RLWC No Dud so Far

Although some predicted that the 2008 Rugby League World Cup would be a joke due to lopsided scorelines, all but one match so far have been contests. Last weekend, Tonga squeaked by Ireland 22-20 Monday, trailing until they scored a late try to win. On Sunday, Scotland stayed within a try of France at several points before succumbing 18-38. And Saturday, Papua New Guinea was beating England at the half before England took control in the second period for a 32-22 win.

Of course, Australia's lopsided 30-6 win over New Zealand Sunday leaves many thinking that the Kangaroos are still the overwhelming favorites, but three close contests from four is not a bad outcome for the tournament's opening weekend. Even the exhibition match between an Australian Indigenous side and a New Zealand Maori side was a thriller, with the Maori holding a lead as late as the last ten minutes before losing 34-26.

If you haven't had a look yet (U.S. viewers can watch on the Setanta network or online on Espn360.com), reconsider it. This weekend has some exciting clashes ahead, including a Tonga-Samoa showdown that promises to be intense.

Here's a bit of what you've missed so far:

Tonga v. Ireland:


PNG v. England:


Australia v. NZ:


And if you're a fan of traditional pre-match ceremonies such as the famous New Zealand Haka, you won't want to miss the spectacle that took place before the Maori-Indigenous exhibition match:

Cracking the Ton

This is Armchair Playmaker's 100th post. This site is a small one, but it's a privilege to share a few thoughts, stories, and clips with readers scattered around the globe. While we're thinking of centuries, it's probably best to commemorate the event by looking back to another recent century from rugby union: New Zealand's 101-14 thrashing of Samoa early last month. Clips below are highlights from the Alternative Rugby Commentary site, accompanied by Jed Thian's unique narration (Caution: Rude language, profanity, etc.):

Part 1:


Part 2:

Good Start to the "Other" Rugby World Cup

The official Rugby League World Cup opening match isn't until tomorrow, but the tournament began today with England getting by Papua New Guinea 32-22. The favored British side trailed 16-12 at half time in an exciting match that shows nothing can be taken for granted in a tournament that some consider a joke due to Australia's expected dominance.

Rugby league is far behind rugby union in terms of worldwide audiences, but it looks the opening match has earned at least one new fan in the British press. Will the tournament win you over as well? Have a look at the tries from the first match as you think it over:

A Year and a Day Ago

It's been just over a year since South Africa won the 2007 Rugby World Cup on 20 October 2007. We've got a while to wait until the 2011 event, so in the meantime here are a few highlights from last year's tournament:



And while we're at it, here are some moments from the final specifically:

Wiki Gets Some Help at the End

The 2008 Rugby League World Cup doesn't get underway until this Saturday, but the lead-up action has been going on for some time. On 13 October, a New Zealand "All Golds" side defeated a New Zealand Maori side 44-10 World Cup warm-up match. Although the All Golds side featured a number of players from New Zealand's national team, the side is actually a commemorative team which has played several matches since late 2007 to honor the original professional New Zealand side that introduced professionalism and rugby league in the Southern Hemisphere.

Although New Zealand Maori came off on the wrong end of the scoreline, they didn't have to have been beaten by quite such a margin. At the end of the match a number of players eased their pursuit on defense to allow retiring New Zealand legend Ruben Wiki into the try zone unmolested in his final appearance. After that, another retiring Kiwi, Logan Swann, was allowed a shot at a difficult conversion, which he made. Many of the All Golds players moved on to play for the Kiwis when they smashed Tonga in a final warm-up match last Saturday, while New Zealand Maori will be surely hoping their goodwill pays dividends as they take on an Australian Indigenous side in an exhibition match this coming Sunday (just before a match between Australia and New Zealand).

The classic try and conversion are in the clip below, along with a disallowed try to New Zealand Maori that allowed Wiki his final score:

South African Clubs Carry on Grand Tradition

When the Blue Bulls and Natal Sharks battle in in the Currie Cup final on 25 October, they'll be contesting for one of South Africa's most prized domestic sporting trophies. For those unfamiliar with the series, here's some brief background.

