World Cup expands to 14 teams

[MRLA]

http://www.malteserugbyleague.com/news/1-latest-news/307-world-cup-expands-to-14-teams

World Cup expands to 14 teams

Teams from over 20 nations will be given the opportunity to play in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, the RLIF announced today.


The World Cup will be staged in the UK and will feature 14 nations, two of whom will come from qualifying tournaments in the northern and southern hemispheres.


The identity of the 12 teams which will have automatic eligibility for 2013 and those who will be involved in the qualifying process will be revealed later this year.


The proposal for a 14-nation Rugby League World Cup was ratified in Singapore today at a meeting of the RLIF and welcomed by Chairman Colin Love, who expressed his belief that the tournament would elevate international Rugby League to new levels.


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


“This year will see the Four Nations in Australia and New Zealand build on the success of the 2008 Rugby World Cup and 2009 Four Nations and going forward I am confident that in 2013 we will see a tournament that will successfully showcase international Rugby League to a worldwide audience.


“The format reflects Rugby League’s increased participation around the world and provides a wonderful opportunity for the finest athletes in any sport to prove themselves on the greatest stage of all.”


The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was awarded to the UK in July 2009.

 

[adamkungl]

14 eh...

Why are 12 automatically eligible? Seems odd that at least 8 other teams will have to fight for the last 2 spots. Outside the top 5 of Aus NZ Eng PNG France, none are good enough to claim automatic entry imo. Sure there are clearly better sides then others, but they should still have to prove it.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

The choice of 14 is good I reckon. Not sure about the qualifiers being limited to so few countries but when we are expanding the main tournament (and therefore the costs) we probably need to save money somewhere and the qualifiers would be a big drain on the little cash we (and the national bodies) have. Can't wait to see Wales and Lebanon back in the big time and the USA should be a good chance of making it too.

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

Interesting to see if South Africa tries to make it this time.

 

[nadera78]

I think the 12 automatic qualifiers are the stand out 12 nations in RL, the 10 from 2008 plus Lebanon and Wales. They are quite a way ahead of the other countries at this point in time.

The three year lead in gives everyone a chance to build for the comp rather than throwing together a team at the last minute. It should also enable teams to develop local players.

Plus the rmaining teams who take part in the qualifiers are all of a similar standard so it should be a good contest.

Personally, I'd have gone with 12 teams. 4 groups of 3, top two going into quarters, then the semi's and final. France can host an entire group on it's own, Wales can host their own games, and they can both host a quarter final as they'll almost certainly get through their groups. All the rest played in England, with the opening game at the Olympic Stadium (25,000 capacity) and the final at one of the two Manchester stadiums.

 

[gatesheadthunder]

14 teams is too many. Over half the teams will end up being filled up with NRL or ESL players not good enough for their respective countries. People need to face facts, RL is not a big enough sport to have a real world cup. What is the point of having an irish team that is 95% made up of english and australian players?
If it happens and there is 14 teams in england at the next world cup expect it to go the same way as the world cup went in 2000, a total failure.

 

[Jankuloski]

International game has developed since 2000. The best thing you could do is make elligibility rules tougher in order to get the elite players to choose to play for weaker nations. Just imagine Fiji with Hayne, Petro and Tuqiri (still not sure how this last one will do when he gets back)... Farrah in Lebanon etc..

The last WC was a success, this one will have 2 more nations which will be Wales that has come leaps and bounds since and Lebanon who always had good emigration players, but it will also boost them domestically if they do well. If this Wc does fail it will not prove anything about internatinal RL, it will just prove again that the english can't promote games.

BTW - still their website doesn't change:
http://www.rlif.org/

 

[Evil Homer]

Proper qualifying was the best thing about the last tournament, I'm happy that more teams are getting a shot but this is a step backwards IMO.

 

[gatesheadthunder]

International game has developed since 2000. The best thing you could do is make elligibility rules tougher in order to get the elite players to choose to play for weaker nations. Just imagine Fiji with Hayne, Petro and Tuqiri (still not sure how this last one will do when he gets back)... Farrah in Lebanon etc..

The last WC was a success, this one will have 2 more nations which will be Wales that has come leaps and bounds since and Lebanon who always had good emigration players, but it will also boost them domestically if they do well. If this Wc does fail it will not prove anything about internatinal RL, it will just prove again that the english can't promote games.

BTW - still their website doesn't change:
http://www.rlif.org/

If this world cup fails it will be because english fans are not dumb enough to pay good money to see phoney international teams. People could be interested in seeing genuine players from emerging countries but not third rate aussie and english players who are not good enough for their own country.

 

[deluded pom?]

I'd have preferred a 12 team WC with four qualifiers. I'd run with the same format as 2008 too but with France as the "lucky" fourth team in the super pool. PNG may not go as strong in a European Autumn as some might expect and would be far from nail ons. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint, the decision has been made and we'll have to get used to it. The great thing though is at least the RLIF (or whoever) has made a decision well in advance of the actual WC kickoff which is unheard of in rugby league planning. Teams can plan accordingly and will only have themselves to blame if they can't organise things like sponsorship etc. Another great thing is we are talking on this forum about something that is three and a half years away. ;-)

 

[crimpo]

PNG did OK in 2000 in grotty Euro weather.

