2008 Rugby League World Cup

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox rugby league international tournament

The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams. It was held between 26 October and 22 November and was won by New Zealand, who defeated Australia 34–20 in the final in one of the greatest upsets in the sports history.

Originally there was a plan to hold a World Cup in Australia in 2004,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> however the lack of competitiveness at the 2000 World Cup and rise of the Tri-Nations between Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain meant that plans for another World Cup were shelved.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

For the World Cup to regain some credibility, the number of teams was reduced to ten with Australia, England, France, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand automatically qualifying and a qualifying tournament to determine the other five teams. The tournament ended a year of celebrations commemorating the centenary of the game in the Southern Hemisphere and was part of the Festival of World Cups.

Format

Qualification

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The hosts, Australia, were given automatic entry into the World Cup, along with New Zealand, England, France and Papua New Guinea. The five remaining places in the World Cup were determined by qualification rounds. Two European rounds and Pacific, Atlantic and Repêchage rounds were scheduled.

Tonga and Fiji became the first two nations to qualify after Tonga defeated Samoa 18–10 in Leeds on 22 October, forcing Samoa to enter the repêchage. In the European Group Two, Ireland drew 16–16 with Lebanon to ensure qualification, while Lebanon were forced to enter the repêchage. The final automatic place went to Scotland, who defeated Wales 37–32 on aggregate after two legs. Wales then faced Lebanon in the repêchage semi-final, where they lost in a surprise 50–26 defeat, to knock them out of World Cup Qualifying. Lebanon then faced Samoa, who beat USA 42–10 in the first semi-final, on 14 November for the final qualifying position. The game was won by Samoa, 38–16, and so they booked the tenth and final place.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Many qualification matches were broadcast live by Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, whilst BigPondTV broadcast matches online for other fans around the world.<ref>ARL – Tickets On Sale Template:Webarchive</ref>

Team Nickname Coach Captain RLIF Rank
Template:Rl The Kangaroos Ricky Stuart Darren Lockyer 1
Template:Rl The Lions Tony Smith Jamie Peacock 3
Template:Rl The Bati Joe Dakuitoga Wes Naiqama 6
Template:Rl Les Chanticleers John Monie Jerome Guisset 5
Template:Rl The Wolfhounds Andy Kelly Scott Grix 9
Template:Rl The Kiwis Stephen Kearney Nathan Cayless 2
Template:Rl The Kumuls Adrian Lam John Wilshere 7
Template:Rl Toa Samoa John Ackland Nigel Vagana 12
Template:Rl The Bravehearts Steve McCormack Danny Brough 11
Template:Rl Mate Ma'a Tonga Jim Dymock Lopini Paea 4

Draw

The draw, after being confirmed by the RLIF on 19 April 2007, involved three groups. The first group was made up of four teams; Australia, England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Whilst the other two groups involved three teams each. The semi finals were made up of the first three teams in the first group and the winner of a playoff between the winners of the second and third groups.

The draw was put into doubt after the Papua New Guinea team claimed that it was unfair to them and threatened to boycott the tournament should it not be changed. Marcus Bai, former Papua New Guinean winger and captain, said:<ref>Papua New Guinea Threaten Boycott</ref>

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Fortunately for the tournament, this separate island competition did not eventuate. Papua New Guinea still remained upset with the draw, seeing it as a huge challenge but one which would have seen them be rewarded if they had won. The draw was finalised on 4 October 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The first match took place in Townsville between England and Papua New Guinea, although the official opening ceremony of the competition occurred before the Australia and New Zealand match the following day in Sydney.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The final took place at Lang Park (Suncorp Stadium) in Brisbane.

Teams received 2 points for a win, and 1-point for a draw. This meant that, unlike in the Australasian National Rugby League, there was no "golden point" rule enforced. In group stages, if two teams had the same number of points then positions were determined on points difference, the number of points scored minus the number of points conceded.

