RLWC 2013

[BulldozerD]

The Rugby League World Cup starts next week and as a RL Fan I am really looking forward to it. Starts with a double header and opening ceremony at Millennium Stadium Saturday 26th (England vs Australia and Wales vs Italy) which should be a cracker. Ticket prices are really reasonable throughout the tournament and you can actually get a ticket to the opener for £10 if you have a code.

I think there will be some really interesting games, not just involving the main 3 nations but also the pacific islands, who have really strong squads. I think England have got a reasonable chance but are probably third favourites given that Australia are as strong as ever and the Kiwis look really good.

Anyone going to any of the fixtures? I will be at 2 games at Headingley (probably both NZ games), plus the final at Old Trafford and hopefully will make it to Cardiff next week. These games are usually pretty intense and don't happen very often so will go to as many as I can. Fixtures are at http://www.rlwc2013.com/fixtures

Saw a nice video today of the NZ squad visiting a school in Doncaster and ending up doing an impromptu Haka
    

[Acidmouse]

Don't have time to go to any games but I would like to watch them on TV. Not sure I have seen any adverts for this yet, any idea on what channel the games are on?

[BulldozerD]

Don't have time to go to any games but I would like to watch them on TV. Not sure I have seen any adverts for this yet, any idea on what channel the games are on?

yeah BBC have coverage of England Games/Semi/Final with highlights of others. All games are shown live on Premier Sports (ch. 428) - i already subscribe by I think they have a discount code somewhere ("NHL" was a live code recently) in case you want a short term subscription that you cancel after it has finished.

I got tickets for the 2 games at Headingley for a total of £22.50 on successive Fridays 8/15 Nov, which isn't bad.

[Longy]

Going to the final with a couple of mates.

A bit farcical it last 4 weeks to decide which of nz or England play Australia in the final.

[TightEnd]

Going to the final with a couple of mates.

A bit farcical it last 4 weeks to decide which of nz or England play Australia in the final.

and then Australia win


how many teams in this?

how many have a chance?

[Skippy]

Going to the final with a couple of mates.

A bit farcical it last 4 weeks to decide which of nz or England play Australia in the final.

and then Australia win

Well they didn't last time.

[Skippy]

Besides, yeah OK, Australia will be 1/2, NZ 2/1 and England 8/1, and it'll be 100/1 bar those, and yes, the eligibility criteria for the Italian team are "must have visited at least one pizza shop in the last year", but some of the games between the lesser nations are entertaining even if they won't make it to Old Trafford and I think the whole thing will be good fun. And there is always the dream that this year could be the one England win.

[redarmi]

From a betting perspective I have found this tournament to be a goldmine in the past.  Not really had a look this year but it almost always rewards study.

[BulldozerD]

Realistically only 3 teams can expect to win it, although some of the lesser nations (Tonga, Samoa, Fiji) are much better than in previous seasons. If England beat Australia in the opener then it is likely to be a NZ/Australia semi final with the easier route for England. RL is the main sport in Australia in front of RU, Cricket etc so of course they have a great squad and they will be difficult to beat, but they are not unbeatable and England/NZ have done it plenty of times before, just not over a sustained series.

Don't really agree with the assertion that the tournament is a farce because so few teams have a realistic chance of actually winning the thing, same can be said for so many tournaments/leagues in modern sport. Even a normal "tri-nations" tournament takes 4 weeks if you were only interested in the big 3.

[AndrewT]

Don't really agree with the assertion that the tournament is a farce because so few teams have a realistic chance of actually winning the thing, same can be said for so many tournaments/leagues in modern sport. Even a normal "tri-nations" tournament takes 4 weeks if you were only interested in the big 3.

The problem the RLWC has is that rugby is a game which doesn't lend itself to shock upsets. Good teams beat worse teams. Significantly worse teams get absolutely crushed. In a cricket WC you get Ireland beating England or Pakistan, or in football you get bigger teams getting turned over (and Greece & Denmark winning the Euros). Whereas in the RLWC, Australia could play their group game against Ireland every day for the next 4 years and not lose once.

In Union there is the same disparity between the best and the worst but there are 8 or 9 teams that could realistically fancy themselves to get to a final.

[Acidmouse]

part of the reason its not on normal tv, no one will watch most the games.

[BulldozerD]

part of the reason its not on normal tv, no one will watch most the games.

Apparently SKY bid to show all games but wouldn't share the headline games with BBC, so the RFL went for a package where the main attractions were on free-to-air TV.
What is "normal TV" these days, does it include SKY?

[TightEnd]

part of the reason its not on normal tv, no one will watch most the games.

Apparently SKY bid to show all games but wouldn't share the headline games with BBC, so the RFL went for a package where the main attractions were on free-to-air TV.
What is "normal TV" these days, does it include SKY?

I don't think it does

I don't think it helps that the BBC cover RL so appallingly compared to Sky

I am of course a RU fan but find RL on the BBC very tricky to watch

- Clare Balding is a great broadcaster but its just wrong to see her do RL. Maybe if they had a three day event in the car park or something

- Ray French's commentary style is very outdated


I think Sky do a far better job, but I expect thats resources and commitment to the sport.



On a seperate issue, when I was a lad I remember watching the Aus team of Mal Meninga come over here. What a team that was. Is this Australian team a good one? Who would I be looking out for for their skills etc?

[tikay]

part of the reason its not on normal tv, no one will watch most the games.

Apparently SKY bid to show all games but wouldn't share the headline games with BBC, so the RFL went for a package where the main attractions were on free-to-air TV.
What is "normal TV" these days, does it include SKY?

I don't think it does

I don't think it helps that the BBC cover RL so appallingly compared to Sky

I am of course a RU fan but find RL on the BBC very tricky to watch

- Clare Balding is a great broadcaster but its just wrong to see her do RL. Maybe if they had a three day event in the car park or something

- Ray French's commentary style is very outdated

I think Sky do a far better job, but I expect thats resources and commitment to the sport.



On a seperate issue, when I was a lad I remember watching the Aus team of Mal Meninga come over here. What a team that was. Is this Australian team a good one? Who would I be looking out for for their skills etc?

Agreed, but for balance, of all the Sports that Sky Sports cover so wonderfully, I think that whilst they are a ton better than the BBC RL coverage, it is by far their worst commentary team, & presentation.

I could actually tell you what those two commentators say before they say it, & that awful music & graphics are mind-numbing.

And its T R Y time for me.

Did he ever

[BulldozerD]

Don't really agree with the assertion that the tournament is a farce because so few teams have a realistic chance of actually winning the thing, same can be said for so many tournaments/leagues in modern sport. Even a normal "tri-nations" tournament takes 4 weeks if you were only interested in the big 3.

The problem the RLWC has is that rugby is a game which doesn't lend itself to shock upsets. Good teams beat worse teams. Significantly worse teams get absolutely crushed. In a cricket WC you get Ireland beating England or Pakistan, or in football you get bigger teams getting turned over (and Greece & Denmark winning the Euros). Whereas in the RLWC, Australia could play their group game against Ireland every day for the next 4 years and not lose once.

In Union there is the same disparity between the best and the worst but there are 8 or 9 teams that could realistically fancy themselves to get to a final.

You are right and I agree but shocks do happen occasionally. The problem in the past has been that Australia have just been too elite for the rest, especially in games that matter.
However I am still looking forward to some of the "lesser" games as well as the bigger games.