RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP WRAP #4 - The day the World Cup came alive

After the opening day thriller between Australia and New Zealand, the 2026 World Cup has felt in a bit of a malaise. Until today, with a couple of exceptions, the majority of matches have lacked any kind of jeapordy.

There is an irony that Sunday 1st November 2026 saw the group stages close with two games that, on the face of it, had little consequence. Tell that to the players of Lebanon, France, Samoa and Tonga.

Whilst both teams were already out, neither Lebanon or France wanted to end the tournament with a record of zero wins. The rarity of a close scoreline in the tournament brought the excitement, even if the outcome was not too consequential. The sides separated by just one score as the clock ticked past 70 minutes.

What followed was one of the most mind-bending 15 minutes of Rugby League you are ever likely to see. Cesar Rouge's try brought France level on 71 minutes before a Lebanon penalty in the 76th minute restored a two point lead.

France coach Laurent Fraysinnous rightfully bemoaned the absurdity that a sport has two different point scoring systems depending on where in the world you played it. Yet his side benefitted from it.

France forced a drop out with 16 seconds to go. Lebanon, inexplicably, kicked the ball as far as they could to give France a shot at a two-point field goal (which would not have happened if they went shorter). Arthur Mourgue had the self-awareness to take a step back beyond the 40 metre line and nail a beauty of a drop goal to send the game to golden point.

France thought they had won the game with a Cesar Rouge drop goal, which sparked wild celebrations from the French players and the bench, who spilled onto the pitch in scenes of unbridled joy.

Neither they nor us had banked upon intervention from the thief of joy otherwise known as the bunker. An obstruction that existed only in the mind of the video referee saw the drop goal disallowed.

It was devastating for the French but it should be devastating to anyone who is a fan of sport. 

Sport is about feeling. It is about that eruption of spontaneous joy as you watch a moment of masterful skill. The fact that we now have to wait until a man in a box wants to disallow it over an alleged offence that, at best, is so minuscule it was not observable to anyone on first viewing should sadden us all.

When you see a moment like that, I want to watch the players celebrate and commiserate. I want to look up at the fans to watch a stand shake in celebration. I do not want to instinctively look at a referee to see if a reason to deny us all that moment can be found.

More widely, if such an application is used consistently, it is hard to see how a drop goal can ever be legitimately kicked as the kicker is almost always behind several attackers. A notional or theoretical blocker will always be in the way of a defender, at least until such time that our players develop the ability of transportation, flying or invisibility.

Rugby League has long since abandoned the principle of considering obstruction in the literal sense of the word but instead looking at whether someone may have been obstructed or had the potential to be. Today took that to the next level.

The drama wasn't done yet as the first period of golden point came to an end and Lebanon were awarded a long-range penalty. Alex Conti hadn't had the greatest night with the boot and so it continued with an effort that never threatened the goalposts.

Fortunately for him, the ball landed in the hands of Arthur Mourgue who took leave of his senses to try a chip over the top on his own 10 metre line. In a moment even more inexplicable than the disallowed drop goal, Abass Miski accepted the gift, fell over the try line and won the match for Lebanon.

Utter joy for Lebanon. Despair for France. Thankfully, the video referee stayed in his box to the relief of all. What an ending! Even if I was still chuntering about that drop goal decision.

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As one thriller ended, another began as Tonga faced Samoa. Barring a mathematical miracle, both sides were already in the World Cup Semi Finals. It was just a question of who would face Australia and who would face New Zealand in the semi finals. And which of those two would be the easier tie is a live debate.

To that end, whether the game was won or lost would made no difference to either team's long term prospects at the World Cup. The logical argument would be rotate your squad, protect your superstars and get ready for a semi final.

Logic goes out of window though when Tonga play Samoa. As you saw the passion of the fans, the colour in the stands, the impact of the collisions and two sets of superstars go head to head, it is hard not be swept away with the occasion.

It took my mind back to how things used to be.

The days when the squads of Tonga and Samoa were comprised of reserve grade players in front of empty stadiums. We are the first to beat our own sport over the head when things go wrong and the last to give ourselves credit when things go well. The development of this rivalry has been one of, if not the most significant development in the 21st century in the sport.

We have something that may appeal beyond your diehard Rugby League fan. We have something that is difficult to replicate. From a business perspective, we have something we can sell. We should treasure it and make sure these sides play each other more than at an ad-hoc tournament.

As it so often is, the match was utterly gripping. I have seen many describe it as the best match of 2026. Some have gone as far as to say, it is one of the best of all time. It is hard to disagree.

Great matches make you think it is heading in one direction and then take you in another. As Tonga opened a 10 point lead, you struggled to see how Samoa got back into it. They did and took the lead. Then, it looked like Tonga had missed their chance. Before an Addin Fonua-Blake sucker punch blew that theory out of the water. And that fails to mention that Samoa were centimetres away from snatching victory back again.

If these sides do meet again in the World Cup Final, you'll be able to hear the impact from outer space.

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Today's matches were the antithesis of the dirge of the rest of the group stage.

In the 2021 World Cup, we had a conventional group draw with the highest seeds kept apart. This time we had a much maligned and hard-to-follow group structure.

I am a bit of a sporting puritan, who values equity over entertainment. This World Cup has made me question my view.

I question whether Rugby League is the right sport for a World Cup whose structure and fixtures are not closely controlled.

Unlike sports like football, when one side is better than another in Rugby League, you know about it. An underdog win is less likely. You cannot simply dig in, defend and hope for the best. Try it, you will get rolled.

Arguably, we do not have the depth for a more open draw. Maybe we cannot afford a tournament where our most appealing, biggest selling draws are not guaranteed to meet. Maybe it is better for lower-ranking sides to be put alongside each other to have competitive matches, rather than face obliteration in a match that appeals only to insomniacs.

It may not be the fairest approach, but I'd rather see matches like we saw today than matches that see the likes of France lose by 80-0 and going into said matches, knowing full well that will be the outcome.