The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the

Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...

tournament and took place in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams of 14

Rugby League International Federation 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 ...

member countries who qualified through either standing in the previous tournament or a series of qualification play-off matches. In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, defending champions

, playing in their 14th consecutive final, defeated

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 ...

at Brisbane's

Lang Park Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

Host selection

At the 2010

executive meeting, the New Zealand Rugby League made an early submission to co-host the 2017 tournament with Australia. The Rugby League World Cup was last held in Australia in 2008. Two formal bids were subsequently received by the RLIF before a November 2012 deadline; the co-host bid from Australia and New Zealand and a bid from

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 ...

. On 19 February 2014, it was announced that the joint bid from Australia and New Zealand had won hosting rights. Michael Brown, the CEO of several big name Australian sporting franchises and the

2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 2015. The tournament was ...

, was originally appointed CEO of the World Cup in 2015, but resigned less than a year later due to 'workload' and 'homesickness'. He was replaced by Andrew Hill.

Teams

Qualification

It was announced on 3 August 2014 that 7 of the 8 quarter-finalists from the last World Cup would qualify automatically for the 2017 tournament; hosts Australia and New Zealand, plus England, Fiji, France, Samoa and Scotland. The USA, who were also 2013 quarter-finalists, were denied automatic qualification after a long-running internal governance dispute saw their RLIF membership temporarily suspended in 2014; later, once the matter was resolved, they were accepted into the qualification process. Papua New Guinea were initially set to be involved in the qualifying competition but were later granted automatic qualification, due to becoming co-hosts of the tournament. In addition to the eight automatic qualifiers, the remaining six spots will come from four different qualification zones; three from Europe, one from Asia/Pacific, one from Americas and one from Middle East/Africa. Tonga were the first team to qualify from the qualification stage after winning the Asian-Pacific play-off. Lebanon were the second team to qualify from the qualification stage, after winning the Middle East-African play-off. The USA were the third team to qualify, winning the Americas qualification group.

Draw

The draw was undertaken at the launch of the event in Auckland on 19 July 2016 and involved the same four group format as the 2013 tournament. The first two groups are made up of four teams whilst the other two groups feature three teams each. The top three teams in the first two groups and the winners of the two smaller groups will qualify for the quarter-finals. Group play will involve 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 will play three group games.

Squads

Each team submitted a squad of twenty-four players for the tournament, the same as the 2013 tournament.

Venues

It was announced in October 2014 that negotiations were being held for

to host matches. The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League presented to the RLIF in September 2015, requesting to host three matches. In October 2015 it was confirmed that Papua New Guinea would host three matches in the group stage. Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne hosted the opening game between Australia and England while Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane hosted the World Cup Final.

Australia

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

Officiating

The match officials will be headed by

Tony Archer Tony Archer may refer to: * Tony Archer (musician) Anthony John Archer (born 14 July 1938, Dulwich, London) is an English jazz double-bassist. Archer studied cello as a schoolboy before settling on upright bass. He joined Don Rendell's group ...

and three coaches:

Steve Ganson Steve Ganson (born 4 January 1970 in St. Helens, Lancashire, England) is a former rugby league referee, and current Head of Match Officials and Technical Director with the English Rugby Football League. He is the second professional referee fr ...

, Russell Smith and Luke Watts. * :

Grant Atkins The following is a list of rugby league referees who have appeared in Australian top-level rugby league, i.e. the NRL and its predecessors, the NSWRL, ARL and SL premierships. Referees still currently active are listed in bold. Referees NOT ...

, Chris Butler, Matt Cecchin, Steve Chiddy,

Ben Cummins Ben Cummins is an Australian rugby league referee for the National Rugby League. He has refereed since 2006. Background Cummins was born in Cairns, Queensland. He moved to Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, when he was four years of age. ...

, Adam Gee,

Ashley Klein Ashley Klein is an Australian rugby league referee. Klein refereed in England, beginning in the Rugby League Conference. His first professional game was Workington Town v Featherstone Rovers on 8 September 2002. His first Super League game ...

, Jared Maxwell, David Munro, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski, Belinda Sleeman, Jon Stone, Bernard Sutton,

Chris Sutton Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit and commentator for BT Sport, regularly working on their coverage of Scottish football. He is now also a pundit ...

, Gerard Sutton, Michael Wise * :

Phil Bentham Phil Bentham (born 28 October 1971) is a Premier League football VAR coach and former English professional rugby league Referee & video referee. He was one of the Rugby Football League's full-time match officials since its inception in 2007. Ref ...

, James Child, Mark Craven, Robert Hicks,

Chris Kendall Chris Kendall (born 3 June 1992) is an English rugby league referee. He has been a match official at the Rugby League World Cup and took the lead at multiple Super League Grand Finals. Career Kendall played rugby league for the Newsome Panthers a ...

, Scott Mikalauskas,

Liam Moore Liam Simon Moore (born 31 January 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Reading. Born and raised in England, he plays international football for Jamaica. Club career Leicester City Born in the Leicestershire town of ...

, Tim Roby,

Ben Thaler Ben Thaler (born 30 August 1981) is a professional rugby league referee and one of the Rugby Football League's Full Time Match Officials. He officiates in the Super League. Background Thaler was born in Normanton, West Yorkshire, England. C ...

* : Chris McMillan, Henry Perenara

Warm-up matches

Group stage

The first two groups are made up of four teams whilst the other two groups feature three teams each. The top three teams in the Group A and B, and the winners of Group C and D will qualify for the quarter-finals. Group play will involve 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 will play three group games.

Group A

---- ----

Group B

---- ----

Group C

---- ----

Group D

---- ----

Inter-group matches

---- ----

Knockout stage

Three teams from each of Groups A and B and one team from each of Groups C and D advanced to the quarter-finals. All quarter-finalists automatically qualified for the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £2 ...

. The quarter-final fixture were finalised at the conclusion of the pool stages, to ensure that Australia played in Darwin on 17 November and New Zealand in Wellington on 18 November. ----

Quarter-finals

Australia vs Samoa

----

Tonga vs Lebanon

----

New Zealand vs Fiji

----

England vs Papua New Guinea

----

Semi-finals

Australia vs Fiji

----

Tonga vs England

----

Final: Australia vs England

Statistics

Top try scorers

;12 tries *

Valentine Holmes Valentine Holmes (born 24 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays across the backline as a or er for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL and Australia at international level. He began his career with the ...

;9 tries *

Suliasi Vunivalu Suliasi Vunivalu (born 27 November 1995) is a professional rugby union footballer who plays for the Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby. His regular playing position is Wing. Vunivalu previously played professional rugby league for the Melbourn ...

;7 tries *

Jermaine McGillvary Jermaine McGillvary (born 16 May 1988) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays on the for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League. He has played for the England Knights, England and Great Britain at international level. ...

;5 tries *

Billy Slater William Slater (born 18 June 1983), is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and one-time captain of the Queensland State of Origin team, he played his entire ...

David Fusitu'a David Fusitu'a (born 16 October 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for Leeds Rhinos in Super League and for both Tonga national rugby league team, Tonga and New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand a ...

* Michael Jennings ;4 tries *

Dane Gagai Dane Gagai () (born 3 January 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer and boxer who plays as a and er for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League, NRL. He has played for Australia national rugby league team, Australia and th ...

* Wade Graham *

Cameron Munster Cameron Munster (born 13 September 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL and Australia at international level. Munster has played for Queensland in the State of Origin ...

* Taane Milne *

David Mead David Mead may refer to: *David Mead (military general), founder of Meadville, Pennsylvania *David Mead (musician), American pop singer and songwriter *David Mead (rugby league) David Mead (born David Moore on 4 November 1988) is a Papua New Gui ...

Justin Olam Justin Olam (born 23 December 1993) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL), and Papua New Guinea at international level. He is a NRL premiership-wi ...

;3 tries *

Kallum Watkins Kallum Paul Watkins (born 12 March 1991) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or forward for the Salford Red Devils in the Betfred Super League and England at international level. He previously played for the Lee ...

* Viliame Kikau * Kevin Naiqama * Henry Raiwalui *

Liam Kay Liam Kay (born 17 December 1991) is an Ireland international rugby league footballer who plays on the or for Wakefield Trinity in the Betfred Super League. He previously played for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League, and on ...

* Nene Macdonald *

Peta Hiku Peta Hiku (born 4 December 1992) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er and for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL, and New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level. He previously played ...

Te Maire Martin Te Maire Martin (born 2 October 1995) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL) and is a New Zealand international. Martin previously played for t ...

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (born 5 June 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player, and former rugby league footballer. He plays for the Auckland Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific, and for the New Zealand national team. He made his debut against Irel ...

Tuimoala Lolohea Tuimoala Lolohea (born 23 January 1995) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Huddersfield Giants in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both New Zealand and Tonga at international level. Lolohea previou ...

;2 tries *

Boyd Cordner Boyd Cordner (born 9 June 1992) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a forward for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL and Australia at international level. He has played for Country Origin and New South Wales ...

Josh Dugan Joshua Dugan (born 10 May 1990) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a and for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL and Australia at international level. He previously played for the Canberra R ...

* Michael Morgan * John Bateman *

Gareth Widdop Gareth Widdop (born 12 March 1989) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Castleford Tigers in the Betfred Super League, and England and Great Britain at international level. Widdop previously played the ...

* Jarryd Hayne * Marcelo Montoya * Bastien Ader * Oliver Roberts *

James Tedesco James Tedesco (born 8 January 1993), nicknamed "Teddy", is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and captains the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, New South Wales rugby league team and Australia. He previously played for the Wests ...

Joseph Tramontana Joseph "Joey" Tramontana (born 15 February 1997) is an Italy international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles for the Intrust Super Premiership. He represented Italy at the 2017 World Cup. Early yea ...

Adam Doueihi Adam Doueihi (born 5 August 1998) is a Lebanese international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Wests Tigers in the NRL. He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League, and represented Leban ...

* Abbas Miski * Travis Robinson *

Shaun Johnson Shaun Johnson (born 9 September 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL) and the New Zealand Kiwis at international level. He has played pr ...

Jason Nightingale Jason Nightingale (born 20 September 1986) is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a er and for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL. He primarily played on the wing and as a fullback, but off the ...

Jordan Rapana Jordan Rapana (born 15 August 1989) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL. He has played for the New Zealand Māori, New Zealand and the Cook Islands at international level. He previou ...

Watson Boas Watson Boas (born 1994) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for Doncaster in Betfred League 1 and Papua New Guinea at international level. He previously played for the Featherstone Rovers in the Betfred C ...

Lachlan Lam Lachlan Lam (born 25 March 1998) is a Papua New Guinea international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Leigh Leopards in the Super League. He previously played for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League. Early l ...

* Garry Lo *

Rhyse Martin Rhyse Martin (born 1 March 1993) is a Papua New Guinea international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. He previously played for Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL. Background Mart ...

Will Hopoate William Hopoate (born 9 May 1992), also known as Viliami in Tongan, also known by the nickname of "Hoppa", is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a and on the for the St Helens in the Super League. He played for th ...

Peni Terepo Peni Terepo (born 21 November 1991) is a Tonga former international rugby league footballer who played as a and for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. Background Terepo was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Cook Islands and Tongan descen ...

Daniel Tupou Daniel Tupou (born 17 June 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays on the for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. He has played for Tonga and Australia at international level. Tupou has played for the City Origin, New South W ...

;1 try * Tyson Frizell *

Tom Trbojevic Thomas Peter Trbojevic (born 2 October 1996), also nicknamed "Tommy Turbo", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a as well as a wing and centre for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and plays for Austra ...

* Matt Gillett * Tom Burgess *

Ben Currie Ben Currie (born 15 July 1994) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League. He has played for the England Knights, Ireland& England at international level. Currie has s ...

* James Graham * Ryan Hall * Mark Percival *

Stefan Ratchford Stefan Guy Ratchford (born 19 July 1988) is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Warrington Wolves ( Heritage No. 1097) in the Betfred Super League and the England Knights and England international at international level. ...

* Alex Walmsley * Kane Evans * Salesi Junior Fainga'a *

Joe Lovodua Josaia Naulumatua "Joe" Lovodua (born 18 March 1998) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays for Hull F.C. in the Super League. He primarily plays as a utility. He has represented the Fijian national team, most notably at the ...

Ben Nakubuwai Petero Benjamin "Ben" Nakubuwai (born 15 March 1996) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Leigh Leopards in the Betfred Super League. Nakubuwai previously played for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Ru ...

Brayden Wiliame Brayden Wiliame (born 17 December 1992) is a rugby league footballer who plays as a er and forward for New Zealand Warriors in the NRL . He has previously played for the Parramatta Eels, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and St George Illawarra Drago ...

Akuila Uate Akuila Uate (born 6 October 1987), also known by the nicknames of "Aku", and "Akuila the Thriller", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played on the . He was both a Fiji and Australian international. He played for the Newcastl ...

Eloni Vunakece Eloni Vunakece (born 27 May 1987) is a former Fiji international rugby league footballer who played as a for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. He also played for Toulouse Olympique in the French Elite One Championship. Background Vunakece was b ...

Damien Cardace Damian Cardace is a 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 6 ...

* Benjamin Garcia * Mark Kheirallah *

Kyle Amor Kyle Amor (born 26 May 1987) is a TV broadcaster and former Ireland international rugby league footballer who last played as a for the Widnes Vikings in the Betfred Championship. He played for Whitehaven in the Championship winning the comp ...