After group matches were completed, a match featuring the second placed teams in Group B and Group C took place with the winner receiving 7th place. Similarly the third placed teams in Group B and Group C played off for 9th place. It was believed that these results were to be taken into account in the 2009 RLIF World Rankings.Template:Citation needed

Squads

Template:See also Each nation competing in the tournament named 24-man squads in the weeks prior to the group stage commencing.<ref>Two More Vodafone Warriors in World Cup TeamsTemplate:Dead link NZ Warriors, 8 October 2008.</ref><ref>Fiji, Ireland, Samoa, Scotland and Tonga sides Template:Webarchive Official RLWC08 site, 8 October 2008.</ref>

Venues

Due to Rugby League World Cup rules prohibiting the use of commercial venue names, all venues were known by their non-commercial names, e.g. Suncorp Stadium was known as Lang Park during the tournament. Lang Park would also host the World Cup final.

Brisbane Melbourne Sydney Gold Coast
Lang Park Docklands Stadium Sydney Football Stadium Robina Stadium
Capacity: 52,500 Capacity: 56,347 Capacity: 42,500 Capacity: 27,400
Townsville Newcastle Canberra Wollongong
Willows Sports Complex Newcastle International Sports Centre Canberra Stadium Wollongong Showground
Capacity: 26,500 Capacity: 26,126 Capacity: 25,011 Capacity: 23,000
Sydney Sydney Gosford Rockhampton
Penrith Stadium Parramatta Stadium Central Coast Stadium Browne Park
Capacity: 22,500 Capacity: 21,500 Capacity: 20,059 Capacity: 8,000

Template:Location map+

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Officiating

Six referees from four countries controlled matches in the tournament. These four nations also provided touch judges while England and Australia provided the video referees.<ref name=referees>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=touchjudges>Template:Cite web</ref> In support of the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation, the referees wore pastel pink shirts while officiating matches to raise awareness. The shirts, which carried the NBCF logo on the collar, were signed by the team captains at each World Cup game and were later auctioned off with the proceeds going to the NBCF.<ref name=charity1>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Referees
Video referees

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Touch judges

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Opening ceremony

The 2008 World Cup's opening ceremony

On Sunday night, 26 October, the Sydney Football Stadium hosted the Opening Ceremony of the World Cup. It started with Greg Inglis reciting a speech about "Playing Fair". Following Inglis' speech there was an Aboriginal Smoking ceremony to welcome all the athletes and participants. This included a rather large sized Rainbow Serpent which represented the Aboriginal Dreamtime. The last part of the ceremony involved a performance of the Rugby League World Cup anthem "Hero" by Natalie Bassingthwaighte. A curtain raiser to the Australia vs. New Zealand match included an Indigenous Australian squad playing against New Zealand Māori which featured several prominent NRL players and rising stars, including Chris Sandow, Wairangi Koopu, Preston Campbell, Sam Thaiday, Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Carl Webb.

As part of the official opening of the World Cup on 26 October, an exhibition game was played between an Aboriginal selection and a New Zealand Māori side.<ref>Indigenous Dreamtime team named Template:Webarchive @ Official RLWC08 site, 11 October 2008.</ref>

Template:Rugbyleaguebox

Team lists:
FB 1 Rhys Wesser
WG 2 Justin Carney
CE 3 Maurice Blair
CE 4 Jamal Idris
WG 5 Ty Williams
FE 6 Jamie Soward
HB 7 Preston Campbell (c)
PR 8 Carl Webb
HK 9 Ian Lacey
PR 17 Peter Jensen
SR 11 Daine Laurie
SR 12 Derrick Watkins
LK 13 Dean Widders
Interchange:
IC 14 Chris Sandow
IC 15 Rod Jensen
IC 16 Yileen Gordon
IC 10 George Rose
IC 18 Dennis Moran
Coach:
Neil Henry
FB 1 Bronx Goodwin
WG 2 Jordan Rapana
CE 3 Chase Stanley
CE 4 Karl Johnson
WG 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall
FE 14 Charlie Herekotukutuku
HB 7 Rangi Chase
PR 8 Weller Hauraki
HK 9 Ben Ellis (c)
PR 10 Sam McKendry
SR 11 Craig Smith
SR 12 Wairangi Koopu
LK 13 Lee Te Maari
Interchange:
IC 6 Arana Taumata
IC 15 Hep Cahill
IC 16 Chance Bunce
IC 17 James Tamou
IC 18 Kevin Proctor
Coach:
Luke Goodwin

Group stage

The 2008 Rugby League World Cup's eighteen matches were played during October and November in various locations throughout the east coast of Australia. The tournament's teams were divided into three pool groups. The teams finishing highest amongst those groups progressed to the play-offs.

