30th November 2013
Australia 34-2 New Zealand
Old Trafford, Manchester
And with the 80 minute hooter this afternoon, so ended the
2013 Rugby League World Cup tournament, New Zealand’s reign as World Champions,
and (perhaps less momentously) my first exposure to rugby league.
I had attended only a modest number of matches during the
tournament, each, it pains me to say, less gripping than the previous.
The first had been Scotland’s
tussle with Italy
during the group stages. This, never less
than absorbing 30-30 draw really was a fun evening, although I acknowledge the
fact that MY country (sort of) were playing lent proceedings an extra frisson. Two weeks later I saw Fiji eliminate Samoa in an intriguing rather than pulsating quarter-final encounter; the scoreline not really reflecting
the closeness of the contest.
This final, however, was a disappointingly dull affair, as
the brutally efficient Australian defence (one try conceded during the whole tournament!),
snuffed out completely the best attacking efforts of their Antipodean cousins.
Some neat kicking by the Oz lads had led to two
first half-tries for Billy SLATER and Cooper CRONK, which allowed their side to
turn around 16-2 ahead. And when SLATER
scored his second minutes after the restart, the match was effectively over as
a contest so that, by the time of Brett MORRIS’ brace the New Zealanders looked
a thoroughly demoralised bunch.
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| This young chap looks utterly delighted to be a mascot |
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| The two sides enter the fray. |
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| Haka time |
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| The packed Stretford End Stand - just a few empty seats in the corner. |
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| Panorama of Old Trafford - Rugby League World Cup Final 2013 |
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| Panorama of Old Trafford - Rugby League World Cup Final 2013 |
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| Australians Greg Inglis (3) and Matt Scott (8) |
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| Australian full-back Billy Slater |
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| Australia v New Zealand - 2013 Rugby League World Cup Final. |
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Shaun Johnson (R) kicked over New Zealand's only points.
(I cannot help but wonder what the Officials' reaction was, upon
seeing their pink and blue attire for the first time) |
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| Australia v New Zealand - 2013 Rugby League World Cup Final. |
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| Australia v New Zealand - 2013 Rugby League World Cup Final. |
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| Australia v New Zealand - 2013 Rugby League World Cup Final. |
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| Australia v New Zealand - 2013 Rugby League World Cup Final. |
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| Some improvised footwork by Jarryd Hayne set up Brett MORRIS's first try. |
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| Australia v New Zealand - 2013 Rugby League World Cup Final. |
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| This clown made it onto the pitch, but was swiftly tackled by a budding RL star steward. |
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| Australia v New Zealand - 2013 Rugby League World Cup Final. |
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| Australia v New Zealand - 2013 Rugby League World Cup Final. |
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| Brett MORRIS touches down for australia' fifth try of the afternoon with 8 minutes remaining. |
The atmosphere really was rather flat inside Old Trafford (a
world record attendance for a rugby league match of 74,468 notwithstanding), and I could
not help but wonder how much more of an occasion this would have been had England
held out during those last few minutes in their semi-final tie. And clearly I was not alone in pondering this
question, as occasional “Ing-Ger-Lund” chants arose during lulls in play.
Depressingly, the dreaded Mexican wave also
put in an appearance. It is a sure fire indication that the entertainment being
served up is not quite up to scratch, when the prospect of acting like a tube
holds a greater attraction than following the action.
I suppose the fact that the planet's (supposedly) two best
rugby league national sides could serve up such a one-sided encounter
highlights the prime problem the organisers of each RLWC have to deal with. How do you capture the imagination of Joe
Public, when there are only three sides in the competition of any standard?
I do think the organisers of this particular tournament have
to be congratulated on using a bit of imagination with the format. For by creating two pools (puddles, really)
of minnows, and keeping them separate (in the group stages, anyway) from the big
and medium-sized lads, spectators were rewarded with some quite wonderfully exciting
encounters in all four groups. Whether the standard was any
good in groups C&D, I am probably not qualified to say.
Even with this format tweaking, there was the inevitable
trio of slaughter-fest quarter-finals as the Big Three swatted their way into the
last four, and in truth only the England v NZ semi-final and (to a lesser
degree) the aforementioned Fiji v Samoa tie served up any real drama during the
knock-out stages.
Quite how the Rugby League blazers address this conundrum in
future I have no idea.
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| The match was indeed as one-sided as the scoreboard suggests. |
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| Pre-presentation pyrotechnics |
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A clearly disappointed Sam Kasiano after the match.
Is that my imagination, or does he appear to have grown an extra face on his left knee? |
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Greg Bird presented his boots and socks to folks in the crowd....
...then peeled of his shorts to hand them out too. |
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The Rugby League World Cup Trophy.
Call me old-fashioned, but the players really should
have been the ones parading the thing around. |
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| Panorama of Old Trafford - Rugby League World Cup Final 2013 |
Interesting blog. Enjoyed what I've read. You are, however, incorrect in describing the attendance at this game as a record for rugby league (per se). It was a record for international rugby league. Challenge Cup Finals at the old Wembley attracted 100,000 crowds regularly. The record attendance for a club game in Britain is 102,575 - for the 1954 Challenge Cup Final replay at Odsal, Bradford, between Warrington and Halifax. Many got in without paying, and it is thought the true attendance was about 120,000. The biggest crowd in world rugby league - 107,999 - attended the 1999 NRL Grand Final at Stadium Australia, Sydney, between Melbourne and St George Illawarra.
ReplyDeleteAndrew
DeleteThanks for your comments - I am always happy to be corrected - it at least shows someone out there is reading the stuff !!