Contents

2017 Rugby League World Cup

2017 (2017) Rugby League World Cup  ()
Number of teams	14
Host countries	Australia  New Zealand  Papua New Guinea
Winner	Australia (11th title)
Matches played	28
Attendance	382,080 (13,646 per match)
Points scored	1264 (45.14 per match)
Tries scored	230 (8.21 per match)
Top scorer	Cameron Smith (50)
Top try scorer	Valentine Holmes (12)
Tournaments  < 2013 2021 >

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017.^[1] The tournament featured the national teams of 14 Rugby League International Federation member countries who qualified through either standing in the previous tournament or a series of qualification play-off matches. In the final, defending champions Australia, playing in their 14th consecutive final, defeated England at Brisbane's Lang Park.

Host selection[edit]

At the 2010 Rugby League International Federation executive meeting, the New Zealand Rugby League made an early submission to co-host the 2017 tournament with Australia.^[2] The Rugby League World Cup was last held in Australia in 2008.^[3]

Two formal bids were subsequently received by the RLIF before a November 2012 deadline; the co-host bid from Australia and New Zealand and a bid from South Africa.^[4][5][6] On 19 February 2014, it was announced that the joint bid from Australia and New Zealand had won hosting rights.^[7]

Michael Brown, the CEO of several big name Australian sporting franchises and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, was originally appointed CEO of the World Cup in 2015, but resigned less than a year later due to 'workload' and 'homesickness'.^[8] He was replaced by Andrew Hill.^[9]

Teams[edit]

Qualification[edit]

It was announced on 3 August 2014 that 7 of the 8 quarter-finalists from the last World Cup would qualify automatically for the 2017 tournament; hosts Australia and New Zealand, plus England, Fiji, France, Samoa and Scotland. The USA, who were also 2013 quarter-finalists, were denied automatic qualification after a long-running internal governance dispute saw their RLIF membership temporarily suspended in 2014; later, once the matter was resolved, they were accepted into the qualification process. Papua New Guinea were initially set to be involved in the qualifying competition but were later granted automatic qualification, due to becoming co-hosts of the tournament. In addition to the eight automatic qualifiers, the remaining six spots will come from four different qualification zones; three from Europe, one from Asia/Pacific, one from Americas and one from Middle East/Africa.^[10]

Tonga were the first team to qualify from the qualification stage after winning the Asian-Pacific play-off. Lebanon were the second team to qualify from the qualification stage, after winning the Middle East-African play-off. The USA were the third team to qualify, winning the Americas qualification group.

Team	Captain	Coach	Previous Apps	Previous best result	Qualification method	World Ranking
Australia	Cameron Smith	Mal Meninga	14	Champions (10 times)	Co-hosts	1
England	Sean O'Loughlin	Wayne Bennett	5	Runners-up (1975, 1995)	Automatic	3
Fiji	Kevin Naiqama	Mick Potter	4	Semi-finals (2008, 2013)	Automatic	7
France	Théo Fages	Aurélien Cologni	14	Runners-up (1954, 1968)	Automatic	6
Ireland	Liam Finn	Mark Aston	3	Quarter-finals (2000, 2008)	Europe 2	8
Italy	Mark Minichiello	Cameron Ciraldo	1	Group stage (2013)	Europe play-off	12
Lebanon	Robbie Farah	Brad Fittler	1	Group stage (2000)	Middle East-Africa play-off	18
New Zealand	Adam Blair	David Kidwell	14	Champions (2008)	Co-hosts	2
Papua New Guinea	David Mead	Michael Marum	6	Quarter-finals (2000)	Co-hosts	16
Samoa	Frank Pritchard	Matt Parish	4	Quarter-finals (2000, 2013)	Automatic	5
Scotland	Danny Brough	Steve McCormack	3	Quarter-finals (2013)	Automatic	4
Tonga	Sika Manu	Kristian Woolf	4	Group stage (1995, 2000, 2008, 2013)	Asia-Pacific play-off	11
United States	Mark Offerdahl	Brian McDermott	1	Quarter-finals (2013)	Americas play-off	10
Wales	Craig Kopczak	John Kear	4	Semi-finals (1995, 2000)	Europe 1	9

