be pumped up ahead of the Australia vs New Zealand match. Unfortunantly I didn’t get to see the Aboriginal Dream Time…
Well I have talked up Tonga in the leadup to the World Cup based in their amazing lineup, however Tonga showed that it doesn’t matter how good your players are if you play rubbish as a team. Ireland played smater and out coached Tonga and almost came away with a massive upset win. Going into…
Game one of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup has been run and won and already England have been left wondering how it has all gone wrong. Yes they won their match against PNG by a scoreline of 32-22, but if we are all honest with ourselves, PNG should have won that game. The Kumuls…
I can’t believe it, the World Cup is about to kick off!!! I’ll be doing previews of every game during the World Cup and here are the first three games to watch over the weekend. Obviously all the attention will be on Australia vs New Zealand but the way the competition is set up, every…
The Cronulla Sharks announced a few weeks ago that they would play one game a year for the next three years in Adelaide. The move was seen as a move by the NRL to get a small foothold in Adelaide ahead of possible expansion and a chance for the Sharks to make some much needed…
Michael Hagan jumped before he was pushed today, calling a surprise press conference to announce he had quit as Parramatta Eels coach due to family reasons. Hagan narrowly avoided the sack this year after a disasterous season coaching the Eels, and heading into 2009 the Parramatta board had already given him a deadline to avoid…
Well the Broncos have found themselves in the shit again, this time after halfback peter Wallace was arrested at a pub. You have to wonder what it will take for some of these players to realise they have to pull their heads in. I’ve come to the point where I think maybe we need set…
Its funny how some players and the people around them believe they have zero accountability for their own actions. Facing numerous charges and a restraining order against his girl friend, Greg Bird has flown to the United States (Where his girlfrend lives) and friend have said that he now wants to join the Sydney Roosters….
When the Super Group was announced there were many different reactions. Some said PNG was hard done by, and its hard to disagree. England immeditaly felt confident, Australia said the group would be there while New Zealand was too busying falling to pieces to care. The Super Grouping works really well for the Rugby League…
Sometimes its a moral dilemma being an Australian. Before the World Cup I said that I didn’t want Karmichael Hunt, Darius Boyd or Sam Thaiday anywhere near the Australian World Cup Side. This was based on the fact that they had legal problems hanging over their heads and they liked engaging in sexual activities in…
Its without doubt the easiest group in the World Cup but that doesn’t mean there is a lack of quality in Group B. We all know the French an play some good football while the Fijians are a sit everyone has underestimated. As for Scotland, well, they are probably the worst side in the World…
All the profits from the 2008 Rugby League World Cup will go into a fund to develope Rugby League around the world. On top of this there is $2,000,000 in prize money on offer that will be spread across all ten World Cup teams depending on where they finish the tournament. This is all fantastic…
And here we go! This is the first in a series of general World Cup previews. I’ll be taking you through the teams, showing some of my favoured lineups and telling you what to watch out for. The first preview is Group C. While Group A is the Super Group, Group C would have to…
Well the World Cup kickoff is getting closer and it seems very strange to me. I remember when they announced the tournament would be held in 2008, I thought it was way to far away. Now, I hardly have enough time to book all my flights! I’ve talked about some of the negatives in regards…
Why do we have a Rugby League World Cup? In fact, why does any sport have a World Cup? The Rugby League World Cup was first held in 1954 after a lot of work by the French to make it happen. The French saw the need for a World Cup and the opportunities the competition…
It was shocking news to hear that Wakefield prop Adam Watene had passed away at just 31 years of age. Reports seem to suggest that Watene had a heart attack while doing weight training. Watene had been training on his own to get his fitness back before the Wildcats resume official team training in just…
The West Tigers have decided to move some of their games from ANZ Stadium to the Sydney Football Stadium in a move I think you might see a few other clubs make as well The Tigers by my count have had five home ground ove the last few years. They had one in New Zealand…
You’ll have noticed I am yet to post the official squad lists for other nations competing in the World Cup, but I have a good reason. It seems the people running these teams have no idea what they are doing! In some instances I can’t really blame them. The rules are there are no rules……so…
Stephen Kearney and Wayne Bennett have already made their mark on the New Zealand test side, picking the first Kiwi test side in a long time that looks perfectly set for the modern day game. Gone are many of the players that get selected year in year out no matter how unfit they are or…
To win the Rugby League World Cup, you have to beat Australia, and with the squad Australia has announced, thats going to be a big ask. The Manly Sea Eagles got six of their players selected in the squad and thankfully, Karmichael Hunt and Sam Thaiday have been left out of the side after their…
The Manly Sae Eagles are the 100th Premiers after they destroyed the Melbourne Storm 40-0 in the Grand Final. It is the biggest winning margin in Australian Rugby League history. The game was close and predictably hard fought early on, and while the Sea Eagles scored two unconverted tries early in the game you just…
St Helens will take on the Leeds Rhinos in this weekends Super League Grand Final. I’ll be watching the game, but to be honest it just hasn’t grabbed me this year. Maybe its because the same two teams played in last years decider, maybe its because these two teams are not really traditional rivals. Maybe…
South Sydney are doing a good job to try and push the game and their brand into new markets. With last years game against the Leeds Rhinos in the United States already under their belts, the Rabbitohs are now going to play one of their regular season games in Perth in Western Australia. It shows…