All teams from group A (shaded in green) with the exception of the bottom qualifying team progressed to the semi-finals, the other two groups the top finisher progressed to a playoff match, in which the winner would qualify to the semi-finals.

Group A

Template:Main {{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group A|Standings}} {{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group A|ENGvPNG}} {{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group A|AUSvNZL}}

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group A|NZLvPNG}} {{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group A|AUSvENG}}

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group A|ENGvNZL}} {{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group A|AUSvPNG}}

Group B

Template:Main {{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group B|Standings}} {{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group B|FRAvSCO}}

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group B|FIJvFRA}}

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group B|SCOvFIJ}}

Group C

Template:Main {{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group C|Standings}} {{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group C|TONvIRE}}

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group C|SAMvTON}}

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup Group C|IREvSAM}}

Knockout stage

Template:Main The top three teams from pool A advanced to the semi-finals, while the top teams from pools B and C played off in the qualifying final to decide the fourth spot in the semi-finals.

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup knockout stage|Bracket}}

7th place play-off

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup knockout stage|SCOvTON}}

9th place play-off

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup knockout stage|FRAvSAM}}

Quarter-final

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup knockout stage|FIJvIRE}}

Semi-finals

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup knockout stage|NZLvENG}}

{{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup knockout stage|AUSvFIJ}}

Final: Australia vs New Zealand

Template:Main {{#lst:2008 Rugby League World Cup final|Final}}

Statistics

Try scorers

7 tries
6 tries
5 tries
4 tries

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3 tries

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2 tries

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1 try

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Attendances

Date Match Venue Location Attendance
25 October 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Willows Sports Complex Townsville 10,780
26 October 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Sydney Football Stadium Sydney 34,157
26 October 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Canberra Stadium Canberra 9,287
27 October 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Parramatta Stadium Sydney 6,165
31 October 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Penrith Stadium Sydney 11,787
1 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Wollongong Showground Wollongong 9,213
1 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Robina Stadium Gold Coast 11,278
2 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Docklands Stadium Melbourne 36,297
5 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Parramatta Stadium Sydney 8,067
5 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Central Coast Stadium Gosford 9,720
8 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Browne Park Rockhampton 5,942
8 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Newcastle International Sports Centre Newcastle 15,145
9 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Willows Sports Complex Townsville 16,239
9 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Penrith Stadium Sydney 8,028
10 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Robina Stadium Gold Coast 8,224
15 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Lang Park Brisbane 26,659
16 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Sydney Football Stadium Sydney 15,855
22 November 2008 Template:Rl Template:Rl Lang Park Brisbane 50,599

Critical reception

New Zealand lifting the Paul Barrière Trophy after their victory in the final.

Due to the generally poor response of the 2000 World Cup, there were several key criticisms of the tournament before any matches had kicked off.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The RLIF were forced to defend the credibility of the tournament in October 2007 after New Zealand, one of the favourites for the competition, were heavily beaten in a Test match 58–0 in Wellington against Australia.<ref>Kiwi Pre-WC Criticism</ref> Another concern was whether there would be enough competitiveness throughout the ten teams, with some fans worried about the possibility of too many one-sided matches,<ref>Competitiveness Pre-WC Criticism</ref> which was a common sight in the Group Stages of the 2000 tournament.<ref>2000 WC Overview</ref>

Ricky Stuart, coach of the Australian team, was reported to be so incensed by his team's defeat in the final that he verbally attacked Geoff Carr, the chief executive of Australian Rugby League, claiming that tournament organisers and match officials conspired to cause the Australian loss.<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive</ref> The next morning he had a chance meeting with Ashley Klein, who refereed the final, and Stuart Cummings, the Rugby Football League's director of match officials, at their hotel. He reportedly abused both officials in front of a number of witnesses, calling Klein a cheat, and behaved in an aggressive and physically intimidating manner.<ref>[2] Template:Webarchive</ref> Stuart later apologised for his behaviour and resigned from his post.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The tournament proved a commercial success, delivering a profit of over Template:A$ and re-establishing the credibility of the competition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Marketing

Branding

File:Heroes08.PNG
Promotional video scene
File:Heroes here 08 strapline 2008 rugbyleagueworldcup.png
Heroes Here 08 strapline

The World Cup's "Heroes Here 08" promotional campaign was launched at the Sydney Opera House on 6 May 2008.<ref name="Heroes1">Template:Cite web</ref> At the launch, Paul Kind, the World Cup Director of Marketing, explained, "Heroes Here 08 underlines that fact that the international game, and particularly this tournament, will bring out the best in every player who takes part. It will create heroes."