Draw[edit]

The draw was undertaken at the launch of the event in Auckland on 19 July 2016^[11] and involved the same four group format as the 2013 tournament. The first two groups are made up of four teams whilst the other two groups feature three teams each. The top three teams in the first two groups and the winners of the two smaller groups will qualify for the quarter-finals. Group play will involve a round robin in the larger groups, and a round robin in the smaller groups with an additional inter-group game for each team so all teams will play three group games.^[12]

Squads[edit]

Each team submitted a squad of twenty-four players for the tournament, the same as the 2013 tournament.

Venues[edit]

It was announced in October 2014 that negotiations were being held for Papua New Guinea to host matches.^[13] The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League presented to the RLIF in September 2015, requesting to host three matches.^[14] In October 2015 it was confirmed that Papua New Guinea would host three matches in the group stage.^[15]

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne hosted the opening game between Australia and England included an Aboriginal selection and a New Zealand Mãori side. and while Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane hosted the World Cup final.^[12]

Australia[edit]

Brisbane	Sydney	Melbourne	Townsville
Brisbane Stadium	Sydney Football Stadium	Melbourne Rectangular Stadium	Townsville Stadium
Capacity: 52,500	Capacity: 45,500	Capacity: 30,050	Capacity: 26,500
Townsville Brisbane Cairns Darwin Sydney Canberra Melbourne Perth
Canberra	Perth	Cairns	Darwin
Canberra Stadium	Perth Rectangular Stadium	Barlow Park	Darwin Stadium
Capacity: 25,011	Capacity: 20,500	Capacity: 18,000	Capacity: 12,000

New Zealand[edit]

Wellington	Auckland
Wellington Regional Stadium	Mount Smart Stadium
Capacity: 34,500	Capacity: 30,000
Wellington Auckland Christchurch Hamilton
Hamilton	Christchurch
Waikato Stadium[16]	Christchurch Stadium
Capacity: 25,800	Capacity: 18,000

Papua New Guinea[edit]

Port Moresby
National Football Stadium
Capacity: 14,800
Port Moresby

Officiating[edit]

The match officials will be headed by Tony Archer and three coaches: Steve Ganson, Russell Smith and Luke Watts.^[17]

•  Australia: Grant Atkins, Chris Butler, Matt Cecchin, Steve Chiddy, Ben Cummins, Adam Gee, Ashley Klein, Jared Maxwell, David Munro, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski, Belinda Sleeman, Jon Stone, Bernard Sutton, Chris Sutton, Gerard Sutton, Michael Wise
•  England: Phil Bentham, James Child, Mark Craven, Robert Hicks, Chris Kendall, Scott Mikalauskas, Liam Moore, Tim Roby, Ben Thaler
•  New Zealand: Chris McMillan, Henry Perenara

Warm-up matches[edit]

Malta	24–24	Italy

Country U23s	26–40	Samoa

France	34–2	Jamaica

Fiji	0–10	Papua New Guinea

Australia	20–4	Papua New Guinea

Fiji	0–18	Australia

Lebanon	32–16	Niue

Country U23s	50–14	Scotland

Italy	6–16	Tonga

Combined Affiliated States	12–74	England

Group stage[edit]

The first two groups are made up of four teams whilst the other two groups feature three teams each. The top three teams in the Group A and B, and the winners of Group C and D will qualify for the quarter-finals. Group play will involve a round robin in the larger groups, and a round robin in the smaller groups with an additional inter-group game for each team so all teams will play three group games.^[12]

Group A[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia (H)	3	3	0	0	104	10	+94	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	England	3	2	0	1	69	34	+35	4
3	Lebanon	3	1	0	2	39	81	−42	2
4	France	3	0	0	3	30	117	−87	0

