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England in World Cup ‘super pool’


THURSDAY - 19th April 2007


England have been placed in a ‘super pool’ with Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea for the group stages of the 2008 World Cup.

The format, designed to avoid a repeat of the one-sided matches of the 2000 event, sees the other six teams battling for one semi-final spot from two pools of three.

The Kangaroos, the holders and the hosts, kick off the 13th World Cup against New Zealand in Sydney on October 25, with England opening their campaign against Papua New Guinea the following day.

The top three teams from pool one will all go through to the semi-finals, while the other two pool winners play off for the right to join them.

Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, venue for tomorrow’s Anzac Test, will host the November 22 final as well as a semi-final and at least three of the remaining 17 matches in the tournament.

Sydney are also guaranteed a semi-final and a minimum of five pool matches and fixtures have been confirmed in Townsville, Robina and Melbourne, with negotiations ongoing at other regional venues.

Nineteen nations are contesting the 2008 World Cup. Seven have already secured a berth in the 10-team tournament, with Tonga and Fiji having qualified so far to join automatic entries Australia, New Zealand, England, France and Papua New Guinea.

Seven other teams - Ireland, Lebanon, Russia, Scotland, Wales, the United States and Samoa - are vying for the remaining three places.

"Already the tournament has achieved an enormous amount in promoting the game in developing nations," said Colin Love, chairman of the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF).

"There’s a real sense of anticipation building in those countries still working to qualify.

"There’s enormous enthusiasm for the game internationally and the spirit of World Cups in all sports is to respect the so-called minnows as much as the established stars.

"It will also, as shown in last year’s Tri-Nations final, showcase the remarkable rivalries of traditional powers such as Australia, England and New Zealand.

"It’s a compelling event not only for rugby league fans but for all sports fans.

"Australians love to give an ‘underdog’ a go and World Cups are a celebration of that very spirit."

The RLIF have sold television rights to the Nine Network, who will telecast all six "super pool" matches as well as the semi-finals and final.

"The World Cup tournament is well and truly making its way to Australia," added Love.

"The support we have received from governments, the corporate sector and broadcasters underlines just how much people are looking forward to the event next year."

2008 WORLD CUP POOLS

Pool 1: Australia, New Zealand, England, Papua New Guinea.

Pool 2: France, Fiji, winner Euro A Pool 2.

Pool 3: Tonga, winner repechage, winner Euro A Pool 1

2008 WORLD CUP SCHEDULE

Saturday, October 25: Australia v New Zealand Sunday Oct 26: England v Papua New Guinea.

Sunday October 26: Euro A Pool 1 v Tonga.

Sunday October 26: France v Euro A Pool 2.

Friday October 31: Fiji v France Friday Oct 31: Tonga v Repechage.

Saturday November 1: New Zealand v Papua New Guinea.

Sunday November 2: Australia v England.

Wednesday November 5: Euro A Pool 2 v Fiji.

Wednesday November 5: Euro A Pool 1 v Repechage.

Saturday November 8: England v New Zealand.

Sunday November 9: Papua New Guinea v Australia.

Monday November 10: Semi-final qualifier for Pool two and Pool three winners.

Tuesday November 11: Ranking match, Pool 2 second place v Pool 3 third place.

Friday November 14: Ranking match, Pool 2 third place v Pool 3 third place.

Friday November 14: Ranking match, Pool 1 fourth place v semi-final qualifier loser.

Saturday November 15: Semi-final one.

Sunday November 26: Semi-final two.

Saturday November 22: Final

:craz: the flipin Aussies!

ah well you have to beat the best to win it anyway!

(not that we will)

Its ok, the top 3 from our group go through.

I can see what they are doing... having less games being 80-0... having teas of similar ability play each other to have a fairer chance of getting through. PNG shouldnt be too much of a problem.

It may be that this draw has been conceived to prevent the big scores we've seen in previous tournaments but to me it defeats the point of the competition.

To place the Aussies, Kiwis & English all in the same group and say that 3 qualify from that group just gives the illusion that the other nations are not being taken seriously at all and that this competition is just an extended version of the Tri Nations.

so 3 out of 4 go through in one group
and 1 from 3 go through in the other 2 groups
but then the 4th placed team in pool 1 go through to a sudden death semi playoff?
Therefore all in pool 1 are guaranteed a semi place (I think)
Only in the greatest game could you get such a complicated tournament.

Why not just let all the teams bar NZ and Oz play for a shield and let NZand Oz play the final. much easier

Ste

must have taken you ages to post this thread

lets all hope we do better than the bloody cricketers ( but idnt think we will do much better my self)

I always say that if players are to count as non-quota for having a passport from a differant country then they should only be non-quota if they actually play for that country.

Obviously countries don't want a situation were the whole team are from differant countries but I think if players like Richards were to play for Ireland then it would help them in the World Cup.

OAM posted:
Ste

must have taken you ages to post this thread

lets all hope we do better than the bloody cricketers ( but idnt think we will do much better my self)

Hi OAM,

I just cut and pasted it from the super league site took all of two mins,but thats all my knowlege gone on computers though.

thats about 1000 times more than i know

cut and paste

is that from Blue Peter m8

http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... d_Cup.html