2021 RLWC draw

[siv]

As an aside, who will be meeting for the first time at full international level?

All the Greek and Jamaica games

 

[Force]

NZ have the easy pool but it would be a good tussle to see who takes out 2nd. The other 3 groups are tougher but you can still pick the two top teams. Group D is interesting.

 

[TDD91]

All the Greek and Jamaica games

Both teams are going to need to get some friendlies under their belts this year to get prepared IMO.

 

[Springs09]

As an aside, who will be meeting for the first time at full international level?

So all the Greek and Jamaican games but also Australia v Italy, NZ v Ireland, Lebanon v Ireland & Tonga v Wales?

 

[Springs09]

Group B is super interesting and means we won't have to see Australia v Fiji and a Semi Final haha.
Group C looks very easy for NZ.

Anyone know how the Semis would work out?

It hasn't been revealed but I would guess:
QF1 - A1 v B2
QF2 - B1 v A2
QF3 - C1 v D2
QF4 - D1 v C2

SF1 - Winner QF1 v Winner QF4
SF2 - Winner QF2 v Winner QF3

Final - Winner SF1 v Winner SF2

Same as the Rugby World Cup and keeps sides in the same pool on the opposite side of the draw until the final. Unless they try and rig it to get an England v NZ semi like they always do.

This draw would see semi-finals of England v Tonga and Australia v NZ if all went to form, or quarters of England v Fiji, Australia v Samoa, NZ v PNG, Tonga v Lebanon. It would also mean if England choke and lose to Samoa it could be an England v Australia quarter final.

 

[Burns]

It hasn't been revealed but I would guess:
QF1 - A1 v B2
QF2 - B1 v A2
QF3 - C1 v D2
QF4 - D1 v C2

SF1 - Winner QF1 v Winner QF4
SF2 - Winner QF2 v Winner QF3

Final - Winner SF1 v Winner SF2

Same as the Rugby World Cup and keeps sides in the same pool on the opposite side of the draw until the final. Unless they try and rig it to get an England v NZ semi like they always do.

This draw would see semi-finals of England v Tonga and Australia v NZ if all went to form, or quarters of England v Fiji, Australia v Samoa, NZ v PNG, Tonga v Lebanon. It would also mean if England choke and lose to Samoa it could be an England v Australia quarter final.

Wouldn’t be a fan of those QF at all given two of them would be a direct repeat of ‘17 but I guess that’s how it will work.

Anyone given much through to home ground advantage for the Northern Hemisphere teams? Can see Tonga etc struggling a bit in first pool matches much like Wales etc did in the PNG heat

 

[adamkungl]

I think for once we can all agree on something - that was a remarkably high quality event for this sport, and the organising team for the WC is setting a new standard which future events will need to match.

As for the draw...

Pros
-Some really even groups, aside from Australia and NZ obviously expected to walk it into the Quarters. Tonga and England won't have easy matches against PNG and Samoa. But if Samoa and PNG are below their best, France and Wales will be right in the mix.

-Everyone has a real chance to win at least 1 game. 2017 Wales and the USA had it up against them from the start. Greece looks the least likely but 2017 showed that France can drop a game to a newcomer. Billy Magoulias will be the star of the show for Greece.

-no one complaining about super pools!

Cons
-We didn't get lucky with some potential rivalries. England v France is probably the best grudge match, though Ireland v NZ could have some crossover appeal from the other rugby, and PNG and Cook Islands will put on a show v Tonga. But there's always the finals..

 

[adamkungl]

I would actually expect this, based on the following logic (not that i entirely expect RL to be this thorough):

* If all top seeds win through, the SFs should be 1v4, 2v3, based on rankings at the time of the draw. Based on the current rankings NZ is in fact #1.
* If a second seed wins their QF, they should not play someone from their pool in the semis, the only repeat should happen in the final.

Despite the ordering of the pools being not-obvious, the Rugby 2019 finals did satisfy the above criteria.
* Wales v NZ final if all higher seeds won their games (they didn't)
* No potential repeat games, until the final (which wasn't anyway)

(finals with all favourites winning all games)
A1 A2 ENG SAM (FRA GRE)
B1 B2 AUS FIJ (SCO ITA)
C1 C2 NZL LBN (IRE JAM)
D1 D2 TON PNG (WAL CKI)

QF1 A1 v D2 ENG v PNG
QF2 B1 v C2 AUS v LBN
QF3 C1 v B2 NZL v FIJ
QF4 D1 v A2 TON v SAM

SF1 Q1 v Q2 ENG v AUS
SF2 Q3 v Q4 NZL v TON

GF SF1 v SF2 AUS v NZ

Equally valid:

QF1 A1 v C2 ENG v LBN
QF2 B1 v D2 AUS v PNG
QF3 C1 v A2 NZL v SAM
QF4 D1 v B2 TON v FIJ

SF1 Q1 v Q2 ENG v AUS
SF2 Q3 v Q4 NZL v TON

GF SF1 v SF2 AUS v NZ

 

[taipan]

Getting Royalty on board at the draw, the way the draw was so professionally handled, having the reps from all the competing countries there, and the inclusion of the women's and wheelchair rugby league was a stratosphere ahead of earlier RLWC draws.
If the code cannot make a financial profit for this event with all the "high" profile involvement, then good luck for future events.
I (the optimist in me)believe it will and lead to more countries taking up the game.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

My thoughts on the mens draw:

England facing Samoa will be a huge opener especially as mentioned above if SBW makes himself available for Samoa. This is a game England shouldn't take lightly. Probably the only group game they'll be tested. Well done to Greece for qualifying though.