Australia	18–4	England
Tries: Gillett (23') 1 Slater (29') 1 Dugan (79') 1 Goals: Smith 3/4 (25', 76' pen, 80')	Report	Tries: 1 (5') McGillvary Goals: 0/1 Widdop

France	18–29	Lebanon
Tries: Ader (16', 52') 2 Cardace (68') 1 Goals: Barthau 3/4 (20' pen, 53', 69')	Report	Tries: 2 (40', 80') Robinson 1 (8') Layoun 1 (63') Doueihi 1 (76') Moses Goals: 4/5 Moses (9', 40', 64', 77') Field Goals: 1 (74') Moses

Australia	52–6	France
Tries: Graham (12', 15', 31', 66') 4 Munster (43', 74') 2 Dugan (33') 1 Frizell (49') 1 Slater (52') 1 Holmes (78') 1 Goals: Smith 6/8 (16', 32', 44', 51', 53', 67') Munster 0/2	Report	Tries: 1 (24') Kheirallah Goals: 1/1 Marginet (25')

England	29–10	Lebanon
Tries: Watkins (9') 1 McGillvary (25') 1 Hall (28') 1 Currie (32') 1 T. Burgess (56') 1 Goals: Widdop 4/5 (11', 26', 33', 57') Field Goals: Widdop (80') 1	Report	Tries: 1 (18') Kassis 1 (76') Wehbe Goals: 1/2 Moses (19')

Australia	34–0	Lebanon
Tries: Munster (9', 50') 2 Maloney (25') 1 Cordner (55') 1 Gagai (76') 1 T. Trbojevic (79') 1 Goals: Maloney 4/4 (52', 56', 78', 80') Smith 1/2 (26')	Report

England	36–6	France
Tries: McGillvary (42', 64') 2 Widdop (3') 1 Ratchford (6') 1 Graham (9') 1 Percival (23') 1 Bateman (29') 1 Goals: Widdop 4/7 (4', 7', 10', 43')	Report	Tries: 1 (34') Garcia Goals: 1/1 Albert (35')

Group B[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Tonga	3	3	0	0	110	44	+66	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	New Zealand (H)	3	2	0	1	134	42	+92	4
3	Samoa	3	0	1	2	40	84	−44	1
4	Scotland	3	0	1	2	24	138	−114	1

New Zealand	38–8	Samoa
Tries: Jordan Rapana (4') 1 Shaun Johnson (20') 1 Brad Takairangi (46') 1 Kodi Nikorima (52') 1 Issac Liu (55') 1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (68') 1 Nelson Asofa-Solomona (72') 1 Goals: Shaun Johnson 5/7 (21', 53', 56', 69', 73')	Report[29]	Tries: 1 (37') Ken Maumalo 1 (80') Joseph Paulo Goals: 0/1 Peter Matautia 0/1 Tim Lafai

Scotland	4–50	Tonga
Tries: Danny Addy (62') 1 Goals: Danny Brough 0/1	Report[30]	Tries: 3 (3', 20', 40') Michael Jennings 2 (26', 73') Daniel Tupou 1 (17') Jason Taumalolo 1 (23') Sika Manu 1 (38') Peni Terepo 1 (76') Ata Hingano Goals: 6/7 Sio Siua Taukeiaho (4', 19', 21', 24', 75', 78') 1/2 Ata Hingano (40')

New Zealand	74–6	Scotland
Tries: Te Maire Martin (32', 52', 76') 3 Pita Hiku (39', 58', 69') 3 Jason Nightingale (13', 23') 2 Kenny Bromwich (9') 1 Joseph Tapine (16') 1 Russell Packer (43') 1 Dean Whare (55') 1 Shaun Johnson (61') 1 Elijah Taylor (79') 1 Goals: Shaun Johnson 9/14 (11', 33', 44', 53', 56', 60', 63', 70', 80')	Report[31]	Tries: 1 (72') Oscar Thomas Goals: 1/1 Danny Addy (73')

