Rugby League World Cup 2017 Preview
- October 24th, 2017
- Charlie Bull
Big men, big hits. We're all set for the fascinating start of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup and there is a fiery encounter in prospect as Australia and England kick off the tournament in Melbourne!
How does it work?
There are four groups - two groups of four and two groups of three. From Groups A and B, the top three progress to the quarter-finals, while only the winners of Groups C and D go through. The opener on Friday is the first of 28 matches across 12 venues in 3 different countries.
The Favourites
Australia are reigning champions and current world number ones and will head confidently into the tournament on home soil. They will be looking to secure their 11th win in 15 tournaments. The Kangaroos tore apart the Kiwis 34-2 in the 2013 final, and again in the 2016 Four Nations final, coming out 34-8 winners.
However, there are a few others that should not be underestimated here. England, ranked third in the world are a growing side. Despite falling to Australia in the Four Nations last year, star man Sam Burgess has backed his side to do well, saying "we are way ahead of where we were last year".
The Kiwis will be right up there as they always are, which puts even more emphasis on the Australia-England opener; as whoever comes out on top will likely avoid New Zealand until the final.
Surprise Package?
The side to watch out for in this year's competition are Tonga. Although ranked 11th in the world, there is more firepower to them than meets the eye. As a result of the tier system in International Rugby League, quite a few Kiwis, and Australian Andrew Fifita, have thus opted to play for Tonga in the tournament. It will give the Tonga-New Zealand fixture on November 11th a spicy edge. Not one to miss!
Key Information
Group A: Australia England France Lebanon Group B: New Zealand Samoa Scotland Tonga Group C: Papua New Guinea Wales Ireland Group D: Fiji Italy USA
Final: Saturday December 2nd (Brisbane)