2000 Rugby League World Cup

2000 (2000) Rugby League World Cup  ()
Number of teams	16
Host countries	United Kingdom  Ireland  France
Winner	Australia (9th title)
Matches played	31
Attendance	263,921 (8,514 per match)
Top scorer	Mat Rogers (70)
Top try scorer	Wendell Sailor (10)
Tournaments  < 1995 2008 >

The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was held during October and November of that year in Great Britain, Ireland and France. Sixteen national teams competed in four groups of four, playing each other once over three weekly rounds before a series of play-offs that culminated in the final between Australia and New Zealand. Tournament favourites Australia defeated New Zealand in the final, claiming their sixth consecutive and ninth total Rugby League World Cup title. Australian winger Wendell Sailor was named player of the tournament.

Summary[edit]

Building on the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, it was decided to expand the format further, with the number of teams rising from 10 to 16; as before, an Emerging Nations Tournament was held alongside the main event.

The millennium World Cup attracted a record sponsorship of over £1 million from Lincoln Financial Group, who had also sponsored Great Britain's Tests against New Zealand the previous autumn.^[1]

The 2000 World Cup was not considered a great success. There were too many mismatches in the early stages, and some of the teams lacked credibility. Notably the inclusion of a side representing New Zealand's Māori population, Aotearoa Māori, alongside the full New Zealand team, and a Lebanon side consisting entirely of Australians of Lebanese origin, led to derisory comments in the media;^[2] the tournament's organisers also attracted criticism regarding marketing and ticketing. For these reasons crowds at the tournament were low; also torrential rainstorms and the crisis on Britain's railways following the Hatfield rail crash did not help encourage spectators.^{[citation needed]}

There were however some positives: the tournament returned a profit of more than £2m despite the small crowds it attracted;^[3] the French performed creditably, and attendance for the games held in France was encouraging; the much-derided Lebanon team also proved the catalyst for domestic competition in that country.

On the competition side of things, favourites Australia^[4] and New Zealand cut a swathe through the tournament, with several dominant performances setting up an obvious final clash. New Zealand's 49–6 semi-final dispatch of England, coupled with Australia only hitting the lead in their semi-final against Wales with 23 minutes remaining, had New Zealand installed as favourites in some quarters. However, it was Australia who prevailed in a tense, absorbing finale. Australia only led 18–12 with 15 minutes remaining, but a glut of possession saw them finish strongly – scoring four late tries to give the appearance of an easy victory.

Qualifying[edit]

Six countries – Lebanon, the United States, Morocco, Canada, Italy and Japan – competed for one available place in the tournament. In the final play-off match the United States lost 62–8 to Lebanon, who were through to their first World Cup.

Teams[edit]

The 2000 World Cup tournament features 16 teams:

•  Australia – coached by Chris Anderson and captained by Brad Fittler
•  Cook Islands – coached by Stan Martin and captained by Kevin Iro
•  England – coached by John Kear and captained by Andy Farrell
•  Fiji – coached by Don Furner, Sr. and captained by Lote Tuqiri
•  France – coached by Gilles Dumas and captained by Fabien Devecchi
•  Ireland – coached by Steve O'Neill and Andy Kelly and captained by Terry O'Connor
•  Lebanon – coached by John Elias and captained by Darren Marroon
•  New Zealand – coached by Frank Endacott and captained by Richie Barnett
•  Aotearoa Māori – coached by Cameron Bell and captained by Tawera Nikau
•  Papua New Guinea – coached by Bob Bennett and captained by Adrian Lam
•  Russia – coached by Evgeniy Klebanov and captained by Ian Rubin
•  Samoa – coached by Darrell Williams and captained by Willie Poching
•  Scotland – coached by Shaun McRae and captained by Danny Russell
•  South Africa – coached by Paul Matete and captained by Jamie Bloem
•  Tonga – coached by Murray Hurst and captained by Martin Masella
•  Wales – coached by Clive Griffiths and captained by Iestyn Harris

Venues[edit]

The games were played at various venues in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France.

The Twickenham Stadium in London, the home of the English rugby union was the host stadium for the opening ceremony and match featuring hosts England and defending champions Australia.^[5]

London	Cardiff	Toulouse	Bolton	Huddersfield
Twickenham Stadium	Millennium Stadium	Stadium de Toulouse	Reebok Stadium	McAlpine Stadium
Capacity: 75,000	Capacity: 74,500	Capacity: 37,000	Capacity: 28,723	Capacity: 24,500
Reading	Leeds	Watford	Paris	Edinburgh
Madejski Stadium	Headingley	Vicarage Road	Stade Sébastien Charléty	Tynecastle Stadium
Capacity: 24,161	Capacity: 22,000	Capacity: 21,577	Capacity: 20,000	Capacity: 17,529
St. Helens	Belfast	Gloucester	Widnes	Albi
Knowsley Road	Windsor Park	Kingsholm Stadium	Autoquest Stadium	Stadium Municipal d'Albi
Capacity: 17,500	Capacity: 17,000	Capacity: 16,500	Capacity: 13,350	Capacity: 13,058
Hull	Gateshead	Castleford	Llanelli	Wrexham
Craven Park	Gateshead International Stadium	Wheldon Road	Stradey Park	Racecourse Ground
Capacity: 12,000	Capacity: 11,800	Capacity: 11,743	Capacity: 10,800	Capacity: 10,771
Hull	Glasgow	Workington	Carcassonne	Dublin
The Boulevard	Firhill Stadium	Derwent Park	Stade Albert Domec	Tolka Park
Capacity: 10,500	Capacity: 10,102	Capacity: 10,000	Capacity: 10,000	Capacity: 9,680

Final Venue[edit]

Manchester
Old Trafford
Capacity: 56,000

Group 1[edit]

Results[edit]

England	Number	Australia
Kris Radlinski	1.	Darren Lockyer
Leon Pryce	2.	Mat Rogers
Scott Naylor	3.	Ryan Girdler
Keith Senior	4.	Matt Gidley
Chev Walker	5.	Wendell Sailor
Tony Smith	6.	Brad Fittler
Sean Long	7.	Brett Kimmorley
Harvey Howard	8.	Shane Webcke
Paul Rowley	9.	Andrew Johns
Stuart Fielden	10.	Robbie Kearns
Adrian Morley	11.	Gorden Tallis
Mike Forshaw	12.	Bryan Fletcher
Andy Farrell	13.	Scott Hill
Paul Wellens	14.	Adam MacDougall
Kevin Sinfield	15.	Jason Croker
Darren Fleary	16.	Darren Britt
Paul Anderson	17.	Jason Stevens

Key

	Starting player
	Substitute

This was the first rugby league match to be played at Twickenham Stadium, London's home of rugby union.^[6]

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Fiji:
1. Lote Tuqiri, 2. Jone Kuraduadua, 3. Waisale Sovatabua, 4. Eparama Navale, 5. Farasiko Tokarei, 6. Semi Tadulala, 7. Stephen Smith
8. Kalaveti Tuiabayaba, 9. Tabua Cakacaka, 10. Freddie Robarts, 11. Etuate Vakatawa, 12. Joe Tamani, 13. Samu Marayawa.
Substitutes: 14. Atunasia Vunivialu, 15. Josefa Lasagavibau, 16. Amani Takayawa, 17. Peceli Vuniyayawa.

Russia:
1. Robert Iliassov, 2. Mikhail Mitrofanov, 3. Donovan, 4. Craig Cygler, 5. Romanov, 6. Olari, 7. Gavriline
8. Ian Rubin, 8. Lysenkov, 10. Robert Campbell, 11. Petr Sokolov, 12. Findlay, 13. Joel Rullis.
Substitutes: Kalachkine, Netchaev, Jiltsov, Postnikov.

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Australians Ben Kennedy, Trent Barrett and Nathan Hindmarsh were selected to make their Kangaroo debuts in this match.

Australia:
1. Darren Lockyer, 2. Mat Rogers, 3. Ryan Girdler, 4. Matt Gidley, 5. Adam MacDougall, 6. Trent Barrett, 7. Andrew Johns, 8. Jason Stevens, 9. Craig Gower, 10. Michael Vella, 11. Ben Kennedy, 12. Nathan Hindmarsh, 13. Brad Fittler.
Substitutes: Scott Hill, Jason Croker, Robbie Kearns, Shane Webcke.
Coach: Chris Anderson

Tries: Rogers 4, Kennedy 2, Barrett, Hindmarsh, MacDougall, Girdler 2, Gidley.
Goals: Rogers 9.

Fiji:
1. Lote Tuqiri, 2. Jone Kuraduadua, 3. Waisale Sovatabua, 4. Navalu, 5. Semi Tadulala, 6. Smith, 7. Naisoro, 8. Tabua Cakacaka, 9. Robarts, 10. Vakatawa, 11. Tamani, 12. Marayawa, 13. Atunasia Vunivialu.
Substitutes: Tokarei, Navugona, Takayawa, Wawavamia.

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Final standings[edit]

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	Points
Australia	3	3	0	0	198	14	+184	6
England	3	2	0	1	144	36	+108	4
Fiji	3	1	0	2	56	144	−88	2
Russia	3	0	0	3	20	224	−204	0

Group 2[edit]

Results[edit]

New Zealand:
1. Ritchie Barnett (c), 2. Leslie Vainikolo, 3. Tonie Carroll, 4. Willie Talau, 5. Brian Jellick, 6. Henry Paul, 7. Stacey Jones
8. Smith, 9. Swain, 10. Pongia, 11. Logan Swann, 12. Kearney, 13. Ruben Wiki.
Substitutes: Joe Vagana, Robbie Paul, Rua, Cayless.
Coach:Frank Endacott

Lebanon:
1. Hazem El Masri (c), 2. Najarrin, 3. Katrib, 4. Touma, 5. H. Saleh, 6. Stanton, 7. Coorey
8. Maroon, 9. Semrani, 10. Elamad, 11. Chamoun, 12. Khoury, 13. Lichaa.
Substitutes: Salem, Nohra, Tamer, S. El Masri.

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Wales:
1. Paul Atcheson, 2. Paul Sterling, 3. Jason Critchley, 4. Kris Tassell, 5. Anthony Sullivan, 6. Iestyn Harris (c), 7. Lee Briers
8. Anthony Farrell, 9. Keiron Cunningham, 10. Dave Whittle, 11. Justin Morgan, 12. Mick Jenkins, 13. Dean Busby.
Substitutes: Ian Watson, Wes Davies, Paul Highton, Garreth Carvell.

Cook Islands:
1. Richard Piakura, 2. Tongia, 3. Steve Berryman, 4. Kevin Iro (c), 5. Karl Temata, 6. Bowen, 7. Joe
8. Tuakuru, 9. Clark, 10. Temu, 11. Kuru, 12. Pau, 13. Anthony Samuels.
Substitutes: Andersson, Lewis, Tere Glassie, Cook.

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Final standings[edit]

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	Points
New Zealand	3	3	0	0	206	28	+178	6
Wales	3	2	0	1	80	86	−6	4
Lebanon	3	0	1	2	44	110	−66	1
Cook Islands	3	0	1	2	38	144	−106	1

Group 3[edit]

Results[edit]

France
1. Freddie Banquet, 2. Yancine Dekkiche, 3. Cassin, 4. Dulac, 5. Patrice Benausse, 6. Laurent Frayssinous, 7. Devechi
8. Rachid Hechiche, 9. Wulf, 10. Teixido, 11. Guisset, 12. Tallec, 13. Jampy.
Substitutes: El Khalouki, Carrasco, Sands, Despin.

Papua New Guinea
1. David Buko, 2. John Wiltshere, 3. Aila, 4. Songoro, 5. Marcus Bai, 6. Stanley Gene, 7. Adrian Lam
8. Kahl, 9. Marum, 10. Solbat, 11. Naawi, 12. Mamando, 13. O'Reilly.
Substitutes: mother, Alex Krewanty, Norman, Mondo.

This was the first match of a double-header in Paris for the opening round.

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This match formed the second part of the opening round double-header in Paris.

Tonga:
1. Paul Koloi, 2. Fifita Moala, 3. Tevita Vaikona, 4. G. Wolfgramm, 5. Lipina Kaufusi, 6. Howlett, 7. W. Wolfgramm
8. Martin Masella (c), 9. Esau Mann, 10. Talite Liava'a, 11. Willie Mason, 12. Talou, 13. Duane Mann.
Substitutes: David Fisi'iahi, Manu, Nelson Lomi, Kite.

South Africa:
1. Tim O'Shea, 2. Brian Best, 3. Leon Barnard, 4. Johnson, 5. Dames, 6. Conrad Breytenbach, 7. Jamie Bloem
8. Booysen, 9. Skelton, 10. Powell, 11. Rutgerson, 12. De Villiers, 13. Erasmus.
Substitutes: Jennings, Nel, Mulder, Cloete.
Coach: Paul Matete

Before the match a statue honouring French rugby league legend, Puig Aubert was unveiled by the French Rugby League Federation at the stadium.^[13]

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France:
1. Freddie Banquet, 2. Jean-Marc Garcia, 3. Cassin, 4. Arnaud Dulac, 5. Claude Sirvent, 6. Fabien Devechi, 7. Rinaldi
8. Hechiche, 9. Wulf, 10. Sands, 11. Jerome Guisset, 12. Tallec, 13. Pascal Jampy.
Substitutes: Despin, Carrasco, Sort, Teixido.

Tonga:
1. Paul Koloi, 2. Fifita Moala, 3. Vaikona, 4. David Fisi'iahi, 5. L. Kaufusi, 6. Howlett, 7. Hifo
8. Martin Masella (c), 9. E. Mann, 10. Liava'a, 11. Willie Mason, 21. Kite, 13. D. Mann.
Substitutes: Paul Fisi'iahi, Manu, Nelson Lomi, A. Masella.

Sin Bin: Lomi (25") for flopping.

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Final standings[edit]

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	Points
Papua New Guinea	3	3	0	0	69	42	27	6
France	3	2	0	1	104	37	67	4
Tonga	3	1	0	2	96	76	20	2
South Africa	3	0	0	3	24	138	−114	0

Group 4[edit]

Results[edit]

The opening match of the World Cup was accompanied by heavy rain. Samoa's Fred Petersen had to be stretchered off the field after suffering a blow to the head while making a tackle 15 minutes into the second half.^[14]

Ireland
1. Steve Prescott, 2. Brian Carney, 3. Michael Withers, 4. Michael Eagar, 5. Forster, 6. Tommy Martyn, 7. Ryan Sheridan
8. O'Connor, 9. Williams, 10. Barrie McDermott, 11. Chris Joynt, 12. Campion, 13. Luke Ricketson
Substitutes: Bretherton, Lawless, Barnhill, Southern. Coach: Steve O'Neill

Samoa
1. Loa Milford, 2. Brian Leauma, 3. Anthony Swann, 4. Gulavao, 5. Francis Meli, 6. Simon Geros, 7. Willie Swann
8. Puletua, 9. Monty Betham, 10. Seu Seu, 11. Solomona, 12. Fred Petersen, 13. Willie Poching
Substitutes: Tatupu, Kololo, Leafa, Faafili.

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Scotland: 1. Lee Penny, 2. Matt Daylight, 3. Graham Mackay, 4. Geoff Bell, 5. Lee Gilmour, 6. Andrew Purcell, 7. Richard Horne
8. Heckenberg, 9. Danny Russell (Captain), 10. Laughton, 11. Scott Logan, 12. Cram, 13. Adrian Vowles.
Substitutes: David Maiden, Matt Crowther, Wayne McDonald, Shaw.
Coach: Shaun McRae

New Zealand Māori: 1. Clinton Toopi, 2. Manuell, 3. Kohe-Love, 4. David Kidwell, 5. Sean Hoppe, 6. Gene Ngamu, 7. H. Te Rangi
8. Rauhihi, 9. Perenara, 10. Terry Hermansson, 11. Koopu, 12. Tyran Smith, 13. Tawera Nikau.
Substitutes: Martin Moana, Leuluai, Nahi, Reihana.

Sin Bin: McDonald (40). Sin Bin: Nikau (40).

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Scotland's loose forward, Adrian Vowles was sent to the sin bin midway through the second half for repeated off-side infringements Ireland:
1. Steve Prescott, 2. Brian Carney, 3. Martyn, 4. Eagar, 5. Herron, 6. Michael Withers, 7. Ryan Sheridan
8. O'Connor, 9. Lawless, 10. McDermott, 11. Joynt, 12. Kevin Campion, 13. Luke Ricketson.
Substitutes: Williams, Mathiou, Barnhill, Bradbury.

Scotland: 1. Danny Arnold, 2. Matt Daylight, 3. Lee Gilmour, 4. Bell, 5. Matt Crowther, 6. Horne, 7. Scott Rhodes
8. Heckenberg, 9. Russell, 10. Laughton, 11. Logan, 12. Cram, 13. Adrian Vowles.
Substitutes: Maiden, Graham, McDonald, Shaw.

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Final standings[edit]

Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Diff	Points
Ireland	3	3	0	0	78	38	40	6
Samoa	3	2	0	1	57	58	−1	4
Aotearoa Māori	3	1	0	2	49	67	−18	2
Scotland	3	0	0	3	34	55	−21	0

Knockout stage[edit]

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	11 November – Leeds
	Ireland	16
					18 November – Bolton
	England	26
					England	6
	12 November – Castleford
					New Zealand	49
	New Zealand	54
									25 November – Manchester
	France	6
									New Zealand	12
	11 November – Watford
									Australia	40
	Australia	66
					19 November – Huddersfield
	Samoa	10
					Australia	46
	12 November – Widnes
					Wales	22
	Papua New Guinea	8
	Wales	22

Quarter-finals[edit]

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Semi-finals[edit]

This was the England rugby league team's biggest ever loss.^[18] By winning this match, New Zealand had again equaled their record for consecutive victories with five.

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Wales became the first team in twelve months to score more than two tries against Australia.^[19]

Final[edit]

Australia

New Zealand

FB 1 Darren Lockyer LW 2 Mat Rogers LC 3 Adam MacDougall RC 4 Matt Gidley RW 5 Wendell Sailor FE 6 Brad Fittler (c) HB 7 Brett Kimmorley PR 8 Shane Webcke HK 9 Andrew Johns PR 10 Robbie Kearns SR 11 Gorden Tallis SR 12 Bryan Fletcher LF 13 Scott Hill Substitutions: IC 14 Trent Barrett IC 15 Nathan Hindmarsh IC 16 Darren Britt IC 17 Jason Stevens Coach: Chris Anderson

FB 1 Richie Barnett (c) RW 2 Nigel Vagana RC 3 Tonie Carroll LC 4 Willie Talau LW 5 Lesley Vainikolo FE 6 Henry Paul HB 7 Stacey Jones PR 8 Craig Smith HK 9 Richard Swain PR 10 Quentin Pongia SR 11 Matt Rua SR 12 Stephen Kearney LF 13 Ruben Wiki Substitutions: IC 14 Robbie Paul IC 15 Joe Vagana IC 16 Nathan Cayless IC 17 Logan Swann Coach: Frank Endacott

First half[edit]

Australia stepped on the gas from the kick-off, tearing into New Zealand at every opportunity, but the Kiwi defence stood firm, although they almost conceded after 22 minutes. Sailor looked to have scored the first try of the game after a burst down the right wing only for video referee Gerry Kershaw to rule that Stephen Kearney had prevented the Brisbane Broncos player from grounding the ball; the look of disbelief on Sailor's face was there for everyone to see, but he clearly did not let the decision affect his game. Three minutes later, his grubber kick was pounced on by Matt Gidley, who beat Kearney to the touch down. Rogers, assuming the kicking duties in place of the injured Ryan Girdler, landed the conversion to open up a 6–0 lead. New Zealand had few opportunities to go on the offensive, although they finished the first half strongly, but it was the favourites Australia who looked in control and deservedly went into the break in front.

Second half[edit]

The start of the second half was held up by the appearance of a male streaker; when play finally got under way, the tackles were just as ferocious as ever, neither side giving an inch. However Australia gained the edge when Brad Fittler split the defence with a pass to Nathan Hindmarsh, who scored from close range, bringing the score to 10–0. Rogers converted to make it 12–0. New Zealand were not about to throw in the towel and hit back almost immediately. Lesley Vainikolo pounced on a loose ball to dive over on 49 minutes, although the decision was again made by the video referee; when Henry Paul landed the conversion, the deficit was back down to six points. Soon after, Australian Halfback, Brett Kimmorley, made a break down the right before feeding the ball inside to fullback Darren Lockyer, who crossed for another try.^[21] Rogers' third successful kick made it 18–6 to the defending champions. However, the Kiwis quickly struck back when Tonie Carroll beat several Australian defenders to score. Henry Paul's conversion made it 18–12.

New Zealand then made several crucial errors and Australia were able to capitalise. Sailor grabbed two tries in the space of five minutes to take his tally for the tournament to 10; the first of them came on 63 minutes courtesy of a reverse pass from Gidley. Rogers missed the second of the two quick conversions. Skipper Fittler then breached the New Zealand defence on 73 minutes to score his first try of the final which was converted by Rogers. Substitute Trent Barrett then finished the scoring, with a try that was converted by Rogers.

Try scorers[edit]

10

• Wendell Sailor

9

• Lesley Vainikolo

6

• Ryan Girdler
• Jamie Peacock
• Richie Barnett
• Willie Talau

5

• Bryan Fletcher
• Adam MacDougall
• Robbie Paul

4

3

2

1

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• 2000 World Cup Final at bbc.co.uk
• 2000 World Cup at rlhalloffame.org.uk
• 2000 World Cup at rlwc2008.com
• 2000 World Cup at rugbyleagueproject.org
• 2000 World Cup at 188-rugby-league.co.uk