Archive for the ‘Rugby League News’ Category
Lions tamed by solid Kiwis
Saturday, November 15th, 2008England’s rugby league team are out of the World Cup following a 32-22 defeat to New Zealand in this morning’s semi-final.
With their only win in four games down-under coming in an unexpectedly tense match against Pool A under-dogs, Papua New Guinea, it has hardly been a good tournament for Tony Smith’s men. Slated by the press on both sides of the world and alledgedly victimised by the officials the squad might well be glad to leave Australia a week before the final game.
But there were glimpses of what could have been in Saturday morning’s semi. Having gone 16-0 down in the early stages, even the most loyal Lions fan would have been forgiven for fearing the worst, but a well-deserved try from captain Jamie Peacock and a second from Danny Maguire just before half-time kept England well in the game.
Too many errors - far too many, simple, simple errors and not one oounce of luck - meant England made it just too hard for themselves but New Zealand showed a level of discipline, strength and skill that they’ll need if they have any chance of beating Australia in the final. (I apologise to my compatriots for not giving Fiji a chance tomorrow) The Kiwis kept stretching their lead to two scores with England fighting back every time leaving them just six points adrift with six minutes on the clock.
It was too much though for England and the luck of the bounce went New Zealand’s way as they scored in the dying seconds. Had the final pass stuck in Danny Maguire’s hands rather than going through them to Benji Marshall it could have been a straight length-of-the-field sprint for the Leeds stand-off to score and leave a tense conversion to equalise.
But it didn’t…
Back Lee Smith and England to hit back
Friday, November 7th, 2008Are England due a performance?
Coach Tony Smith will demand a response from his England team against a tough New Zealand side after they were taken to the wire by Papua New Guinea and thrashed by Australia.
Lee Smith, Super League Grand Final man-of-the-match and England’s hat-trick hero against PNG, returns to the squad after missing the Australia game through injury. Smith looks a tempting price at 14/1 to score the first try as he attempts to inspire England to victory.
Qualification to the semis is almost guaranteed, with Australia highly unlikely to fall foul of Papua New Guinea. But England will still want to put in a confidence-boosting performance against their probable semi-final opponents.
Can they hit back or will the Kiwis be too strong? Find out live on Sky at 8.55am!
England must focus on PNG game
Friday, October 24th, 2008William Hill’s compilers make England 1/66 to beat Papua New Guinea in Townsville in their opening Rugby League World Cup game. Quite rightly, many would think.
The Kumuls of PNG are one of the many minnows in this tournament, which runs until 22 November, and are no longer the fifth nation of international rugby league they were back in the eighties and even nineties. Yes, they were fifth out of five behind Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand & France but they were competitive nevertheless. However, with the rise of the game in the Pacific Islands such as Fiji, Tonga & Samoa, they have probably slipped a notch or too.
That said, they cannot be ruled out of this game, and while they most likely will not win the game the head-start of 36 points that William Hill offer in their handicap betting odds could well be enough for them. England’s last run out, where they scored 14 tries in a 74-0 romp against Wales, is no real guide to how tomorrow’s game might go. Tony Smith didn’t select any of the Leeds or St Helens players that had played in the Super League Grand Final six days before who make up 11 of the proposed line up for tomorrow morning.
So will this be an even stronger England side? On paper maybe but last week’s 17 were giving it their all for a place in the starting line-up of a World Cup match playing a Wales team that couldn’t have had less to play for - even national pride would have been scarce given the thin connections of some of the participants to the Principality. Complacency will be England’s most dangerous opponents.
Adrian Lam, coach of the Papua New Guinea team, says he has a plan on how to deal with their group opponents, which are Australia & New Zealand as well as England. That is also what England need for their opening game. They cannot afford to focus on the bigger games against New Zealand and Australia and overlook the threat of the Kumuls - turning up will not guarantee a win. Lam’s side aren’t short of experienced, Stanley Gene for one has been playing rugby league for longer than anyone can remember - quite literally, or is that just his birthday that no-one knows? The location is also key.
Townsville is barely 600 miles from Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea - a stone’s throw in that part of the world. It is also home to a sizeable Papuan population so England’s opposition will be well supported and fired up for the game. Add in the fact that North Queensland is hot and humid and Tony Smith’s side could be in for a much tougher ride than they expect.
Bet on this game and a range of Rugby League World Cup betting odds at William Hill
