The final of RLWC17 lost its sparkle once the Pacific Island nations of Fiji and Tonga lost their respective semi-finals. It was those nations, plus Samoa, PNG and to a certain extent Lebanon who drew most peoples attention to the tournament. Not because fans expected them to win the cup, just that it was fun to watch them play. Now they have gone and international rugby league returns to normality and the same old teams play in the final, that fun has gone. Australia will win tonight, it all depends on by how much. What fun is there in watching the Kangaroos destroy the poms. It has happened too often for people to care much. The best thing for the international game is not for England not to keep the score close tonight, but to win.
RLWC is a third tier competition in comparison to the State of Origin and the NRL. But that should not be looked upon as being a negative. Because with the NRL we have the best league competition in the world and the State of Origin has the best 34 players in the world.