The trophy itself is actually from Great Britain, having been sent by shipping magnate Donald Currie with a British touring side in 1892. The trophy was to be awarded to the first hosting side to win a match before becoming a domestic competition trophy, but the travelers won all of their 19 matches. The trophy was therefore handed over to Griqualand West, who had lost only 3-0 to the visiting side, after which it became the prize for an interprovincial competition as it remains today.

A few things about the Currie Cup competition have changed in the 116 years since the trophy arrived in South Africa, though. The Currie Cup was contested sporadically until 1968, the first year it became an annual event. Since then, competitions such as the Super 14 have perhaps shaded the Currie Cup in significance, but the competition remains a big event.

In its current format, the Currie Cup competition features eight teams in the Premier Division and six teams in the lower-tier First Division. Each team plays all of the other sides in its division twice. After that, the top four Premier Division sides advance to the Currie Cup semifinals, with the winners of that match contesting the final. The winner of the First Division, meanwhile, plays a two-match series with the last-place side from the Premier Division, with the series winner playing in the Premier Division the following year and the series loser playing in the First Division in the following year.

This weekend's match is not the first big match between the Bulls and Sharks in recent memory. They met in the final in 2003, with the Bulls prevailing, but also met in the Super 14 final in 2007 (though the player base for the Super 14 sides differs slightly from that of the Currie Cup sides given that there only five South African Super 14 sides). Even though it's a different competition, if the thrilling finish of that Super 14 match is any indicator, we're in for an exciting final. Here's the end of that 2007 Super 14 showdown:



And here's a slightly longer video of highlights from that Super 14 final:

Injury Curse Continues for Code-Jumping Tourists

As high-profile National Rugby League players head north to France and across the rugby code barrier for big rugby union money, they seem to be having bad luck with injuries. Last year, Craig Gower left the Penrith Panthers and off-the-field scandals for Bayonne, but had some injury troubles in his new setting.

Then, high-profile convert Sonny Bill Williams skipped town on the Canterbury Bulldogs to star briefly for Toulon before breaking his leg.

Now, Mark Gasnier, who stunned St. George-Illawara by leaving for exquisitely-kitted Stade Francais, has succumbed to an ankle injury.

Given the strange trend, all we can say is that we hope that Luke Rooney, another Penrith player bound for France this year, is going to be careful!

At least Gasnier got to dot this debut try down before he came up hurt:

Leeds Super Again

Although Melbourne couldn't repeat their 2007 National Rugby League Premiership in today's grand final, there was one repeat champion this weeked as Leeds defeated Saint Helens in the 2008 Engage Super League grand final yesterday. As with today's NRL final, the match featured the same pair of team two years in a row, but unlike the NRL final, Leeds managed to win two from two.

All rugby league eyes will turn now to the Rugby League World Cup, but early next year Leeds and Manly-Warringah will face off in the World Club Challenge, an annual exhibition contested between the NRL and Super League champs. Leeds also visited the United States early this year for an exibition match with he NRL's South Sydney Rabbitohs, though sadly a repeat visit seems unlikely after South Sydney spoke poorly of the trip's effect on their 2008 season. We can still hold out hope, though!

Below are a few moments from the Rhinos' win this weekend:



While we're at it, here are some highlights from the 2007 grand final as well:

A Tale of Two Grand Finals

In 2007, the Melbourne Storm and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles met up in the National Rugby League grand final. That year, Melbourne proceeded to demolish the Sea Eagles 34-8.

Shorty after the final, the Sea Eagles promised they'd be back, and they've made good on their promise. Today's 2008 grand final once again featured Melbourne and Manly-Warringah, but that was where the similarities ended as the Sea Eagles came away with a 40-0 win.

What a difference a year makes. This video, put together by a fan to tease the Storm and back the Sea Eagles, ended up being prophetic: