Rugby League World Cup: Semi-Finals Previews

Only four nations remain alive in their quest for World Cup glory after a phenomenal week of quarterfinal action across the UK. Spectators will descend upon Leeds and London for what is one of the biggest rugby league weekends in recent memory. Both clashes will be steeped in history, vengeance, and pride as our four semi-finalists vie for a World Cup Final berth at the Theatre of Dreams next week.

Australia vs. New Zealand at Elland Road, Leeds (Saturday 12 Nov, 06:45am AEDT)

Two of rugby league’s most historic nations – Australia and New Zealand – are set to do battle in the first of the two semi-finals clashes at Elland Road in Leeds with a World Cup Final spot at stake.

The Kangaroos and the Kiwis have not met since October 2019 when the Australians came away with a 26-4 win in Wollongong.

Australia have made light work of all four of their opponents thus far en route to the tournament’s best defence and second-best attack whilst New Zealand also enter the clash undefeated albeit in less convincing fashion than their trans-Tasman counterparts having barely scraped past Fiji in their quarterfinals face-off.

The Kangaroos enter this one as short-priced favourites having conceded just four tries all tournament and are currently riding a 16-game World Cup winning streak.

All eyes have been on this clash since the tournament opened and both sides will enter it expecting to get the job done and earn themselves a spot on world rugby league’s biggest stage.

Australia’s points scoring prowess is proven with the likes of Cameron Munster, Nathan Cleary, Harry Grant, Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr and James Tedesco among the highest-ceiling attackers the sport has to offer. Their first-choice spine of Tedesco-Munster-Cleary-Grant has started alongside one another twice this tournament; Australia outscored their opponents by a combined score of 132-4 across those two performances.

Their defence has also been rock-solid albeit against weakened competition; they allowed two tries in their tournament opener against Fiji which were both from grubbers, held Scotland to zero, another try off a grubber against Italy and a fourth try off a grubber against Lebanon. To summarise, the lower-ranked sides that they have competed against have found the Australian defensive line to be largely impenetrable without the aid and unpredictability of short-range kicking. The Kiwis may look to use a dynamic kicking-game to their advantage but they will need to craft other avenues towards the try-line if they are to finish atop the tournament favourites.

The Kiwis clearest path towards constructing an advantage is through their forward-pack; Joseph Tapine, Isaiah Papali’i, James Fisher-Harris, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Moses Leota all have the ability to turn games with their power, footwork and work-rate and, given Australia’s less commanding band of middle forwards, Michael Maguire’s men should look to tap into their strength. Peta Hiku and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad will have their hands full defensively with centres Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton winding up at them and will need to be near-perfect in their one-on-one battles if New Zealand are to come away with a win.

Most signs point towards Australia getting the job done and advancing to yet another World Cup Final, however, this clash has been highly-anticipated since the schedule dropped due to New Zealand’s absurd, squad-wide firepower and, whilst they have not been as dominant as many had hoped up until this point, rugby league is rarely predictable.

[adrotate group=”9″]

England vs. Sāmoa at Emirates Stadium, London (Sunday 13 Nov, 01:30am AEDT)

England and Sāmoa will descend upon Emirates Stadium in London for the second of two semi-finals clashes less than a month on from their meeting in the tournament opener which saw England dominate their way to an unexpected 60-6 win.

England have been close to on par with Australia in terms of dominance through their opening four games having been rarely troubled and showcasing some superb attacking football for long stretches.

The Sāmoans will have stewed on their first-up humiliation for the past several weeks and will be eager to channel their Siva Tau energy into an improved performance against the hosts.

The bookmakers are expecting England to take care of Sāmoa and set up a date with destiny against the Kangaroos at Old Trafford.

Jack Welsby and George Williams have meshed superbly thus far under head coach Shaun Wane whilst the English forward pack has been near-unstoppable. Their approach for this game is unlikely to deviate an awful lot from the style of play that has gotten them this far. The likes of Thomas Burgess, Victor Radley, and John Bateman will be tasked with matching the aggression of their Sāmoan counterparts from the outset in the same manner they did in the quarterfinal victory over the Kumuls.

England will be focused on starting strong and crafting an early lead in an attempt to spark the same capitulation Sāmoa’s displayed in the World Cup opener. France have been the only side to trouble England’s stout defence and, even still, England came out on top in that clash 42-18. Sāmoa have the attackers to bother the best of sides, however, they were let down by their handling and discipline in the early stages of their 60-6 loss and showed zero resolve as the game progressed.

They will be facing a different Sāmoan side this time around, however, both in personnel and attitude.

Matt Parish’s men have been boosted by availability of skipper Junior Paulo and fullback Joseph Sua’ali’i after there were fears both men would be ruled out through suspension. Halfback Anthony Milford is fresh off a three-try assist, Player of the Match performance in their quarterfinal win over Tonga and will again be leant on for his game management and creativity. Sāmoa’s back three will get their hands on the ball a tonne early in sets in an attempt to make life easier for their big men who will look to create attacking opportunities through their late footwork, ball-playing, and offloading.

England are the rightful favourites, however, the odds of another 60-6 demolition appear slim. Sāmoa have had some time to work on their cohesion and put together a really strong 80 minutes against a formidable Tongan lineup last week. The opening quarter of this one may prove its most important; an early English avalanche would likely spark some unwelcome flashbacks for the Sāmoans, however, if the script were to flip, Sāmoa may be able to progress as far as their belief drags them, perhaps a maiden World Cup Final.

Fill In The Form To Get Our NRL News Straight To Your Email For FREE!

• First Name*
• Last Name*
• Email*
• Email
  This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