Samoa	18–32	Tonga
Tries: Jazz Tevaga (17') 1 Ben Roberts (65') 1 Tim Lafai (73') 1 Goals: Tim Lafai 3/3 (18', 66', 74')	Report[32]	Tries: 2 (10', 29') Michael Jennings 1 (52') Peni Terepo 1 (60') Ben Murdoch-Masila 1 (77') Manu Ma'u Goals: 4/4 Sio Siua Taukeiaho (11', 28' pen, 30', 79') 2/2 Ata Hingano (53', 61')

New Zealand	22–28	Tonga
Tries: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (39', 72') 2 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (21') 1 Jordan Rapana (28') 1 Goals: Shaun Johnson 3/4 (30', 40', 73')	Report[33]	Tries: 3 (48', 59', 77') David Fusitu'a 1 (62') Tuimoala Lolohea 1 (65') William Hopoate Goals: 3/4 Sio Siua Taukeiaho (7' pen, 63', 66') 1/2 Tuimoala Lolohea (60')

Samoa	14–14	Scotland
Tries: Junior Paulo (12') 1 Matthew Wright (49') 1 Young Tonumaipea (66') 1 Goals: Matthew Wright 1/3 (13')	Report[34]	Tries: 1 (5') Lewis Tierney 1 (28') Frankie Mariano Goals: 3/4 Danny Addy (6', 18' pen, 30')

Group C[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Papua New Guinea (H)	3	3	0	0	128	12	+116	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Ireland	3	2	0	1	76	32	+44	4
3	Wales	3	0	0	3	18	156	−138	0

Papua New Guinea	50–6	Wales
Tries: David Mead (5', 10', 60') 3 Rhyse Martin (43', 53') 2 Nene Macdonald (23') 1 Kato Ottio (34') 1 Wellington Albert (38') 1 Justin Olam (56') 1 Paul Aiton (71') 1 Goals: Rhyse Martin 5/8 (24', 36', 39', 44', 72') Ase Boas 0/2	Report[35]	Tries: 1 (80') Regan Grace Goals: 1/1 Courtney Davies (80')

Papua New Guinea	14–6	Ireland
Tries: Garry Lo (16') 1 Nene Macdonald (26') 1 Watson Boas (78') 1 Goals: Ase Boas 1/1 (79') Rhyse Martin 0/2	Report[36]	Tries: 1 (5') Michael McIlorum Goals: 1/1 Liam Finn (6')

Wales	6–34	Ireland
Tries: Ben Morris (57') 1 Goals: Courtney Davies 1/1 (59')	Report[37]	Tries: 2 (34', 66') Oliver Roberts 1 (8') Api Pewhairangi 1 (34') Joe Philbin 1 (39') Liam Finn 1 (74') Liam Kay Goals: 5/6 Liam Finn (9', 32', 35', 67', 76')

Group D[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Fiji	3	3	0	0	168	28	+140	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Italy	3	1	0	2	68	74	−6	2
3	United States	3	0	0	3	12	168	−156	0

Fiji	58–12	United States
Tries: Taane Milne (3', 11') 2 Kevin Naiqama (7', 30') 2 Suliasi Vunivalu (35', 64') 2 Akuila Uate (14') 1 Kane Evans (17') 1 Jarryd Hayne (46') 1 Viliame Kikau (60') 1 Henry Raiwalui (66') 1 Goals: Apisai Koroisau 5/8 (8', 13', 18', 31', 47') Taane Milne 2/3 (61', 68')	Report[38]	Tries: 1 (21') Matt Shipway 1 (72') Junior Vaivai Goals: 2/2 Bureta Fariamo (22', 74')

