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RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP WRAP #2 - Foot to the floor, but driving into the wall

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Before I launch into my thoughts about week 2 of the World Cup, I thought it might be helpful to set the scene and remind you of the rather unusual group structure we have. We have Pool A, which features Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Cook Islands. This is the most straightforward as each side plays each other and the top two teams qualify for the semi finals. In Pool B, there is England, Samoa and Lebanon. Pool C features Tonga, France and Papua New Guinea. The table for these two pools are combined. The teams in Pool B play the teams in Pool C and vice versa. The top two teams in these combined pools qualify for the semi finals. If the sides finish level on points, the first tiebreaker is head to head record. If the sides have not played each other, the second tiebreaker is points difference. The practical reality of this meant that if England lost their opening match against Tonga, their fate would be out of their hands and qualification for the semi finals was unlikely. Tonga had...
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Rugby League World Cup Wrap #1 - Red Alert

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England and Tonga have developed a burgeoning rivalry over the years. Anyone who watched England's match against Tonga in Widnes in 2006, which descended into a mass brawl would attest to that. From a literal fight to a metaphorical one came the 2017 World Cup Semi Final. Widely considered one of the greatest matches and occasions of modern times. Roared on by a partisan crowd, Tonga fought back from 0-20 down to trail 18-20. A contentious knock on call denied Tonga a first win over England and a place in the World Cup final. England also faced Tonga in a test series in 2023. My abiding memory of that was another Alan Partridge-esque accidental moment of hilarity from the-then England coach Shaun Wane. Wane's anger at a perceived slight by Tonga coach Kristian Woolf nearly sent him into arterial compromise. The sight of the customarily cool Woolf stood as stark contrast.  England won that test series 3-0 and, in truth, rarely looked threatened by Tonga. Today's match was ag...
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The Hardest Ever

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This time last year, England were about to enter their first Ashes series against Australia for 22 years. I was awash with optimism that England were at least going to give it a really good go. That optimism was washed away by half time of test 1 in a series that saw England score just two tries across three matches. The World Cup in 2026 in Australia offers a shot at redemption but achieving that is going to be as difficult as it has ever been. There is a very real chance that England do not make it out of the group stages. For England, that would represent a terrible return and prompt questions about why we are going back in the international arena and not forward. For the wider game, it would be a success story as there are now several teams who have a genuine shot at a semi final spot. The international game has changed. In the last two World Cups, we have seen Australia, England, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga all reach the semi final stage and three of those teams reach a fin...
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On Grand Final Day...

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As I write this we are a little over six hours away from kick off in the most unique of Grand Finals. For the first time ever, the side who finished 3rd will play the side who finished 4th.  For the first time since the 1998 Grand Final, we are guaranteed a new name on the Super League trophy. For just the second time, the sides who finished in 1st and 2nd place have been banished before the Grand Final. For the first time in either 71 years in Warrington's case or 58 years in Wakefield's case will one of these sides be the champions by around 8pm tonight. If you have any memory of either of these clubs being the champions, you would have to be drawing your pension. This time last week, I expected Wigan to beat Wakefield to set up a repeat of the 2013, 2016 and 2018 Grand Finals. From a Warrington perspective, that would have meant a Grand Final which was as low in pressure as could be expected. Very few would have expected Warrington to win. They finished 8th last year! Only o...
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This is why we do it.

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Why do we watch sport? Strip it down to its most basic. We spend so much of our free time, either on television or in stadiums, watching men or women throw an oval-shaped ball around a field. We spend a lot of our disposable income to follow our team. Sometimes, we even plan our holidays around fixture lists and travel across Europe and the world to watch our team. Think about it. It doesn't seem logical, does it?  If you are not a Rugby League aficionado, it might not make sense. If you are, this weekend was a reminder of why we do it.  This weekend had it all. Nail-biting drama. Tales of history-making success from underdogs. Tears of sadness. Tears of joy. We started on Friday night as Leeds faced Warrington. We saw Warrington reach their first Grand Final since 2018. A contest where no more than two points separated the sides from minute 38. We had controversy in the form of the winning penalty. We saw Leeds' young players thrust into the heat of a semi final and cope admi...
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT - Leeds vs Warrington

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We saw an engaging, if not attritional, semi final last night between Leeds and Warrington. The Wire are returning to the Grand Final for the first time since 2018. Leeds are once again thinking about what might have been. Whoever Warrington play in the Grand Final next week, we saw their blueprint for how they think they can end a long wait to call themselves champions. Warrington's win last night was based on playing error-free rugby, combined with impeccable discipline.  Warrington made just seven errors and conceded just six penalties. Even players who you associate with having particularly poor discipline (such as James Bentley) pulled rank. This is quite different to Warrington sides we have seen over time. Some of those sides have been more kamikaze in nature. When things got tough, composure could drop. Not the 2026 version of Warrington though. I have seen more talented Warrington sides than this one. I have not seen one with a better attitude. There will be some questions...
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Can Wigan be stopped?

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We were all looking forward to Leeds v Wigan on Saturday night. It was rightly billed as a League Leaders' Shield decider. Wigan's 8-40 success sent a warning shot to anyone else challenging for the title - you'll have to stop us. Easier said than done. Let's look at Wigan's best results against top 6 rivals, this year. Wigan 54-0 Leigh Leeds 8-40 Wigan Wigan 40-10 Hull KR Wakefield 10-48 Wigan Wigan 30-18 Warrington I haven't included Wigan's 46-0 home win against Hull KR, here, due to the phony war nature of the contest. Wigan have done the double over Leeds, Leigh and Wakefield (beating the latter in the Challenge Cup too). With the exception of Warrington, on at least one occasion this season, Wigan have not only beaten their top 6 rivals; they have comprehensively routed each of them. Wigan have now won 14 consecutive Super League matches. It is 15 matches if you include the Challenge Cup Final. Their last loss was against Hull KR in the week before the...
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