Australia up against Fiji once again but like 2013 in the group stages. Fiji are a bit like Tonga, they continue to develop top players and will only get better. I feel it could be a contest, a margain of no more than 10-20 points, but in the past Australia always outplay them on the edges. If Scotland can improve a lot on their 2017 form it'll be interesting. Italy will no doubt get a lot of reserve grade players in Australia. Also its the first time they'll be up against the Kangaroos. Italy will be Australia's 17th opponent at the International stage

NZ seems like they have it easy but could closer matches between Ireland and Lebanon, one quarter finalist and one that was unlucky not be. Jamaica face a tough task against the Kiwis of course but hard to tell how they'll go against the other two. Good luck them.

The final group IMO if probably the most interesting group of the tournament, Tonga, PNG, Cook Islands and Wales. Perhaps the biggest game is Tonga Vs PNG. It'll be interesting to see where this game will be played because it should get a big crowd. Wales lately have struggled in the World Cup but Id like to see him them improve. Dont underestimate the Cook Islands when they face Tonga and PNG.

Overall I'm quite happy how the draw was done, although like a lot of people, the fear is we could see some big scores in some of the matches. Either way it's going to be great to see.

Last nights video was great to watch. The build up to the draw was excellent, the two hosts were good in giving great detail of how the draws would work for the mens, womens and wheelchair comps also gave some interesting facts and of course Prince Harry drawing the countries, along with gold medalist Katherine Grainger and ex Wigan great Jason Robinson.

After watching that, I feel like the International game is getting better and taken more serious.

We've got 21 months of what promises to be the best Rugby League world cup.

 

[Springs09]

Wouldn’t be a fan of those QF at all given two of them would be a direct repeat of ‘17 but I guess that’s how it will work.

Anyone given much through to home ground advantage for the Northern Hemisphere teams? Can see Tonga etc struggling a bit in first pool matches much like Wales etc did in the PNG heat

Well they can't exactly rig the quarters so we don't have any repeats.

I expect Lebanon to struggle big time and Ireland to make the semis. If France could get their best side on the field and Samoa continued recent form I could see France winning, but not with the shambles they currently are.
Fiji handled the north well in 2013, until the semi at least. Only way I could see them dropping a game to Scotland or Italy is if half their side pulls out.
Wales maybe if they get some more Super League players to actually play for them this time, but they were trash in 2013 as well as 2017.

Getting Royalty on board at the draw, the way the draw was so professionally handled, having the reps from all the competing countries there, and the inclusion of the women's and wheelchair rugby league was a stratosphere ahead of earlier RLWC draws.
If the code cannot make a financial profit for this event with all the "high" profile involvement, then good luck for future events.
I (the optimist in me)believe it will and lead to more countries taking up the game.

It's a wonder we only seem to pull this out for UK World Cups and not for literally anything else.

 

[adamkungl]

WINNERS and LOSERS of the draw?

Winners...
NZ get an easy looking run, likely won't have a serious game on their hands until QFs

Ireland will be fancying their chances to make a QF appearance with perhaps the easiest of the potential pot 2 and 3 drawn opponents.

PNG Fiji Samoa will be quietly confident of consecutive finals appearances, but the Samoa V France game will be as interesting as they come if France pull their fingers out. On the other hand if they don't Greece might give them a scare.

Losers...
Greece get one of their harder runs in their first appearance, and Jamaica's is pretty tough too.
Scotland and Wales have typically daunting assignments and could have hoped for better.

But - i truly believe every team has a realistic chance of winning a game. This will be the least predictable of any RLWC.
None of the top seeds can consider themselves truly safe in the semi finals, not even Australia (plausible scenario - PNG def Tonga in the pool games, Australia v Tonga quarter final)

Overall I'm quite happy how the draw was done, although like a lot of people, the fear is we could see some big scores in some of the matches.

Happens in every world cup but only in RL do we fuss and fret about it.
Don't give the naysayers the airtime.

 

[siv]

So all the Greek and Jamaican games but also Australia v Italy, NZ v Ireland, Lebanon v Ireland & Tonga v Wales?

Australia played Italy in the 60s

 

[Springs09]

Australia played Italy in the 60s

Well yes and no. The current Italian team has only been playing since 1999.

 

[Springs09]

WINNERS and LOSERS of the draw?

Winners...
NZ get an easy looking run, likely won't have a serious game on their hands until QFs

Ireland will be fancying their chances to make a QF appearance with perhaps the easiest of the potential pot 2 and 3 drawn opponents.

PNG Fiji Samoa will be quietly confident of consecutive finals appearances, but the Samoa V France game will be as interesting as they come if France pull their fingers out. On the other hand if they don't Greece might give them a scare.

Losers...
Greece get one of their harder runs in their first appearance, and Jamaica's is pretty tough too.
Scotland and Wales have typically daunting assignments and could have hoped for better.

But - i truly believe every team has a realistic chance of winning a game. This will be the least predictable of any RLWC.
None of the top seeds can consider themselves truly safe in the semi finals, not even Australia (plausible scenario - PNG def Tonga in the pool games, Australia v Tonga quarter final)




Happens in every world cup but only in RL do we fuss and fret about it.
Don't give the naysayers the airtime.

A full strength Ireland could give NZ a tough game especially if NZ struggle in England like they have in the past.
Cook Islands could fancy their chances against PNG, who are likely to struggle a bit in the UK like they have before. Cook Islands can have a strong looking team if they get their eligible NRL players.

I think there is much less chance of big scores than there could have been. England are the least likely to put a big score on Greece, Australia were likely to put 100+ on Greece or Jamaica if they drew them. NZ will likely put some big scores on Jamaica and Lebanon but not as big as if they were playing in NZ or Australia, while Wales could be a bit iffy in Pool D but will hopefully, finally, be a bit stronger and put up a better fight.

 

[adamkungl]

Definitely think there are more interesting pool games predicted and more optimism around this than in previous iterations, directly as a result of the proper random drawn 16 teams.

I'm most looking forward to
England v Samoa
Samoa v France
New Zealand v Ireland
Ireland v Lebanon
Scotland v Fiji
Tonga v PNG
Cook Islands v Tonga

Also in regards to the Womens draw: Brazil getting the opening game vs England is a huge occasion for them. A tough game no doubt but what an excellent introduction to the world of Rugby League. Hopefully there is a healthy crowd for the womens tournament.
And they got lucky with an easier group than the Aus-NZ death pool.


So... Who's thinking of making the trip from Aus/NZ?

 

[adamkungl]

More details!

The Mens tournament begins on Saturday October 23 and finishes on Saturday November 27 - 6 weekends. I would guess this means that the Mens tournament is unlikely to have many mid-week games and will feature a similar schedule to 2017. With mid-week attention going to the Womens and Wheelchair contests.

 

[Jim from Oz]

Definitely think there are more interesting pool games predicted and more optimism around this than in previous iterations, directly as a result of the proper random drawn 16 teams.

I'm most looking forward to
England v Samoa
Samoa v France
New Zealand v Ireland
Ireland v Lebanon
Scotland v Fiji
Tonga v PNG
Cook Islands v Tonga

Also in regards to the Womens draw: Brazil getting the opening game vs England is a huge occasion for them. A tough game no doubt but what an excellent introduction to the world of Rugby League. Hopefully there is a healthy crowd for the womens tournament.
And they got lucky with an easier group than the Aus-NZ death pool.


So... Who's thinking of making the trip from Aus/NZ?

I am SUPER keen to go but it will depend on a family situation … but hopefully, yes !

 

[JFK Files]

My thoughts on the mens draw:

England facing Samoa will be a huge opener especially as mentioned above if SBW makes himself available for Samoa. This is a game England shouldn't take lightly. Probably the only group game they'll be tested.

I agree, Samoa without Matt Parish as coach could potentially be a match for anyone.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Fantastic draw event really giving the tournament the respect it deserves. Great to have Harry there (first public appearance since the accouncement about leaving the royal family I believe which probably put more eyes on the event than there usually would be). This even should easily be the most financially profitable world cup considering the Government grant all but pays for the running of it.

On the pools: I actually think pool D will end up being the toughest pool.

It will be great for the game that by the time the WC rolls around PNG, Fiji and Tonga have all been building highly competitive squads and playing annual matches. I expect a SBW led response from Samoa, they won't want to get left behind especially with the amount of talent that could be playing for them currently but aren't. Parish will go before the world cup as the pressure mounts for them to keep up with the other pacific nations.

I don't know what the chances of Lebanon making up with their 2017 players is but if they do it will be yet another bonus to the tournament as they will also become reasonably competitive.

If the finals are Winner of pool A v 2nd Pool B format, it means Australia has a relatively easy run to the final: Samoa / England compared to NZ who would have to face PNG / Tonga. England would have a rough run too with Fiji/Australia.

It is fantastic that in 2020 we are having these discussions, it wasn't too long ago that there was a big 3 in the world cup and no major result was in doubt until the usually England v NZ semi and the final. We have come a long way.