Liam Finn Liam Mullane Finn (born 24 September 1983) is a New Zealand singer and musician. Born in Melbourne, Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child. He is the son of musicians Sharon and Neil Finn. In 2020, he joined his father's band, Crowded ...

George King George King may refer to: Politics * George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician * George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon * George Clift King (184 ...

Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook (born 14 January 1986) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for St Helens in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both England and Ireland at international level. He came through the L ...

* Michael McIlorum * Michael Morgan *

Api Pewhairangi Apirana Pewhairangi (born 19 March 1992) is an Ireland international rugby league footballer who last played as a or for the Te Atatu Roosters in the Auckland Rugby League. He previously played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL, the Wentwort ...

Joe Philbin Joseph Anthony Philbin (born July 2, 1961) is an American football coach who, until recently, served as the offensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, a position he h ...

* Justin Castellaro * Mason Cerruto * Ryan Ghietti *

Josh Mantellato Josh Mantellato (born 21 April 1987) is a former Italy international rugby league footballer who most recently played on the for The Entrance Tigers in the Denton Engineering Cup. He previously played for the Wyong Roos in the Central Coast Di ...

Nathan Milone Nathan Milone (born 18 March 1994) is an Italy international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Wentworthville Magpies in the Intrust Super Premiership. Background Milone was born in Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia and is of ...

Paul Vaughan Paul William Vaughan (24 October 1925 – 14 November 2014) was a British journalist, radio presenter (of art and science programmes) throughout the 1970s and 1990s, semi-professional jazz and classical musician and a narrator of many BBC Telev ...

* Anthony Layoun * James Elias * Nick Kassis *

Mitchell Moses Mitchell Moses (Arabic: ميتشل موسى; born 16 September 1994) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He also plays for the Lebanon national team. He previously played for the Wests ...

* Jason Wehbe *

Nelson Asofa-Solomona Nelson Asofa-Solomona (born 29 February 1996) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL and New Zealand at international level. Asofa-Solomona won the 2017 NRL Grand Final and the ...

Kenny Bromwich Kenneath Bromwich (born 22 September 1991) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League (NRL), and New Zealand at international level. He previously played for the ...

* Issac Liu *

Kodi Nikorima Kodi Nikorima (born 3 April 1994) is an Australia-based New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League. He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the New Zealand W ...

Russell Packer Russell Packer (born 9 October 1989) is a former New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who played as a for the Wests Tigers, St. George Illawarra Dragons and the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL, and the New Zealand Māori and New ...

* Brad Takairangi *

Joseph Tapine Joseph Tapine pronounced () (born 4 May 1994) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL, and for New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level. Tapine previ ...

Elijah Taylor Elijah Taylor may refer to: * Elijah Taylor (rugby league) (born 1990), New Zealand rugby league player * Elijah Taylor (Australian footballer) Elijah Taylor (born 1 May 2001) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney S ...

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (born 17 August 1995) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er or for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and New Zealand at international level. He previously played for the Penrith Pant ...

Dean Whare Dean Whare pronounced (FAR-dEH) (born 22 January 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the London Broncos in the RFL Championship, and New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level. Wh ...

Paul Aiton Paul Aiton (born 1985) is a Papua New Guinean former professional rugby league footballer who is the current assistant coach of both the PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup and the PNG Kumuls. A Papua New Guinea international representative , A ...

* Wellington Albert *

James Segeyaro James Segeyaro (born 11 November 1990), also known by the nickname of "Chicko" is a Papua New Guinean-Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the FC Lézignan XIII in the Elite One Championship. He previously playe ...

Rod Griffin Rodney Griffin (born 5 January 1987) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and forward for the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup. He is a Papua New Guinean international. Background Born in Papua New ...

* Stargroth Amean *

Kato Ottio Benkato "Kato" Ottio (20 March 1994 – 9 January 2018) was a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer. Primarily playing as a , Ottio represented Papua New Guinea, most notably at the 2017 World Cup. Early life Ottio was born and raised in t ...

Tim Lafai Timoteo Lafai (born 27 May 1991) is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Salford Red Devils in the Super League and Samoa at international level.. He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons an ...

* Ken Maumalo *

Joseph Paulo Joseph Paulo (born 2 January 1988) is a former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a and for Toulouse Olympique in the Betfred Championship. He has played for both Samoa and the United States at international level. He pr ...

* Junior Paulo * Ben Roberts *

Jazz Tevaga Jazz Iosefa Tevaga (born 4 September 1995) is a Samoa national rugby league team, Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL). Early years Tevaga was born in ...

Young Tonumaipea Yee-Huang "Young" Tonumaipea (born 6 September 1992) is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Melbourne Storm. His regular playing positions are Wing, Centre and Fullback. Tonumaipea previously played rugby union for ...

