The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams of 14

Rugby League International Federation The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...

member countries who qualified through either standing in the previous tournament or a series of qualification play-off matches. In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

, defending champions Australia, playing in their 14th consecutive final, defeated

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at Brisbane's Lang Park.

Host selection

At the 2010

executive meeting, the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

made an early submission to co-host the 2017 tournament with Australia. The Rugby League World Cup was last held in Australia in 2008. Two formal bids were subsequently received by the RLIF before a November 2012 deadline; the co-host bid from Australia and New Zealand and a bid from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. On 19 February 2014, it was announced that the joint bid from Australia and New Zealand had won hosting rights. Michael Brown, the CEO of several big name Australian sporting franchises and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, was originally appointed CEO of the World Cup in 2015, but resigned less than a year later due to 'workload' and 'homesickness'. He was replaced by Andrew Hill.

Teams

Qualification

It was announced on 3 August 2014 that 7 of the 8 quarter-finalists from the last World Cup would qualify automatically for the 2017 tournament; hosts Australia and New Zealand, plus England, Fiji, France, Samoa and Scotland. The USA, who were also 2013 quarter-finalists, were denied automatic qualification after a long-running internal governance dispute saw their RLIF membership temporarily suspended in 2014; later, once the matter was resolved, they were accepted into the qualification process. Papua New Guinea were initially set to be involved in the qualifying competition but were later granted automatic qualification, due to becoming co-hosts of the tournament. In addition to the eight automatic qualifiers, the remaining six spots will come from four different qualification zones; three from Europe, one from Asia/Pacific, one from Americas and one from Middle East/Africa. Tonga were the first team to qualify from the qualification stage after winning the Asian-Pacific play-off. Lebanon were the second team to qualify from the qualification stage, after winning the Middle East-African play-off. The USA were the third team to qualify, winning the Americas qualification group.

Draw

The draw was undertaken at the launch of the event in Auckland on 19 July 2016 and involved the same four group format as the 2013 tournament. The first two groups are made up of four teams whilst the other two groups feature three teams each. The top three teams in the first two groups and the winners of the two smaller groups will qualify for the quarter-finals. Group play will involve a round robin in the larger groups, and a round robin in the smaller groups with an additional inter-group game for each team so all teams will play three group games.

Squads

Each team submitted a squad of twenty-four players for the tournament, the same as the 2013 tournament.

Venues

It was announced in October 2014 that negotiations were being held for

to host matches. The

Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League Inc. is the governing body for rugby league in Papua New Guinea. They are based in the capital Port Moresby. History They were founded in 1949 and have been members of the Rugby League International Fede ...

presented to the RLIF in September 2015, requesting to host three matches. In October 2015 it was confirmed that Papua New Guinea would host three matches in the group stage.

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district. When complete ...

in Melbourne hosted the opening game between Australia and England while Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane hosted the World Cup Final.

Australia

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

Officiating

The match officials will be headed by Tony Archer and three coaches: Steve Ganson, Russell Smith and Luke Watts. * : Grant Atkins, Chris Butler,

Matt Cecchin Matt Cecchin is an Australian former rugby league referee who officiated in the NRL between 2001 and 2021. Cecchin has officiated international matches at the 2011 Four Nations and 2017 World Cup, and domestic representative matches in all thr ...

, Steve Chiddy, Ben Cummins, Adam Gee, Ashley Klein, Jared Maxwell, David Munro, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski, Belinda Sleeman,

Jon Stone Jon Arthur Stone (April 13, 1931 – March 30, 1997) was an American writer, director and producer, who was best known for being an original crew member on The Muppets' ''Sesame Street'' and is credited with helping develop characters such a ...

, Bernard Sutton, Chris Sutton, Gerard Sutton, Michael Wise * :

Phil Bentham Phil Bentham (born 28 October 1971) is a Premier League football VAR coach and former English professional rugby league Referee & video referee. He was one of the Rugby Football League's full-time match officials since its inception in 2007. Re ...

James Child James Child (born 4 July 1983) is a former English rugby league referee. He was one of the Rugby Football League's Full Time Match Officials. On 19 December 2022, Child announced that he would be stepping down as referee, ahead of the 2023 s ...

, Mark Craven, Robert Hicks, Chris Kendall,

Scott Mikalauskas Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saskat ...

, Liam Moore, Tim Roby,

Ben Thaler Ben Thaler (born 30 August 1981) is a professional rugby league referee and one of the Rugby Football League's Full Time Match Officials. He officiates in the Super League. Background Thaler was born in Normanton, West Yorkshire, England. C ...

* : Chris McMillan,

Henry Perenara Henry Edward Perenara (born 16 June 1980) is a New Zealand rugby league referee and former professional footballer who represented New Zealand. He played as a , though he could also play in the . He is also the first NRL referee in history to s ...

Warm-up matches

Group stage

The first two groups are made up of four teams whilst the other two groups feature three teams each. The top three teams in the Group A and B, and the winners of Group C and D will qualify for the quarter-finals. Group play will involve a round robin in the larger groups, and a round robin in the smaller groups with an additional inter-group game for each team so all teams will play three group games.

Group A

---- ----

Group B

---- ----

Group C

---- ----

Group D

---- ----

Inter-group matches

---- ----

Knockout stage

Three teams from each of Groups A and B and one team from each of Groups C and D advanced to the quarter-finals. All quarter-finalists automatically qualified for the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £ ...

. The quarter-final fixture were finalised at the conclusion of the pool stages, to ensure that Australia played in Darwin on 17 November and New Zealand in Wellington on 18 November. ----

Quarter-finals

Australia vs Samoa

----

Tonga vs Lebanon

----

New Zealand vs Fiji

----

England vs Papua New Guinea

----

Semi-finals

Australia vs Fiji

----

Tonga vs England

----

Final: Australia vs England

Statistics

Top try scorers

;12 tries * Valentine Holmes ;9 tries * Suliasi Vunivalu ;7 tries * Jermaine McGillvary ;5 tries *

Billy Slater William Slater (born 18 June 1983), is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and one-time captain of the Queensland State of Origin team, he played his entire ...

* David Fusitu'a * Michael Jennings ;4 tries *

Dane Gagai Dane Gagai () (born 3 January 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer and boxer who plays as a and er for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He has played for Australia and the New Zealand Maori at international level. He previously ...

Wade Graham Wade Graham (born 25 October 1990) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for and captains the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL. He has played for at international level. Graham previously played for the Penrith Pan ...

* Cameron Munster *

Taane Milne Taane Milne (born 19 May 1995) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL. He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the New Zealand Warriors in the National ...

* David Mead * Justin Olam ;3 tries *

Kallum Watkins Kallum Paul Watkins (born 12 March 1991) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or forward for the Salford Red Devils in the Betfred Super League and England at international level. He previously played for the Le ...

Viliame Kikau Viliame Hekmatzadah "Bill" Kikau (born 5 April 1995) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL, and Fiji at international level. He previously played for the Pe ...

Kevin Naiqama Kevin Naiqama (born 4 February 1989) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who usually plays as a or er for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League and as a or for Fiji at International level. He previously played for the ...

* Henry Raiwalui * Liam Kay * Nene Macdonald *

Peta Hiku Peta Hiku (born 4 December 1992) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er and for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL, and New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level. He previously played ...

* Te Maire Martin *

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (born 5 June 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player, and former rugby league footballer. He plays for the Auckland Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific, and for the New Zealand national team. He made his debut against Irel ...

Tuimoala Lolohea Tuimoala Lolohea (born 23 January 1995) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Huddersfield Giants in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both New Zealand and Tonga at international level. Lolohea previou ...

;2 tries * Boyd Cordner *

Josh Dugan Joshua Dugan (born 10 May 1990) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a and for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL and Australia at international level. He previously played for the Canberra R ...

* Michael Morgan * John Bateman *

Gareth Widdop Gareth Widdop (born 12 March 1989) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Castleford Tigers in the Betfred Super League, and England and Great Britain at international level. Widdop previously played the ...

Jarryd Hayne Jarryd Lee Hayne (born 15 February 1988) is a former professional rugby league footballer who also briefly played American football and rugby union sevens. Hayne began his career in 2006 as a er for the Parramatta Eels, winning the NRL's Dal ...

Marcelo Montoya Marcelo Eduardo Montoya Jr (born 17 February 1996) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er or for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and Fiji at international level. He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankst ...

Bastien Ader Bastien Ader (born 6 June 1991) is a French rugby league footballer who plays as a or on the for Limoux Grizzlies in Elite 1. He previously spent 10 years with Toulouse Olympique in both Elite 1 and the RFL Championship and began his career a ...

* Oliver Roberts *

James Tedesco James Tedesco (born 8 January 1993), nicknamed "Teddy", is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and captains the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, New South Wales rugby league team and Australia. He previously played for the Wests ...

Joseph Tramontana Joseph "Joey" Tramontana (born 15 February 1997) is an Italy international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles for the Intrust Super Premiership. He represented Italy at the 2017 World Cup. Early yea ...

Adam Doueihi Adam Doueihi (born 5 August 1998) is a Lebanese international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Wests Tigers in the NRL. He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the National Rugby League, and represented Leban ...

Abbas Miski Abbas Miski (Arabic: عباس مسكي; born 25 July 1995) is a Lebanese international rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League. He previously played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL, an ...

Travis Robinson Travis Robinson (born 13 June 1987) is a Lebanon international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Newtown Jets in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW. He previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. ...

* Shaun Johnson *

Jason Nightingale Jason Nightingale (born 20 September 1986) is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a er and for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL. He primarily played on the wing and as a fullback, but off the ...

* Jordan Rapana * Watson Boas *

Lachlan Lam Lachlan Lam (born 25 March 1998) is a Papua New Guinea international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Leigh Leopards in the Super League. He previously played for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League. Early l ...

Garry Lo Garry Lo (born 1 November 1993) is a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer who plays for the Waghi Tumbe in the Digicel Cup. Lo plays as a winger. He is also a Papua New Guinea international. He represented Papua New Guinea in the 2017 Ru ...

* Rhyse Martin * Will Hopoate *

Peni Terepo Peni Terepo (born 21 November 1991) is a Tonga former international rugby league footballer who played as a and for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. Background Terepo was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and is of Cook Islands and Tongan desce ...

Daniel Tupou Daniel Tupou (born 17 June 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays on the for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. He has played for Tonga and Australia at international level. Tupou has played for the City Origin, New South W ...

;1 try *

Tyson Frizell Tyson Lomano David Frizell (born 9 October 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who usually plays as a er for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He has played for Wales in the 2011 Four Nations and 2013 Rugby League World Cup and Aust ...

Tom Trbojevic Thomas Peter Trbojevic (born 2 October 1996), also nicknamed "Tommy Turbo", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a as well as a wing and centre for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and plays for Austra ...

Matt Gillett Matthew Gillett (born 12 August 1988) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a forward in the 2010s. He played for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League, NRL and Australia national rugby leagu ...

* Tom Burgess * Ben Currie * James Graham * Ryan Hall *

Mark Percival Mark Percival (born 29 April 1994) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for St Helens in the Super League and England at international level. He made his début for Saints in 2013, winning the Super League Grand ...

* Stefan Ratchford *

Alex Walmsley Alex Walmsley (born 10 April 1990) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for St Helens in the Betfred Super League, and England and Great Britain at international level. He previously played for the Batley Bulldog ...

Kane Evans Kane Evans (born 9 January 1992) is a former Fiji international rugby league footballer who is current a free agent, having last played as a for the Hull FC in the Super League. He previously played for the Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels, a ...

* Salesi Junior Fainga'a *

Joe Lovodua Josaia Naulumatua "Joe" Lovodua (born 18 March 1998) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays for Hull F.C. in the Super League. He primarily plays as a utility. He has represented the Fijian national team, most notably at th ...

Ben Nakubuwai Petero Benjamin "Ben" Nakubuwai (born 15 March 1996) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Leigh Leopards in the Betfred Super League. Nakubuwai previously played for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Ru ...

Brayden Wiliame Brayden Wiliame (born 17 December 1992) is a rugby league footballer who plays as a er and forward for New Zealand Warriors in the NRL . He has previously played for the Parramatta Eels, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and St George Illawarra Drag ...

* Akuila Uate *

Eloni Vunakece Eloni Vunakece (born 27 May 1987) is a former Fiji international rugby league footballer who played as a for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. He also played for Toulouse Olympique in the French Elite One Championship. Background Vunakece was b ...

Damien Cardace Damian Cardace is a rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 6 ...

Benjamin Garcia Benjamin Garcia (born 5 April 1993) is a French professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward and for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League and France at international level. He spent time with the Penrith Panthers as part ...

Mark Kheirallah Mark Kheirallah (Arabic: مارك خير الله; born 15 February 1990), also known by the nickname of "Killer", is a France international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for Featherstone Rovers in the Betfred Championship. He pr ...

* Kyle Amor *

Liam Finn Liam Mullane Finn (born 24 September 1983) is a New Zealand singer and musician. Born in Melbourne, Australia, he moved to New Zealand as a child. He is the son of musicians Sharon and Neil Finn. In 2020, he joined his father's band, Crowded ...

George King George King may refer to: Politics * George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician * George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon * George Clift King (18 ...

Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook (born 14 January 1986) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for St Helens R.F.C., St Helens in the Super League, Betfred Super League. He has played for both England national rugby league team, ...

Michael McIlorum Michael McIlorum (born 10 January 1988) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Catalans Dragons in the Betfred Super League. He is both an Ireland and England international. He had played his entire professional car ...

* Michael Morgan * Api Pewhairangi *

Joe Philbin Joseph Anthony Philbin (born July 2, 1961) is an American football coach who, until recently, served as the offensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, a position he h ...

Justin Castellaro Justin Castellaro (born 7 September 1990) is an Italy international rugby league footballer who plays for the Northern Pride in the Intrust Super Cup. He primarily plays on the or . Background Castellaro was born in Ingham, Queensland, Austr ...

Mason Cerruto Mason Cerruto (born 22 January 1996) is an Italy international rugby league footballer who most recently played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NSW Cup. Cerruto is a utility back capable of playing at and . He was a member of Ital ...

* Ryan Ghietti *

Josh Mantellato Josh Mantellato (born 21 April 1987) is a former Italy international rugby league footballer who most recently played on the for The Entrance Tigers in the Denton Engineering Cup. He previously played for the Wyong Roos in the Central Coast Di ...

Nathan Milone Nathan Milone (born 18 March 1994) is an Italy international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Wentworthville Magpies in the Intrust Super Premiership. Background Milone was born in Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia and is o ...

Paul Vaughan Paul William Vaughan (24 October 1925 – 14 November 2014) was a British journalist, radio presenter (of art and science programmes) throughout the 1970s and 1990s, semi-professional jazz and classical musician and a narrator of many BBC Telev ...

* Anthony Layoun * James Elias * Nick Kassis *

Mitchell Moses Mitchell Moses (Arabic: ميتشل موسى; born 16 September 1994) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He also plays for the Lebanon national team. He previously played for the Wests ...

Jason Wehbe Jason Wehbe is a Lebanese international rugby footballer who most recently played rugby league for the Hills District Bulls. He plays as a and . He was selected to represent Lebanon in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. Early career He played f ...

Nelson Asofa-Solomona Nelson Asofa-Solomona (born 29 February 1996) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL and New Zealand at international level. Asofa-Solomona won the 2017 NRL Grand Final and th ...

Kenny Bromwich Kenneath Bromwich (born 22 September 1991) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League (NRL), and New Zealand at international level. He previously played for the ...

* Issac Liu *

Kodi Nikorima Kodi Nikorima (born 3 April 1994) is an Australia-based New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Dolphins in the National Rugby League. He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the New Zealand W ...

Russell Packer Russell Packer (born 9 October 1989) is a former New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who played as a for the Wests Tigers, St. George Illawarra Dragons and the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL, and the New Zealand Māori and New ...

Brad Takairangi Brad Takairangi (born 14 June 1989) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er or . He has played for the Cook Islands, New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level. Takairangi previously played for the Parra ...

Joseph Tapine Joseph Tapine pronounced () (born 4 May 1994) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL, and for New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level. Tapine prev ...

* Elijah Taylor * Dallin Watene-Zelezniak *

Dean Whare Dean Whare pronounced (FAR-dEH) (born 22 January 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the London Broncos in the RFL Championship, and New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level. Wh ...

Paul Aiton Paul Aiton (born 1985) is a Papua New Guinean former professional rugby league footballer who is the current assistant coach of both the PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup and the PNG Kumuls. A Papua New Guinea international representative , A ...

* Wellington Albert *

James Segeyaro James Segeyaro (born 11 November 1990), also known by the nickname of "Chicko" is a Papua New Guinean-Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the FC Lézignan XIII in the Elite One Championship. He previously playe ...

* Rod Griffin * Stargroth Amean * Kato Ottio * Tim Lafai *

Ken Maumalo Ken Maumalo (born 16 July 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the West Tigers in the NRL and has played for Samoa and New Zealand at international level. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in th ...

Joseph Paulo Joseph Paulo (born 2 January 1988) is a former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a and for Toulouse Olympique in the Betfred Championship. He has played for both Samoa and the United States at international level. He pr ...

Junior Paulo Junior Paulo may refer to: * Junior Paulo (rugby league born 1983) * Junior Paulo (rugby league born 1993) Junior Paulo (born 20 November 1993) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Parramatta Eels in the NR ...

* Ben Roberts * Jazz Tevaga *

Young Tonumaipea Yee-Huang "Young" Tonumaipea (born 6 September 1992) is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Melbourne Storm. His regular playing positions are Wing, Centre and Fullback. Tonumaipea previously played rugby union for ...

