Rugby League World Cup

The National Rugby League (NRL) has announced that the NRL Telstra Women’s Premiership will now launch the new Allianz Stadium on Friday, September 2.

The Sydney Roosters-St George Illawarra Dragons NRLW fixture – the 2021 Grand Final rematch – will be played as a double-header with the Sydney Roosters-South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL Round 25 match, marking the first official sporting event at the new stadium.

The Round 3 NRLW match was originally scheduled for Leichhardt Oval, however continued discussions with partners have allowed the change of venue.

“This is an exciting moment for the women’s game and rugby league,” NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said.

“Our remarkable female athletes will create Australian sporting history in the state-of-the-art new stadium.

“I’d like to thank our broadcast partners, the Sydney Roosters and Venues NSW for helping us make this is a reality.

“History will be made on Friday, September 2. The first ever match on Allianz Stadium – an NRLW fixture – followed by the clash between the two foundation clubs in the final round of the regular season.”

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Mate Ma’a Tonga will play the French Les Chanticleers for the first time since 2006 when the two nations clash in a World Cup warm-up fixture this October in Halifax.

The match, which will take place at the Halifax Panther’s homeground, the New Shay, will provide both squads an all important hit out before the World Cup kicks off a week later.

“It’s our privilege to bring the second-ranked team in the IRL to Halifax where they will meet the hosts of the next World Cup,” said former NRL and Super League player Jimmy Smith, project CEO for event promoter NovoSports.

“We know that the rugby league fans of the north will be thrilled by the power of Jason Taumalolo, the brute strength of Katoni Staggs and the blistering speed of Toluta’u Koula.

“At the same time it’s a new dawn for the French game with lots of familiar faces such as Theo Fages and the best of two Super League teams taking Les Bleus into this World Cup and – most significantly – one at home.”

France and Tonga have played each other only two times before, with honours split between the nations.

Tonga will play Cook Islands, Wales and Papua New Guinea in the group stages of RLWC2021, with France playing England, Samoa and Greece.

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A slick and ruthless Townsville have stunned the Gold Coast to claim this year’s XXXX League Championship.

After winning the 2022 Foley Shield, Townsville can now add another trophy to the cabinet, after they scored seven tries to one in the 32-6 victory on Saturday, on their home turf at Neil Stewart Oval.

Player of the match Ty Carucci was a standout while wingers Edene Gebbie and Michael Carroll led the way on the scoreboard with two tries apiece.

But the side – co-coached by Townsville great Roy Baira and Queensland Maroons legend Matt Bowen – were lethal across the park.

Gold Coast matched them in energy and ferocity in the opening 30 minutes, with Townsville’s Jack Johnson the only player to cross.

But two minutes out from halftime, five-eighth Carucci extended the lead to 10-0 and the points just kept on coming in the second stanza.

Baira said he was really proud of the effort from his side on Saturday, particularly with the way they handled the tight first half.

“They really turned it on today and did the North proud,” Baira said.

“It was a great game. It was a top effort in that first half. It was really close and both teams completed at about 90 per cent.

“They really had to dig deep. I’m really proud of them and how they played for the region.

“From the first half, we built our resilience through our defence and playing for each other and turning up for each other. That put us in good stead.”

The Gold Coast were also their own worst enemy at times, making too many mistakes in the second half.

Their sole consolation try came with 10 minutes left on the clock, as winger Queille Murray raced away to put his side within striking distance.

Quick hands then got the ball over to his fellow winger, Josh Bukowski, who crossed in the corner.

Townsville become the first North team to win the XXXX League Championship, after Brisbane claimed the inaugural title last year for the South East.

TOWNSVILLE 32 (Edene Gebbie 2, Michael Carroll 2, Jack Johnson, Ty Carucci, John Cullen tries; Carlin Anderson 1, Oscar Carter 1 goals) def GOLD COAST VIKINGS 6 (Josh Bukowski try; Keanu Te Kiri goal).

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All 61 matches of this year’s Rugby League World Cup will be shown live and exclusive on Fox Sports and Kayo

It comes after Foxtel Group announced on Thursday it had secured the broadcast rights to the upcoming tournament.

The World Cup kicks off on October 15 in England and will finish up on November 19 with 16 nations taking part in the men’s tournament and eight taking part in both the women’s and wheelchair tournament.

Every match — 31 men’s, 15 women’s and for the first time 15 wheelchair — will be available on Foxtel and Kayo Sports.

