The 2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the second staging of the

Women's Rugby League World Cup The Women's Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament, contested by the women's national team of the International Rugby League (IRL). The competition has been held since 2000 in Great Britain and since 2008 has been ...

. The tournament was held in Auckland, New Zealand from 28 September, culminating in the final between New Zealand and New Zealand Maori on 12 October. It was held at

North Harbour Stadium North Harbour Stadium is a stadium situated in Albany, in North Shore City, New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, association football, rugby league, and baseball are ...

and the nearby Marist Rugby ground. Nine teams 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 ...

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, Cook Islands,

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

, New Zealand Maori and

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 initial format was three pools of three, with the top six teams moving into two subsequent pools of three. The top four teams then contested elimination semi-finals..

Teams

Matches

Phase one The nine teams were grouped into three pools of three. Great Britain (two wins) led Samoa (one win) and Tonga in their pool. Australia (two wins) led Māori (one win) and Niue. New Zealand (two wins) led the Cook Islands (one win) and Tokelau. Phase two The three teams without a win in the first phase were placed in the same pool. Samoa joined Australia and New Zealand in a pool. The other pool included Great Britain, Māori and Cook Islands. Bowl and Plate Semi-Finals
The New Zealand - Australia - Samoa phase two pool finished in that order, New Zealand with two wins, Australia one and Samoa nil. The other qualifying pool finished with Māori on top with two wins, and Great Britain and Cook Islands drawing their match. Great Britain, who had a better points difference, as well as two wins to one from the phase one pools, advanced to the semi-final.
In the consolation pool, Niue (one win, one draw) led Tokelau (one win) and Tonga (on draw).
The Plate and Bowl semi-finals featured Cook Islands, Tokelau, Samoa and Niue. Curiously, the source article in ''Rugby League Review'' does not elaborate on why Tonga replaced Niue in the Bowl Final. Bowl Final Plate Final

Semi-Finals

Final

Team of the Tournament

At the conclusion of the tournament, the Lion Foundation World Cup Team 2003 was announced. The following staff were also named in the tournament team: Coach: Lawrence Brydon (NZ), Manager: Juanita Woodhouse (NZ), Trainer: Bob Vercoe (NZ) Luisa Avaiki was named Player of the Tournament.

References

External links

{{2003 in rugby league Rugby League World Cups hosted by New Zealand Women's World Cup Women's Rugby League World Cup 2003 in New Zealand rugby league

World Cup 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 ...