* Matthew Wright *

Danny Addy Daniel Addy (born 15 January 1991) is a Scotland international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Featherstone Rovers in the Betfred Championship. He has previously played for the Bradford Bulls in the Super League and the Champio ...

Frankie Mariano Frankie Mariano (born 10 May 1987) is a retired Scotland international rugby league footballer who played as a or . He played for the Hull Kingston Rovers, the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats ( Heritage № 1290), the Featherstone Rovers ( Herit ...

Oscar Thomas Oscar Thomas (born 1994) is a Scotland national rugby league team, Scotland international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for Newcastle Thunder in the Betfred Championship. Thomas previously played for the London Broncos, London Sk ...

* Lewis Tierney *

Ata Hingano Mafoa'aeata "Ata" Hingano (born 11 March 1997) is a Tonga national rugby league team, Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the York Knights in the Betfred Championship. He has played for the New Zealand Warriors ...

* Manu Ma'u *

Sika Manu Viliami Sikalamu "Sika" Manu (born 22 January 1987) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a forward for Tonga and New Zealand at international level, being a member of the World Cup winning Kiwi team who beat Australi ...

* Ben Murdoch-Masila *

Jason Taumalolo Vaai "Jason" Taumalolo (born 31 May 1993) is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a or forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. He has played for Tonga and New Zealand at international level. Taumalol ...

Tevita Pangai Junior Tevita Pangai Junior (born 4 February 1996) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and Penrith Panthers with whom w ...

* Siliva Havili * Matt Shipway *

Junior Vaivai Taioalo "Junior" Vaivai (born 18 January 1990) is a Professional Rugby League player. He is also a United States international who plays as a for Toulouse Olympique in the English Super League. He has previously played for the Penrith Panthers ...

* Regan Grace * Morgan Knowles * Ben Morris

Top point scorers

Final standings

Criticism and controversy

The lack of games in New South Wales, the heartland of rugby league in Australia, drew some criticism. Only one of the 13 confirmed tournament venues was in New South Wales (Sydney Football Stadium) and it is only hosting two group-stage fixtures, both featuring Lebanon. This was due to the refusal of the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governme ...

to bid for hosting rights. Despite the so-called 'Sydney Cup snub', the RLWC organisers backed their decision and the venues they were using. In the buildup to the Samoa vs. Tonga game in Hamilton, controversy occurred after fans from both countries were caught having brawls in

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though n ...

. At least 6 people were arrested from the brawls resulting in a massive security increase for the game. Both teams, celebrities, and police urged fans to calm down. Following the results of the controversial incident, a Tongan Advisory Council member lashed out at organisers, saying that this tournament is poorly organised compared to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, mentioning that Rugby World Cup organisers engaged with community groups 18 months beforehand, whereas this tournament was "scrambled around". After Scotland's 68-point thrashing to New Zealand in Christchurch, captain

Danny Brough Danny Brough (born 15 January 1983) is a Scottish former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or . Brough started his professional career in 2002 with Dewsbury Rams in the second tier before moving to York City Knights a year ...

, Sam Brooks, and Jonathan Walker were sent home for violating code of conduct after being all deemed too 'intoxicated' for their team's flight to Cairns for Scotland's next game against Samoa. Italian players

and Shannon Wakeman were under investigation by the World Cup integrity unit for a brawl at a Cairns nightclub. There was criticism on how Samoa and Lebanon qualified for the Quarter-Finals of the World Cup, while Ireland missed out. Samoa played in Pool B where three sides qualify for the finals and only one misses out. Samoa lost to both New Zealand and Tonga, and drew with Scotland. Lebanon was in Pool A which had the same format as Pool B. Lebanon lost to both Australia and England and beat France. Ireland played in Pool C where there are only three teams and the winner is the only team that goes to the finals. Ireland beat both Italy and Wales and only just lost to Papua New Guinea and didn't qualify for the finals. Irish captain

, said "I don't know if it's unfair, it probably makes sense, but to me: try and explain that to someone who's not rugby league," , "That's how we judge it. I tell someone 'we didn't go through, we won two games; someone got through by drawing one," and "That's where we should be focused: how do we attract new fans when that's how you're explaining the game to them?" in the press conference after his team's victory over Wales.

Broadcasting

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

was the Australian and worldwide host broadcaster, winning the rights for the event in July 2016, beating the likes of Foxtel and

Optus Singtel Optus Pty Limited (commonly referred to as Optus) is an Australian telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singaporean telecommunications company Singte ...

References

External links

* {{World championships in 2017 2017 in Australian rugby league 2017 in New Zealand rugby league 2017 in Papua New Guinea rugby league

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...