The Festival of World Cups was a series of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

held in Australia during 2008. The Festival was being staged in Australia during 2008 to coincide with their

Centenary of Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

celebrations. The centrepiece of the Festival was the men's

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 tournament. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final ...

. In addition to this tournament, there were also world cups being held for University, Police, Women, Defence and Wheelchair teams. The Universities tournament officially started the Festival.

Colin Love Colin Love AM, (born 25 January 1945 in Australia) is the former chairman of the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF), New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and Australian Rugby League (ARL). He was the seventh chairman of the ARL, and the ...

, the Rugby League World Cup 2008 Tournament Director and

RLIF The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...

Chairman, stated "The festival highlights how the World Cup is embracing the Rugby League community and acknowledging its wide-ranging affiliates", adding "It’s a great opportunity to showcase the broad appeal of the game internationally".

Festival schedule

The Festival of World Cups included:

University

The seventh University Rugby League World Cup was held in July, being the first of the six world cups to be held. The previous tournament was held in 2005 and won by New Zealand. The eight countries that took part were Australia, New Zealand, England, Greece, Scotland, Wales, France and Ireland. Australia defeated England in the final, while Greece won the plate competition.

Men

The thirteenth Rugby League World Cup was held throughout October and November. Ten teams took part. Defending Champions and hosts Australia, New Zealand, England, France and Papua New Guinea all qualified automatically, while Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Ireland and Scotland all qualified through

tournaments A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

in 2006 and 2007. The final was held at Suncorp Stadium on 22 November.

Police

The inaugural International Police Rugby League World Cup was held during November alongside the Women's Rugby League World Cup at Stockland Park. The final was held as a curtain raiser to the first semi-final of the men's World Cup at Suncorp Stadium.

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sponsored the event with organisers hoping would go towards the formation of an International Police Rugby League Federation.

Women

The third Women's Rugby League World Cup was held at Stockland Park alongside the Police World Cup. Eight teams took part including defending champions

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The final was held at Suncorp Stadium on 15 November.

Defence

The inaugural Defence Forces World Cup was held in Sydney with the final played at the Sydney Football Stadium as a curtain raiser to the second Semi Final of the Men's tournament. Five

defence forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces * Ambazonia Defence Forces *Artsakh Defence Army * Australian Defen ...

took part,

, Australia,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and the Cook Islands.

Wheelchair

Four teams took part in the inaugural

Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup The Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup is an international wheelchair rugby league tournament contested by the top national teams. The tournament was first held in 2008 as part of the Festival of World Cups held in Australia. The first winners ...

which was held at indoor venues in Sydney. The four teams were France, Australia,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and a Barbarians V. New Zealand withdrew from the tournament.Weelchair RLWC
@ RLWC08, 14 November 2008

References

External links

Universities World Cup official site

Rugby League World Cup official site

RLIF official site
{{2008 in rugby league

Festival of World Cups The Festival of World Cups is a collection of Rugby League World Cups usually held as a support series alongside the centrepiece Men's, Women's, and Wheelchair tournaments. First held in 2008, the festival includes events such as police, armed ...