2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 2006 – November 2007 |
| Teams | 14 (from 3 confederations) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 9 |
2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying matches took place from April 2006 to November 2007. Of the ten teams to compete in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, five of them qualified based on their performance in these matches. The other five teams had qualified automatically.
Qualified teams[edit]
6 Asian-Pacific teams qualified for the World Cup; 3 qualified automatically, with the top 2 in the Pacific qualifying group also reaching the finals. Samoa finished third in the Pacific qualifying group and earned a qualification spot by winning the repechage. 4 European teams qualified for the World Cup. 2 qualified automatically, with a further 2 finals berths for the winner of each European qualifying group. No teams from the Atlantic qualifying group reached the finals, with the USA losing at the repechage semi-final stage.
| Team | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia | Host | N/A | Final | 2000 | Winners (1957, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1992, 1995, 2000) |
 New Zealand | Automatic qualifier | N/A | Champions | 2000 | Runners-up (1988, 2000) |
 Papua New Guinea | Automatic qualifier | N/A | No | 2000 | Quarter-finals (2000) |
 England | Automatic qualifier | N/A | Semi Final | 2000 | Runners-up (1975, 1995) |
 France | Automatic qualifier | N/A | No | 2000 | Runners-up (1954, 1968) |
 Scotland | Europe Pool A winners | 4 November 2007 | No | 2000 | Group stage (2000) |
 Ireland | Europe Pool B winners | 2 November 2007 | Quarter Final | 2000 | Quarter-finals (2000) |
 Tonga | Pacific Pool winners | 22 October 2006 | No | 2000 | Group stage (1995, 2000) |
 Fiji | Pacific runners-up | 7 October 2006 | Semi Final | 2000 | Group stage (1995, 2000) |
 Samoa | Repechage winners | 14 November 2007 | No | 2000 | Quarter-finals (2000 |
Europe[edit]
First round[edit]
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Russia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 20 | +88 | 6 | Second Round |
 Georgia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 102 | 50 | +52 | 4 | Ejected from competition |
 Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 68 | 123 | –55 | 2 | Failed to qualify for World Cup |
 Serbia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 42 | 127 | –85 | 0 |
Second round[edit]
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 2 | Qualified for World Cup |
 Wales | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 37 | –5 | 2 | Intercontinental playoff |
| 29 October 2006 |
| Wales | 14–21 | Scotland |
| Tries: Briers Hughes Johnson Goal: Briers | Tries: Benn Brough Liddell Nanyn Field Goal: Brough |
| Brewery Field, Bridgend Attendance: 2,378 |
| 4 November 2007 |
| Scotland | 16–18 | Wales |
| Tries: Benn Fisher Goals: Brough (4/4) | Tries: Dyer Gibson Hughes Goals: Harris (3/4) |
| Old Anniesland, Glasgow Attendance: 911 |
Group B
Lebanon hosted their home fixtures in England due to the political situation in the Middle East.[1][2]
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 142 | 64 | 78 | 6 | Qualified for World Cup |
 Lebanon | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 104 | 42 | 62 | 6 | Interncontinental playoff |
| Russia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 178 | −140 | 0 | Failed to qualify for World Cup |
| 22 October 2006 |
| Russia | 12–50 | Ireland |
| Tries: Baskakov Iliassov Ovchinnikov | Tries: Dodd (3) Bridge (2) Cantillon (2) Littler (2) Goals: Bridge (7/9) |
| Fili Stadium, Moscow Attendance: 120 |
| 5 November 2006 |
| Ireland | 18–18 | Lebanon |
| Tries: Grix Littler Tandy Goals: Bridge (3/3) | Tries: Chiha Koborsi Salem Goals: El Masri (2/2) Salem (1/2) |
| Tolka Park, Dublin Attendance: 140 |
| 20 October 2007 |
| Ireland | 58–18 | Russia |
| Tries: Blanch (3) Littler (3) Beswick (2) Gleeson (2) Handforth Goals: Finn (4/6) Handforth (3/5) | Tries: Baskakov Logunov Zagoskin Goals: Grigoryan (2/3) Zdobnikov (1/1) |
| Oak Park, Carlow Attendance: 2,958 |
| 2 November 2007 |
| Lebanon | 16–16 | Ireland |
| Tries: Farah Salem Samia Goals: Nicholas (2) | Tries: Finn Handforth Goals: Finn (2) Bridge (2) |