Italy	46–0	United States
Tries: Joey Tramontana (8', 37') 2 James Tedesco (14', 43') 2 Josh Mantellato (18') 1 Ryan Ghietti (25') 1 Paul Vaughan (59') 1 Mason Cerruto (73') 1 Goals: Josh Mantellato 7/8 (9', 16', 26', 38', 45', 60', 74')	Report[39]

Fiji	38–10	Italy
Tries: Suliasi Vunivalu (60', 63', 68') 3 Kevin Naiqama (28') 1 Henry Raiwalui (40') 1 Brayden Wiliame (54') 1 Marcelo Montoya (75') 1 Goals: Apisai Koroisau 3/4 (29', 40', 61') Taane Milne 2/3 (64', 69') Sin Bins: Jarryd Hayne (34')	Report[40]	Tries: 1 (20') Josh Mantellato 1 (43') Nathan Milone Goals: 1/2 Josh Mantellato (44') Sin Bins: (12') Jayden Walker (34') Joey Tramontana

Inter-group matches[edit]

Ireland	36–12	Italy
Tries: Liam Kay (3', 30') 2 George King (10') 1 Kyle Amor (55') 1 Michael Morgan (60') 1 Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook (79') 1 Goals: Liam Finn 6/7 (4', 11', 18' pen, 31', 56', 61')	Report[41]	Tries: 1 (38') Justin Castellaro 1 (47') Nathan Milone Goals: 2/2 Josh Mantellato (39', 48')

Fiji	72–6	Wales
Tries: Suliasi Vunivalu (14', 51', 61') 3 Viliame Kikau (22', 40') 2 Taane Milne (31', 56') 2 Eloni Vunakece (6') 1 Henry Raiwalui (16') 1 Salesi Fainga'a (27') 1 Marcelo Montoya (33') 1 Jarryd Hayne (42') 1 Joe Lovodua (65') 1 Ben Nakubuwai (70') 1 Goals: Apisai Koroisau 4/7 (7', 17', 23', 28') Taane Milne 3/5 (40', 43', 52') Suliasi Vunivalu 1/2 (66')	Report[42]	Tries: 1 (11') Morgan Knowles Goals: 1/1 Courtney Davies (12')

Papua New Guinea	64–0	United States
Tries: Justin Olam (12', 66', 75') 3 Lachlan Lam (8', 16') 2 James Segeyaro (14') 1 Rod Griffin (25') 1 Stargroth Amean (39') 1 David Mead (42') 1 Watson Boas (60') 1 Nene Macdonald (63') 1 Goals: Rhyse Martin 10/11 (10', 15', 18', 26', 40', 44', 62', 65', 68', 77')	Report[43]

Knockout stage[edit]

Three teams from each of Groups A and B and one team from each of Groups C and D advanced to the quarter-finals. All quarter-finalists automatically qualified for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.^[44] The quarter-final fixture were finalised at the conclusion of the pool stages, to ensure that Australia played in Darwin on 17 November and New Zealand in Wellington on 18 November.^[45]

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	17 November – Darwin
	Australia	46
					24 November – Brisbane
	Samoa	0
					Australia	54
	18 November – Wellington
					Fiji	6
	New Zealand	2
									2 December – Brisbane
	Fiji	4
									Australia	6
	18 November – Christchurch
									England	0
	Tonga	24
					25 November – Auckland
	Lebanon	22
					Tonga	18
	19 November – Melbourne
					England	20
	England	36
	Papua New Guinea	6

Quarter-finals[edit]

Australia vs Samoa[edit]

Australia	46–0	Samoa
Tries: Holmes (9', 17', 51', 57', 74') 5 Morgan (31', 36') 2 Slater (24') 1 Goal: Smith 7/8 (10', 19', 26', 33', 38', 53', 58')

Tonga vs Lebanon[edit]

