RLWC21 round-up

• Five Warriors featured in the final round of group games in RLWC21.
• John Bateman, Mike Cooper, Kai Pearce-Paul, Toby King and Abbas Miski all took to the field this weekend.
• Ben Seward also played for England as they were crowned inaugural PDRL World Cup winners.

Five Warriors featured in the final round of group games of the Rugby League World Cup 2021 over the weekend.

New Zealand 48-10 Ireland

Toby King started in the centres as Ireland fell to defeat at the hands of the reigning World Cup champions, bringing an end to their Rugby League World Cup campaign.

Ireland got the first score on the board through a penalty goal but the Kiwis soon got on the scoreboard with a run of successive tries, Louis Senior got a brace of tries to Ireland a little hope but the Champions had plenty of advantage to see them top Group C whilst sending Ireland home from the tournament.

England 94-4 Greece

All three Warriors were picked in the England squad on Saturday afternoon as John Bateman and Mike Cooper made their second appearances of the tournament, with Kai Pearce-Paul making his World Cup debut.

It was a great afternoon for John Bateman who got two try assists, but it was Pearce-Paul who made a great impression on his first World Cup outing with one try and two try assists to help England to a straightforward victory and topping Group A. The win sets up a Quarter Final tie at the DW Stadium this Saturday 5th November, with the England Women also facing Canada in the first game of the afternoon in Wigan.

An honour 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏉 pic.twitter.com/GdCXgyLOvb

— Kai (@KaipearcePaul) October 30, 2022

Lebanon 74-12 Jamaica

Abbas Miski scored a try either side of half time as Lebanon put in a huge display to see off Jamaica, and book their spot in the Quarter Final stages of the compeition. With a loss to New Zealand in the opening game, the Cedars fought back to get an important win against Ireland before beating Jamaica as they finished second in Group C.

The win sees Lebanon through to face Australia at John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield this Friday 4th November.

Start FAST : ✔️ – Finish STRONG : ⏳ // Let’s finish the mission Lebanon. ✊🏼🇱🇧 | #RiseUpCedars #RLWC2021 pic.twitter.com/jheGEggoH5

— Lebanon Rugby League (@LebanonRL) October 30, 2022

Around the tournament

In the other games, Fiji beat Scotland to confirm a second placed finish in Group B whilst Australia eased past Italy with a 66-6 win to top Group B.

In Group D Tonga were fired up as they beat Cook Islands 92-10 to finish first in the Group. Elsewhere in Group D, Papua New Guinea need to beat Wales this evening to book their Quarter Final spot in the tournament.

In the other Group A game, Samoa put a big 62-4 score on France to finish behind England in the Group and will face Tonga at Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday 6th November.

The Women’s and Wheelchair competitions get underway this week, with England Women facing Brazil on Tuesday afternoon. Women’s vice-Captain Vicky Molyneux has been named in the squad to face the Brazilians.

PDRL World Cup

With four wins from four in the group stages, all held at Victoria Park in Warrington this week, it was England who came up against the Kiwis for a second time in the final at Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday evening.

Wigan PDRL Captain Ben Seward featured throughout the tournament and was on the teamsheet on Sunday night as England put in a great performance in the final to beat New Zealand 42-10. The win gave England PDRL the inaugural World Cup trophy.