| Crown Flatt, Dewsbury Attendance: 6,812 |
Notes:
- Ireland's Chris Bridge kicked a penalty goal to level the scores in the 77th minute after Lebanon's captain Hassan Saleh conceded a penalty for a high tackle.[3][2]
- Ireland qualified for the World Cup with a greater points difference than Lebanon, who progressed to the intercontinental repechage.[2]
Speculation of match-fixing[edit]
In early 2011, Ryan Tandy and his agent Sam Ayoub were charged in relation to alleged spot-fixing offences during a 2010 National Rugby League match, prompting speculation about the legitimacy of Ireland and Lebanon's two draws. The 2006 drawn match included Tandy representing Ireland and Ayoub's son Jai Ayoub representing Lebanon.[4][5] Neither Tandy or Ayoub played in the 2007 match.[3] A police investigation in Australia was dismissed due to "jurisdictional issues."[6] Ireland coach Andy Kelly said in 2011 that he believes the games were played "openly and honestly," and that it was a coincidence both games were drawn.[5]
Pacific[edit]
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/− | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonga | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 102 | 54 | 48 | 4 | Qualified for World Cup |
| Fiji | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 98 | 62 | 36 | 4 | |
| Samoa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 86 | 52 | 34 | 4 | Advances to the repechage round |
 Cook Islands | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 142 | −118 | 0 | Failed to qualify for World Cup |
Other[edit]
Originally, the USA, Japan, South Africa and West Indies were going to compete in a four-team tournament at Bernie Robbins Stadium, Atlantic City, from 21–28 October.
However, the West Indies and South Africa withdrew before the draw, and a one-off match was played between Japan and the USA.[7]
Repechage[edit]
Semi-finals[edit]
| 9 November 2007 |
| Wales | 26–50 | Lebanon |
| Tries: Gibson (3) Blackwood Bracek Goals: Harris (2/4) Briers | Tries: Salem (3) El Zbaideh Kourouche Moujalli Ndaira Saab Samia Goals: Nicolas (7/9) |
| Halton Stadium, Widnes Attendance: 753 |
Final[edit]
- Therefore, Samoa qualified for the final position at the World Cup to be held in Australia in 2008.
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ The match was originally abandoned after the Georgian team had their visa applications rejected. A subsequent investigation discovered that Georgia had actually been forced to forfeit the match because their players were representing the rugby union team. Georgia were found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute, ejected from the competition and banned from RLIF events for two years; Russia were awarded the match 24–0.
References[edit]
- ^ Wilson, Andy (28 October 2006). "Lebanon come to London on road to World Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Lebanon 16-16 Ireland". RTE. 4 November 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ a b Hadfield, Dave (3 November 2007). "Lebanon 16 Ireland 16: Late Bridge penalty gives Ireland place in the World Cup". The Independent. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ Walter, Brad (5 March 2011). "World Cup qualifiers also to be investigated". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ a b Wilson, Andy (5 March 2011). "Ireland's draws against Lebanon dragged into betting investigation". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ Proszenko, Adrian (6 March 2011). "Police identify final punter". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
- ^ "Tips regarding supplementation - American National Rugby League - Rugby league in the United States". www.amnrl.com.
Sources[edit]
- "World Cup European Preliminary Qualifying Tournament – Euro B", Rugby League European Federation website, retrieved 8 May 2006
- "Rugby League World Cup 2008 – European Qualifying Group", Rugby League European Federation website, retrieved 15 May 2006
- "Impressive Georgia Outrun Dutch in 2nd Half"[dead link], Rugby League European Federation website, retrieved 28 May 2006
- "World Cup 2008 – European Qualifying Ground"[dead link], Rugby League European Federation website, retrieved 20 June 2006
- "The Road to World Cup 2008", Scotland Rugby League website, retrieved 16 July 2006.