Otherwise I totally agree with deluded pom.

 

[The Tank]

I wish they went for 12 at the most.

 

[Springs]

The qualifying tournaments could have taken up most of 2012, if there were more than 2 qualifying places. There would have been over 20 teams in the qualifying tournaments, isn't that better than 2 more than expected in the actual tournament?

 

[bazza]

I would prefer less teams (12 max) and more qualifiers

I reckon qualifying matches against similar standard teams in your home country is better to promote the sport than playing 3 games against professionals in another country

 

[roopy]

16 would have been better.
I can't believe teams like South Africa and Russia will still probably miss out - but on the positive side, teams like Serbia and Jamacia will have a genuine chance to qualify if they show rapid improvement from now.

If money had been available i'd have made every team qualify - that would have given us some great tournaments in the lead up years - but we have to be realistic and accept that the cheapest way to do the qualifiers is probably paying for the two extra sides in the finals - and that is better for the game.

 

[crimpo]

If we put the 10 plus Wales & Lebanon as the 12 then that leaves two places up for grabs. I assume the Cook Islands will make it and so the US, Russia, Serbia, Jamaica, Italy and South Africa will be battling it out for the remaining place (I've probably missed someone there!)

Frankly I'm pretty sure the 12 would have qualified ahead of everyone but (possibly) the Cooks so the end result will be much the same.

However, the Qualifiers did allow the second and third tier nations to get some competitive fixtures in. So long as Pacific and Euro competitions are held for them to give them match practice then I can live with this format.

 

[The Observer]

14 is a decent result, would like to have seen 16, and just as good a result is that there will be 12 automatic qualifiers. It seems like there will be two pools of 4, two of 3.

It is good that 12 teams are given automatic entry, none of those teams should be forced to needlessly jump through the hoops to qualify. Now they can get on with the business of playing regular tournaments. I guess the automatic qualifiers will be:

England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland (the Home Nations will probably host games)
Australia, NZ, France (other full time pro nations)
PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga (established PI nations)

and one other?

 

[bender]

14 is such a strange number of teams, i just cant see how they are going to run it. (All will be made clear in time.

Groups of 4433 seems certain.

History tells us that GB likes to have England and Australia in the same group. This means there will be some type of super group even if it is just a two team super group. A top 8 quarter finals set up doesnt really seem to work as two teams cant come from the 3 team groups. And it would be silly to have Aus, NZ, and Eng in groups of 3 because it reduces the no of games they play. This leads me to think that they might be considering a straight 3 groups of 4 with the top in each group getting through to the semis. This might work, presumably it would mean that NZ, Aus, Eng and France would each feature in separate groups. It would be a bit strange though, because it would mean that the two smaller groups (which would also presumably include the two qualifiers) would get an easier passage through.

The other option is for Quarter finals to have a top 5 or top 6 or something similar styled playoff, but i cant for the life of me see what format they would use to fit in with a top 14. Youd expect the two groups of three to contain the 6 weakest nations and get just one or maybe 2 clear qualifying spots, but that doesnt really seem to add up.

NOw i think about it seems that they will probably go with the first team from groups 1 and 2 into the semis, with second in groups 1 & 2 playing off against the winners of groups 3 and 4 to get the remaining spots in the semis (a 6 team quarter final of sorts). If this is the case, group selection will be interesting. Does England get a big money group game with Australia or an easier qualification route to the finals? And do France and Wales get placed in the main two groups or do they get placed in the minor groups and get to host more games.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Id prefer 12 teams.

I mean this format isnt bad, 14 teams, but surely the qualifying stages wouldve been much better.

To have 12 automatic inclusions is too much.

I wouldve had Australia, New Zealand (the winners), England, PNG and France (or depending on the best European side)

Although I was under the impression that England will be hosting alone.

The rest, like 2008, will play off in their own groups, the top teams progress and then it all comes down to a repecharge.

Europe - Ireland, Scotland, Russia, Holland, Georgia, Lebanon, Malta, Germany, Greece, Serbia, Czech Rep., Italy

Pacific Islands - Cook Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa

Nth Pacific - Japan, Usa, Canada, Jamaica

Africa - Sth Africa, Kenya

This gives an opportunity for "local" players to play for their country and more matches in the lead up the World Cup.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Oh dear, it seems the Cook Islands will be given automatic qualification ahead of Lebanon due to making the Pacific final. Bad move I reckon. Hopefully Lebanon will still make it but I think they've done enough to get a free pass. They have a growing domestic scene, they finished third in the Euro Cup (ahead of Ireland) and never lost a 2008 qualifier. Plus they could attract good TV and sponsorship deals from Middle East companies and would have the backing of their government. The RLIF is missing a trick already.

That would leave a Euro qualifying tournament with Lebanon, Russia, Serbia, Italy and possibly any number of others, and an "Atlantic" (or World) group with the USA, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa.