Rugby League World Cup: What we learnt from the second phase of group matches – Michael Burgess

It wasn’t a great week for the lesser nations but the heavy scorelines need to be kept in perspective. The best way for context is to remind ourselves of the lopsided contests at another oval-ball global tournament in recent years.

Here you go. 71-3. 96-0. 96-17. 73-0. 60-7. 82-8. 76-0. 84-0. 71-0. They were, of course, some of the less memorable games at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. The All Blacks smashed Uruguay (73-0) and Namibia (71-3) and racked up a huge score against Italy (96-17), who are supposedly a Tier 1 nation. Scotland beat Romania 84-0, while Chile conceded 130 points across two games against Argentina and England. Romania shipped 284 points in their group matches, Namibia 255.

Blowouts are a problem for both rugby codes, partly due to the nature of the sports (compared to football, when underdogs can hang on for long periods) and partly due to the big disparity in development.

But such games can also create wonderful memories. The Cook Islands taking the lead against the Kiwis – thanks to a crazy three-try burst – will always be remembered, as will the scenes in Port Moresby when Papua New Guinea led Samoa at halftime, before the stacked Pacific team scored 50 unanswered points.

The other aspect is the pride evoked for players, regardless of the scoreboard. That was the post-match sentiment inside the Cook Islands dressing room at Te Kaha Stadium, with many of their squad – drawn from the lower grades of the NRL – buzzing after the experience of facing the biggest names in the sport.

Having made the above points, Peter V’Landys and the NRL haven’t helped the underdog teams, with the rule changes and constant drive to speed up the sport. For example, set restarts should not be part of the World Cup and just make it harder for smaller nations, who are already under the pump.

And there is almost no chance to catch your breath or reset now in the modern game under NRL rules – with fewer penalties and reduced scrums, which have made the hurdles even greater.

The other big concern in the game in the Northern Hemisphere, with France’s struggles at the tournament, England likely to miss the semi-finals for the first time and Wales and Ireland unable to qualify for the streamlined tournament.

The Kiwis are well placed for what is coming. The first two matches haven’t been perfect but there has still been a lot to like and coach Stacey Jones has some genuine selection conundrums, especially at prop and in the second row.

The schedule has been helpful; a big clash with Australia, a chance to rotate and get combinations going against the Cook Islands and a tough match to finish the group stages against Fiji, before (hopefully) a massive semi-final against either Samoa or Tonga.

It feels like Fiji are always underestimated. They have reached the semi-finals at three of the last four World Cups but rarely get a mention between tournaments and struggle to get meaningful matches. Their performance against the Kangaroos on Sunday night was out of this world, turning the group match at Suncorp Stadium into an instant classic as they led 16-12 in the second half and were unlucky to have a try ruled out that would have given them a 10-point lead, before eventually going down 36-22.

It was a shot in the arm for the event’s credibility, especially after other bloated scorelines. While Tonga and Samoa have gone ahead – with their heritage-player boost – you do wonder if Fiji should be the site for any future NRL expansion beyond 20 teams, given the natural talent in that nation.

It’s been a weird start for Australia. If you were doing a power ranking, they would be behind Samoa, New Zealand and Tonga, after two less-than-convincing performances. But don’t write them off. In both matches, they found a way to win and there is a lot of improvement to come, while they still have the best spine in the competition and generally more options than any other team.

Brace yourself. There can be a lot of hyperbole around league – “Bigger than Ben Hur” and all that– but the clash between Samoa and Tonga on Sunday (10pm NZT) actually might be. It’s a massive occasion for two nations who have started to build their identity around their national league teams.

These two sides met at the last World Cup but that quarter final was played on a cold afternoon in Warrington, in front of around 12,000 supporters with barely a Pacific fan in sight. This one will take place at a sold-out CommBank Stadium, on a spring evening in Sydney. Samoa will be favourites but Tonga have plenty of big names and Isaiya Katoa, arguably the best playmaker among the two teams. Tonga has had the better tune-up – with the battle against England in Perth – so it is too close to call.

In terms of things we need to see over the next decade, high on the list would be another credible team in the women’s game, behind Australia and New Zealand. England have traditionally filled that role but their 78-0 thumping by the Jillaroos last Sunday suggests things have changed. Fiji, or perhaps Samoa, look best placed to step into that breach.

Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.