Tonga	24–22	Lebanon
Tries: Fusitu'a (19', 33') 2 Lolohea (4') 1 Hopoate (23') 1 Goal: Hingano 4/5 (5', 24', 34', 53' pen)		Tries: 2 (40', 69') Miski 1 (9') Doueihi 1 (30') Elias Goals: 3/4 Moses (10', 31', 70')

New Zealand vs Fiji[edit]

New Zealand	2–4	Fiji
Goals: Johnson 1/1 (45' pen)		Goals: 1/1 Koroisau (15' pen) 1/1 Milne (62' pen)

England vs Papua New Guinea[edit]

England	36–6	Papua New Guinea
Tries: McGillvary (13', 20') 2 Watkins (68', 72') 2 Walmsley (33') 1 Currie (56') 1 Hall (79') 1 Goals: Widdop 4/7 (34', 57', 69', 80')		Tries: 1 (60') Lo Goals: 1/1 Martin (61')

Semi-finals[edit]

Australia vs Fiji[edit]

Australia	54–6	Fiji
Tries: Holmes (18', 24', 42', 51', 65', 75') 6 Gagai (31', 69') 2 Slater (14', 48') 2 Goals: Smith 7/10 (15', 19', 33', 43', 49', 53', 67')		Tries: 1 (59') Vunivalu Goals: 1/2 Koroisau (7' pen)

Tonga vs England[edit]

Tonga	18–20	England
Tries: Pangai Junior (73') 1 Havili (76') 1 Lolohea (77') 1 Goals: Taukeiaho 3/3 (73', 76, 77')		Tries: 1 (11') McGillvary 1 (16') Widdop 1 (68') Bateman Goals: 4/4 Widdop (12, 17, 50 pen, 69)

Final: Australia vs England[edit]

Australia	6–0	England
Tries: Cordner (15') Goals: Smith 1/1 (16')

Statistics[edit]

Top try scorers[edit]

12 tries

• Valentine Holmes

9 tries

• Suliasi Vunivalu

7 tries

• Jermaine McGillvary

5 tries

David Fusitu'a

Michael Jennings

4 tries

Wade Graham

Cameron Munster

Taane Milne

David Mead

Justin Olam

3 tries

Viliame Kikau

Kevin Naiqama

Henry Raiwalui

Liam Kay

Nene Macdonald

Peta Hiku

Te Maire Martin

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck

Tuimoala Lolohea

2 tries

Josh Dugan

Michael Morgan

John Bateman

Gareth Widdop

Jarryd Hayne

Marcelo Montoya

Bastien Ader

Oliver Roberts

James Tedesco

Joseph Tramontana

Adam Doueihi

Abbas Miski

Travis Robinson

Shaun Johnson

Jason Nightingale

Jordan Rapana

Watson Boas

Lachlan Lam

Garry Lo

Rhyse Martin

Will Hopoate

Peni Terepo

Daniel Tupou

1 try

Tom Trbojevic

Matt Gillett

Tom Burgess

Ben Currie

James Graham

Ryan Hall

Mark Percival

Stefan Ratchford

Alex Walmsley

Kane Evans

Salesi Junior Fainga'a

Joe Lovodua

Ben Nakubuwai

Brayden Wiliame

Akuila Uate

Eloni Vunakece

Damien Cardace

Benjamin Garcia

Mark Kheirallah

Kyle Amor

Liam Finn

George King

Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook

Michael McIlorum

Michael Morgan

Api Pewhairangi

Joe Philbin

Justin Castellaro

Mason Cerruto

Ryan Ghietti

Josh Mantellato

Nathan Milone

Paul Vaughan

Anthony Layoun

James Elias

Nick Kassis

Mitchell Moses

Jason Wehbe

Nelson Asofa-Solomona

Kenny Bromwich

Issac Liu

Kodi Nikorima

Russell Packer

Brad Takairangi

Joseph Tapine

Elijah Taylor

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak

Dean Whare

Paul Aiton

Wellington Albert

James Segeyaro

Rod Griffin

Stargroth Amean

Kato Ottio