Natalie Bassingthwaighte recorded an "Australian version" of the Mariah Carey song "Hero" which accompanied the "Heroes 08" promotional video and other World Cup advertising. The World Cup Opening Ceremony featured a live performance of the song by Bassingthwaighte.<ref name="Heroes1" />

Filming of visuals for the promotional video began in Leeds during the worldwide ticketing launch for the event in November 2007.<ref name="Heroes1" />

Advertising agency MJW, celebrity photographer Garry Heery and production company Engine worked together to combine the latest digital animation with a dark and determined set that highlighted the passion players feel in representing their country on the international stage.<ref name="Heroes1" />

The Heroes campaign featured Mark Gasnier (Australia), Roy Asotasi (New Zealand), Rob Burrow (England), Keith Peters (PNG), Waisale Sukanaveita (Fiji), Nigel Vagana (Samoa), Jerome Guisset (France), Lee Paterson (Scotland), Stuart Littler (Ireland) and Lopini Paea (Tonga).<ref name="Heroes1" /> Gasnier was later removed from some of the promotional material after he left the sport mid-season and was replaced by Darren Lockyer.

The video also appeared in the video game Rugby League 2: World Cup Edition, which featured a world cup mode based on the event.

Ticketing

Tickets for Australian residents went on sale 7 November 2007 and internationally on 18 February.<ref>Pilbeam Tickets Template:Webarchive</ref> However tickets were not distributed until 3 March. Ticketek were announced as the official ticketing agency for the competition, selling tickets for all matches.<ref>Ticketek Tickets</ref> Ticketmaster and Pilbeam Theatre were selling tickets to the Telstra Dome and Browne Park matches respectively.

The World Cup final sold out months in advance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sponsorship

The Official Sponsors of the Rugby League World Cup 2008 were:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Broadcasting

Television

The 2008 World Cup had 26 separate television deals taking coverage to 127 countries and generating more than $20 million income.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A global television audience of 19.2 million made it the most widely broadcast event in the game's history.<ref name="google.com">[3]Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Channel 9 broadcast all Group A matches and the Knockout Stage matches in Australia. Fox Sports broadcast all Group B and C matches plus Ranking Stage matches live. In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports broadcast all matches live,<ref>Sky Sports Broadcasting Bid</ref> meaning that all were shown in the morning and some as early as 06:00 am<ref>UK Broadcasting Template:Webarchive</ref> with highlights being shown on the BBC. Sky Sport showed all games live across New Zealand. Mai TV broadcast all matches live in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands.<ref>Pacific Broadcasting Template:Webarchive</ref> Orange Sport provided coverage of all matches live in France.

Coverage of the competition also extended to countries not taking part. Showtime showed all matches live across the Middle East. G offered coverage of all games in many countries in Africa. Astro showed all matches in Malaysia, and ESPN360 showed all matches in the United States. In Brazil, some matches were broadcast by Bandsports.

The only participating country with no television coverage of the matches was Tonga; the RLIF were hoping to secure a deal before the World Cup started, but this never happened.

BigPondTV, an online television station, broadcast all matches live and also repeated matches. This service was available to everyone for free.

Radio

  • UK – BBC Radio 5 Live and its sister station BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra broadcast selected games.
  • UK – some non-rights holders used Australian freelance reporter Tim Stackpool to report on games for UK broadcasters. An extensive archive can be heard here: RLWC Archive
  • AUS – ABC and 2GB Radio broadcast selected games.
  • NZ – Radio Sport broadcast the Kiwi's games, including the Kiwi's victory in the final.

References

Template:Reflist

Template:2008 Rugby League World Cup Template:Rugby League World Cup Template:2008 in rugby league Template:New Zealand 2008 Rugby League World Cup squad

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