20 nations to vie for league World Cup

[sportsmad]

More than 20 nations will be given the opportunity to play in the 2013 rugby league World Cup to be held in the United Kingdom.

The Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) announced on Tuesday that 14 nations will compete in the revamped and expanded tournament, with two of the countries to come from qualifying tournaments in the northern and southern hemispheres.

The proposal for a 14-nation World Cup was ratified in Singapore at a meeting of the RLIF.

"We are delighted to have ratified this proposal for a 14-nation Rugby League World Cup, which was unanimously supported by RLIF delegates," RLIF chairman Colin Love.

"This year will see the Four Nations (tournament) in Australia and New Zealand build on the success of the 2008 World Cup and the 2009 Four Nations.

"Going forward I am confident that in 2013 we will see a tournament that will successfully showcase international rugby league to a worldwide audience."

[sportsmad]

did anyone see this coming? i just assumed 12 teams

[jim]

Feb 23, 2010 20:12:07 GMT 10 sportsmad said:

did anyone see this coming? i just assumed 12 teams

I sure didn't. I'd imagine it will be the last 10 + Lebanon and Wales as the auto qualifiers and Russia, USA, Jamaica, South Africa the main contenders for the remaining twi spots.

The reason behind this IMO is so Wales, Scotland and Ireland have set places long in advance so games can be set in those countries well in advance and not having to worry about nwaiting until they qualify. All Wales' pool games and a semi should be in Wales.

[yukawa]

so 12 of the 14 countries will qualify automatically. Does that mean the RLIF has already decided who they want in the competition and wish to ensure they actually get there?

[sportsmad]

i think so. the generally accepted formula is what jim said, the 10 teams from 2008 + wales and lebanon.
having automatic qualifiers allowed cost savings in order to stage the norhtern hemisphere and southern hemisphere playoff tournaments.
i agree each home nation should get their host games

[Druzik]

Yes I have known about it for a couple of weeks but we'd been asked to keep it quiet.

Though I am not sure about the 20 nations, from what I hear its 18... russia may not be there remember.

I am writing an article about this in RL Review.

Sportsmad whats the source of that article?

[sportsmad]

nrl.com. was teh first to post it i found. others followed a little later on

[Druzik]

Mmmm I am not happy with it.

only two spots will be fought out between 8 teams.

So from what i know, this is the set up.

10 teams from 20008 WC get automatic qualification

Wales and Cook Islands get automatic qualifications

two spote will be fought out between two tournaments. One will be USA, Jamaica, SA and Japan the other will be Italy, Serbia, Lebanon and Russia(?)

In some ways this is a step backwards.

[Marv]

Your damn right, the only nations who should get automatic entry are the the big 3 france and png.

were gonna go from a competition that was short but intense to a longer comp with poorer quality games

[sportsmad]

how sure are u that cook islands have automatically qualified? if they have then thats an absolute joke. theyre basically western sydney!

[arh21980]

Feb 24, 2010 16:53:20 GMT 10 Druzik said:

Mmmm I am not happy with it.

only two spots will be fought out between 8 teams.

So from what i know, this is the set up.

10 teams from 20008 WC get automatic qualification

Wales and Cook Islands get automatic qualifications

two spote will be fought out between two tournaments. One will be USA, Jamaica, SA and Japan the other will be Italy, Serbia, Lebanon and Russia(?)

In some ways this is a step backwards.

Out of that lot I'd say that USA and Lebanon.

[kingboy]

I though the format last time with the ten teams worked pretty well and should have been left as it was. Maybe expand to 12 at a push, but I still wonder whether some of the other nations are strong enough for there not to be mis-matches between some of the less established teams.

Hopefully this time the group matches won't be spread out over a ridiculous number of venues as was the case in 2000 as well.

[Druzik]

Feb 24, 2010 20:22:11 GMT 10 sportsmad said:

how sure are u that cook islands have automatically qualified? if they have then thats an absolute joke. theyre basically western sydney!

I am pretty sure, my sources tell me this is what will happen.

[Druzik]

The other issue is that it throws the eligibility rule out the window.

Before players that played for a country in qualification had to stick with that country for the world cup.

Now that 12 countries have no qualification games means that the jumping ship can just happen willy nilly... so whats the point?

Basically I am seeing once again that RL is shooting itself in the foot.

[sportsmad]

apparently steve mascourd agrees with u druzik:

Most of you will be happy with the news that the World Cup is to be expanded to 14 teams in 2013 - and so am I.
Certainly, the tournament deserved to benefit from the profit made in 2008 and success of teams like Fiji, Ireland and even winless PNG
Discord's understanding is that the Rugby Football League wanted 16 teams while the Australians favoured something like 12 - it's a fair compromise politically too.
And 14 teams allows for games to be played almost every day, keeping the tournament in the public eye.
But what disappoints me enormously is how the qualifying tournament - surely a big success before the last World Cup - has been completely decimated.
Instead of five places being decided through qualifiers, only two countries will have to navigate this route. Put another way, we must assume that every side which played in the last tournament will be admitted automatically next time - PLUS TWO MORE!
Were the qualifiers such a disaster in 2006-07? Clearly not. I attended plenty of them, from Campbelltown to Glasgow, and they were great vehicles to promote our game with meaningful matches which were competitive.
Certainly, the European and Pacific Cups of 2012 - if they are held at all - will now be wholely meaningless.
No, the goalposts have been shifted here for the same sort of ... er ... cunning reasons that we had three teams from the same pool qualifying for the semis of RLWC08. Here's a couple of Discord's early theories:
1. To protect the positions of Scotland and Ireland AND admit Wales. These are likely to be host countries and there is money at stake;
2. A massive leg up for France. They finished last in 2008 and SHOULD have to qualify. Instead, they get a rails run.
I'm sure there's sneakiness there as well.
I'm tipping the 10 teams from 2008 plus Wales and Cook Islands to be given the nod. The next two teams will be the best-performed European team from the previous year, plus the winner of an pool comprising the United States, the West Indies and Japan.
US involvement in our World Cup will be good for our sport - particularly if their new domestic league is up and running by then.
PS: Rah-rah types would have been sniggering at the RLIF media release the other day. Chairman Colin Love was quoted as referring to the "Rugby World Cup".
In my experience that is something typed by a weary media man - and a good indication that a rival code has done a very good job of brand awareness.