The 2017 Rugby League World Cup Middle East-Africa qualification play-off was a two-match

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 112 ...

series, with the winner qualifying for the

2017 Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...

. The matches were between

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and were played at Brakpan Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa on 25 and 31 October 2015.

Overview

On 3 October 2014, the

2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying The 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying process began on 9 May 2015 with the 2015 European Championship C. In August 2014, it was announced that seven of the eight quarter-finalists at the 2013 tournament would receive automatic qualificati ...

competition was announced with one qualification spot being granted to the Middle East-Africa region. Initially a one-off play off match in the

Dubai Sports City Dubai Sports City or DSC is a multi-venue sports complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, developed by Dubai. It provides a mix of residential, retail, leisure and recreational facilities. It is built around five major sports venues and feature ...

complex was announced. However the match was cancelled after the head of the Emirates rugby league, Sol Mokdad, was arrested following a complaint from UAE rugby union officials. South Africa was subsequently given the hosting rights for the qualification fixtures. South Africa RL president Kobus Botha stated that the “SARL is extremely excited about hosting this highly prestigious World Cup Qualifier... We hope that this is the first of many such tournaments and a small glimpse into what South Africa can offer as a potential host country for the 2021 World Cup.”

Squads

Both teams picked preliminary train-on squads with the South Africans picked what they believed was “a strong, healthy and balanced train-on squad” which contained domestic players as well as eligible South African players based in Australia's reserve grade competitions. The Lebanese selected eligible NRL players along with other reserve grade, domestic and unattached players.

South Africa

The South Africa squad as of 13 October 2015 was as follows: *Coach: Brian Greige

Lebanon

The Lebanon squad as of 17 October 2015 was as follows: *Coach:

Darren Maroon Darren Maroon (born 4 May 1966) is a former Lebanon international rugby league footballer who represented Lebanon at the 2000 World Cup. Background Maroon was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Playing career Maroon started his care ...

First test

Notes: * Ali Allouche was a late replacement for suspended hooker Jamie Clark.

Second test

Notes: * With the win, Lebanon qualified for the 2017 World Cup after a 2–0 series victory.

References

{{2015 in rugby league 2015 in rugby league 2017 Rugby League World Cup 2015 in South African sport 2015 in Lebanese sport