RLWC21 Quarter-Finals Preview

The group stages of the RLWC are now over as eight teams brace themselves for some knockout rugby league.

The tournament has definitely delivered so far. We’ve seen some mouth-watering matches go right down to the wire, and some of the world’s best sides have put on a show that has every rugby league fan exited for the weeks ahead.

There hasn’t been many upsets meaning the eight teams that made it out the group stage are the ones that most would have expected. However, the tournament can really kick on now as the world’s best eight teams will battle it out for glory, giving us some brilliant ties.

All four ties are live on BBC.

Australia vs Lebanon – Friday 4^th November 19:30 – John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield

The weekend kicks off in Huddersfield as the Kangaroos take on the Cedars. Australia won all three of their group games in spectacular fashion, only conceding 14 points. They returned their own 192 points in those fixtures and are many peoples favourites to go on and win the tournament.

Lebanon came second in their group, finishing behind New Zealand. However, they look in fine form and put up a good fight in their match against the Kiwis. Although unlikely, they do have the ability to cause an upset on Friday. They showed their class on many occasions in the group stages, including a 74-12 thumping of Jamaica.

The two sides have only ever met once before back in 2017. The Kangaroos won that game 34-0, meaning Lebanon are yet to score a point against them.

England vs PNG – Saturday 5^th November 14:30 – DW Stadium, Wigan

The hosts will then look to continue their impressive form against PNG in Saturday’s first fixture. Winning every game whilst scoring 196 points in the process, England in front of their home fans look unstoppable at the moment, and really can go all the way.

The Kumuls very nearly topped their group too, beating both Wales and Cook Islands, but falling just short against Tonga in what was the tournaments best game so far. They are another side that look in good nick and are very capable of causing an upset.

The two sides have met four times with England winning every one. PNG have never been stronger though, so England will certainly face a much tougher test than ever before.

New Zealand vs Fiji – Saturday 5^th November 19:30 – MKM Stadium, Hull

Saturday’s evening game see’s group C winners New Zealand, face group B’s runners up Fiji. The Kiwis also won all three of their group matches comfortably, but not quite at the level of England or Australia. Nevertheless, the world’s number one ranked team got the job done and will hope to shift up a gear in their pursuit of the trophy.

Fiji finished a convincing second behind Australia after a huge victory over Italy was followed by a narrow defeat of Scotland. They were dominated by the Kangaroos which does look worrying as they prepare to face the world’s highest ranked side.

The two sides have again only ever met once where there was an unlikely winner. In the 2017 RLWC quarter-finals Fiji inflicted a huge upset on the Kiwis, beating them 4-2 to advance to the semi-finals, in what was one of the lowest scoring matches in world cup history. Could history repeat itself in this year’s competition?

Tonga vs Samoa – Sunday 6^th November 14:30 – Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington

The weekend rounds off in Warrington on Sunday. This is predicted to be the highlight of the round as two very close nations in terms of both geographical placement, and skill level face off in what will be a heated battle.

Tonga topped their group after a narrow win over PNG was followed by two superb victories over Wales and Cook Islands. Anyone who watches rugby will know the qualities that Tonga possess. They will fancy themselves to go all the way this year and really challenge the big boys.

Samoa came into this tournament with a lot of expectation on their shoulders. They had a very shaky start getting thumped by England, but turned the tide around, winning their next two games to advance in second place. Now the dust has settled, and the pressure of expectation has reduced, we should see what they are really capable of against Tonga.

These two great rugby nations have met 21 times up to this date. A pure rugby rivalry has always been delivered and there has never been much to split the sides. There has been one draw, 11 Tonga victories, and nine Samoa victories. This contest is far too close to call.

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