New Zealand were the defending champions, having defeated Australia in 2008. Australia won the tournament, beating New Zealand 34–2 in the final to lift the trophy for the tenth time.[6][7]
In terms of attendance, exposure and revenue, the 2013 tournament is considered the most successful Rugby League World Cup to date.[8]
The Rugby League International Federation confirmed this competition as a part of its international program. The RLIF announced a five-year plan to build up to the 2013 World Cup with Four Nations tournaments held in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The competition was part of the UK's "Golden Decade of Sport".[9]
2013 was chosen as the year of the World Cup to avoid a clash with the London Olympics in 2012.[10] After 2013, the Cup will be held on a quadrennial cycle.
Host selection
In addition to the United Kingdom, Australia announced its intention to bid for the hosting rights, despite hosting the previous World Cup in 2008.[11] The Australian Rugby League had been preparing a rival bid due to the success of the 2008 event but the business plan presented by the Rugby Football League for the UK to be the host was accepted by the RLIF at a meeting in July 2009.[10][12] The event formed part of what was being dubbed a 'Golden Decade' in British Sport.[2]
The UK last hosted the World Cup in 2000, with the event generally being considered unsuccessful.[10]
There were two qualifying pools for the remaining two World Cup places; a European and an Atlantic pool, with one side from each to qualify.
The European Qualifying group involved Italy, Lebanon, Russia and Serbia while the Atlantic Qualifying group involved Jamaica, South Africa and the USA.[13] In the Atlantic Qualifiers the United States and Jamaica defeated South Africa in the opening rounds leaving the final match between the two to determine who qualified for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. United States defeated Jamaica to qualify for their first ever Rugby League World Cup.[14]
The competition featured fourteen teams, compared to ten in 2008.[1] Originally around twenty teams were to be involved in qualification,[15] but subsequently the total number of teams involved in the tournament was fixed at nineteen. Twelve nations automatically qualified; the ten nations that contested the previous World Cup, Wales as winners of the 2009 European Nations Cup[16] and the Cook Islands as runners up in the 2009 Pacific Cup.[17]
England: Phil Bentham, Richard Silverwood, Ben Thaler; James Child, Joe Cobb, Mark Craven, Robert Hicks, Chris Leatherbarrow, Tony Martin, Tim Roby, Clint Sharrad, George Stokes, Matt Thomason and Warren Turley
Before the World Cup it was announced that USA would face France in Toulouse,[20] Scotland would play Papua New Guinea at Featherstone,[21] England would play Italy at Salford,[22] New Zealand would play the Cook Islands in Doncaster[23] and England Knights would play Samoa at Salford.[24]
The games were played at various venues in England, Wales, Ireland, and France.
The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was the host stadium for the opening ceremony and a double header featuring hosts England playing Australia and Wales taking on Italy.[17] The decision to play England vs Australia in Cardiff to open the tournament drew criticism from some in the press who believed that the game should have been played in England where a higher attendance could be expected, or at least a full house which would have looked better than the almost half empty Millennium Stadium.[29]
The match schedule was announced on 22 March 2012.[33] The Rugby League International Federation announced the kickoff times of the matches, with the opening kickoff to be held on 26 October in Cardiff, at 14:30 local time. The group stage matches will be played at 14:00, 14:30, 16:00, 16:30, 18:00, and 20:00 local time, with knockout stage matches at 13:00, 15:00, and 20:00 local time. The semi-finals will be played at 13:00 and 15:30 local time and the final, on 30 November 2013 at the Old Trafford stadium, at 14:30 local time.
Opening ceremony
The World Cup's Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony took place at the Millennium Stadium on 26 October. The ceremony saw 550 dancers perform, 500 amateur and 50 professional, including former players Martin Offiah and Gareth Thomas, both of whom are former Strictly Come Dancing contestants. The ceremony also featured live music and a light show. The ceremony preceded the opening matches of England versus Australia, versus Wales and Italy.[34][35][36]
Group stage
The draw, undertaken at the launch of the event in Manchester on 30 November 2010, involved four groups[17]
The first two groups were made up of four teams whilst the other two groups feature three teams each. The quarter-final round was made up of the first three teams in the first two groups and the winners of each of the smaller groups. Group play involved a round robin in the larger groups, and a round robin in the smaller groups with an additional inter-group game for each team so all teams played three group games.[17]
Quarter-final No. 3 England vs. France at the DW Stadium, Wigan. England won 34–6Quarter-final No. 4 Samoa vs. Fiji at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Wariington. Fiji won 22–4
Try:Hayne (4) 3' m, 57' c, 70' c, 79' c Inglis (2) 11' c, 50' c Morris (4) 21' m, 26' m, 35' m, 39' m Smith 23' c Cronk 28' c Goal:Thurston (7/12) 12', 23', 28', 50', 57', 70', 79'
Seven grounds achieved sell-out crowds, with four setting stadium records. Games held in both Wales and Ireland were watched by the biggest crowds ever for rugby league internationals in those countries.[67] The final was played in front of the largest crowd ever to attend an international rugby league fixture.[68]
* The BBC and Premier Sports jointly televised seven live matches with the remaining 21 live matches exclusive to Premier Sports. The jointly live matches were England's Group A matches (BBC One),[76][77][78] an inter-group match between Wales and Italy[79] and a quarter-final[80] (both on BBC Two), a semi-final[81] and the final[82] (both on BBC One). The jointly televised quarter-final and semi-final involved England.
^"RLWC2013 venues". 2013 rugby league world cup official website. Rugby League International Federation Ltd. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
England
Wales
Ireland
France
Australia (10th title)
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