Matthew Wright Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

* Danny Addy * Frankie Mariano * Oscar Thomas *

Lewis Tierney Lewis Tierney (born 20 October 1994) is a former rugby league footballer who played on the or at . He started his professional career in 2013 with the Wigan Warriors in the Super League, and spent time on loan at Workington Town. He joined t ...

Ata Hingano Mafoa'aeata "Ata" Hingano (born 11 March 1997) is a Tonga national rugby league team, Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the York Knights in the Betfred Championship. He has played for the New Zealand Warriors ...

Manu Ma'u Manu may refer to: Geography *Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region **Manú National Park, Peru **Manú River, in southeastern Peru *Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh *Manu Temple ...

Sika Manu Viliami Sikalamu "Sika" Manu (born 22 January 1987) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a forward for Tonga and New Zealand at international level, being a member of the World Cup winning Kiwi team who beat Australi ...

Ben Murdoch-Masila Ben Murdoch-Masila (born 7 February 1991) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL. He played for the Wests Tigers and the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League ...

* Jason Taumalolo *

Tevita Pangai Junior Tevita Pangai Junior (born 4 February 1996) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and Penrith Panthers with whom w ...

Siliva Havili Siliva Havili (born 18 February 1993) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for both Tonga and New Zealand at international level. He pre ...

Matt Shipway Matt Shipway (born 11 September 1985) is a United States international rugby league footballer and coach of the Port Macquarie Sharks. He primarily plays as a . Background Shipway was born in Newcastle, New South Wales. He is of American desce ...

* Junior Vaivai * Regan Grace *

Morgan Knowles Morgan Knowles (born 5 November 1996) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for St Helens in the Super League. He has played for both Wales & England at international level. Background Knowles was born in Barrow-in-Fur ...

* Ben Morris

Top point scorers

Final standings

Criticism and controversy

The lack of games in New South Wales, the heartland of rugby league in Australia, drew some criticism. Only one of the 13 confirmed tournament venues was in New South Wales (Sydney Football Stadium) and it is only hosting two group-stage fixtures, both featuring Lebanon. This was due to the refusal of the New South Wales Government to bid for hosting rights. Despite the so-called 'Sydney Cup snub', the RLWC organisers backed their decision and the venues they were using. In the buildup to the Samoa vs. Tonga game in Hamilton, controversy occurred after fans from both countries were caught having brawls in

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

. At least 6 people were arrested from the brawls resulting in a massive security increase for the game. Both teams, celebrities, and police urged fans to calm down. Following the results of the controversial incident, a Tongan Advisory Council member lashed out at organisers, saying that this tournament is poorly organised compared to the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, mentioning that Rugby World Cup organisers engaged with community groups 18 months beforehand, whereas this tournament was "scrambled around". After Scotland's 68-point thrashing to New Zealand in Christchurch, captain

Danny Brough Danny Brough (born 15 January 1983) is a Scottish former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or . Brough started his professional career in 2002 with Dewsbury Rams in the second tier before moving to York City Knights a year ...

, Sam Brooks, and Jonathan Walker were sent home for violating code of conduct after being all deemed too 'intoxicated' for their team's flight to

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

for Scotland's next game against Samoa. Italian players

and

Shannon Wakeman Shannon Wakeman (born 15 February 1990), also known by the nickname of TS Wakeman, is an Italy international rugby league footballer who last contracted to the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League. He plays as a . Italy Wakeman is an Italy ...

were under investigation by the World Cup integrity unit for a brawl at a Cairns nightclub. There was criticism on how Samoa and Lebanon qualified for the Quarter-Finals of the World Cup, while Ireland missed out. Samoa played in Pool B where three sides qualify for the finals and only one misses out. Samoa lost to both New Zealand and Tonga, and drew with Scotland. Lebanon was in Pool A which had the same format as Pool B. Lebanon lost to both Australia and England and beat France. Ireland played in Pool C where there are only three teams and the winner is the only team that goes to the finals. Ireland beat both Italy and Wales and only just lost to Papua New Guinea and didn't qualify for the finals. Irish captain

, said "I don't know if it's unfair, it probably makes sense, but to me: try and explain that to someone who's not rugby league," , "That's how we judge it. I tell someone 'we didn't go through, we won two games; someone got through by drawing one," and "That's where we should be focused: how do we attract new fans when that's how you're explaining the game to them?" in the press conference after his team's victory over Wales.

Broadcasting

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

was the Australian and worldwide host broadcaster, winning the rights for the event in July 2016, beating the likes of

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

and Optus.

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