Australia will take on Fiji in their opening clash before

Fox Sports Executive Director Steve Crawley said securing the rights highlights how Foxtel and Kayo are the “true homes” of rugby league.

“Fox League and Kayo Sports are flying this season and to now add the Rugby League World Cup is something to bang the drums about,” he said.

“All exclusive rights across the 61 matches of men’s, women’s and wheelchair footy very much celebrates the best of the best — on the true homes of Rugby League.”

Meanwhile, Rugby League World Cup CEO Jon Dutton said the familiarity of Fox Sports to footy fans is a “great outcome” for the game.

“We know that RLWC2021 is going to be the most watched World Cup and it is very pleasing it will be broadcast in Australia on Fox Sports, keeping the rights within the NRL family and with a network that Australian audiences are comfortable and familiar with,” he said.

“This is a great outcome for International Rugby League and Australian fans.”

The Kangaroos are in Group B with Fiji, Italy and Scotland, while the Jillaroos take on the Cook Islands, France and New Zealand in Group B.

Meanwhile, Australia’s wheelchair team will face England, Ireland and Spain as part of Group A.

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The Semi Finalists for the 2022 Auckland Fox Memorial Premiership have been decided following Saturday’s Quarter Finals.

FOX MEMORIAL PREMIERSHIP
Glenora 26 – 12 Te Atatu
An absolutely thrilling day of finals footy at Harold Moody Park, starting with the Premier Reserve match between the Bears and the Roosters. Te Atatu snuck past the home team in overtime to give them a good start to the day. Glenora didn’t let the club carry the momentum into the Premier game as Esom Ioka scored in the first minute with a regather of position from a dedicated kick chase. Momentum continued as the Bears got out to a 16-nil lead and looked to be running away with it, but Roydon Gillett made sure Te Atatu had some points on the board going into the half. A tightly contested second half saw the Roosters be their own worst enemy, making crucial mistakes as they were trying to get themselves back into the game. The other Ioka brother finished what Esom started as Kadiyae dotted over to put the game out of reach. James Taumata scored a double for the Bears in the contest.

Pt Chevalier 40 – 22 Mt Albert
It was always going to be a challenge for the Lions to take down the undefeated Pirates, but they looked in with a chance after the first forty. Heading into the break at 18-all, Mt Albert were in with a chance to take down the rolling Pt Chevalier but it was one way traffic as the Pirates took control of the game. A double to Ollie Tuimavave and a solid performance from Harley Maynard saw Pt Chevalier win the second forty by a score of 22-4 to secure their place in the semi-finals.

Howick 44 – 6 Bay Roskill
A flip of the script from their regular season match up that saw the Vikings come away with a two point win. The Hornets knew that their season was on the line and they came to play, leaving no doubts in the result at full time. Energised by a home crowd and a week off, Howick put on an offensive and defensive display, resulting in the one sided score line. The Hornets will need to carry this momentum into their tough match up against Pt Chevalier next week.

Otahuhu 20 – 12 Richmond
Otahuhu continue to roll, this time getting past a evenly matched Richmond side hungry to keep their finals hopes alive. A low scoring contest that saw the sides trading punches was ultimately decided in the first half. Heading into the break, Otahuhu had a narrow two point lead which was certainly needed in a second half that was largely scoreless. Phoenix Hunt ended up scoring towards fulltime for the home side to put the nail in the coffin as the home side took the contest four tries to two.

FOX MEMORIAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Hibiscus Coast 34 – 10 Manurewa
A long commute from the far North of Auckland to the deep South didn’t bother the Raiders as they took the field at Mountfort Park. A close start to the game as Manurewa scored first after a scoreless first twenty minutes in the game. From there, momentum switched to the visitors that ran in four straight tries to grab a hold of the game. The Marlins eventually struck back but the damage was done as the Raiders ran over for another two tries. Hibiscus Coast’s Kavana Te Kiri-Ryan and Liam Ackland both had doubles as they helped their side progress to the semi-finals.

Ponsonby 60 – 16 Papatoetoe
Ponsonby made sure they weren’t going to lose two in a row as they faced the Panthers at Victoria Park. Putting on an absolute clinic that saw their outside back reap the rewards with hat-tricks to Taani Fangupo and Levi Helleur-atiga, and a double for Timor Reese Williams, as they attacked the edge. Papatoetoe ran in three tries of their own but weren’t able to hold out the home side as they ran in eleven tries for the game.

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