The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in

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 ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's

Festival of World Cups The Festival of World Cups is a collection of Rugby League World Cups usually held as a support series alongside the centrepiece Men's, Women's, and Wheelchair tournaments. First held in 2008, the festival includes events such as police, armed ...

. Fourteen teams contested the tournament: 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 ...

, Samoa,

, Fiji,

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, Tonga,

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The latter two were competing in the Rugby League World Cup for the first time. New Zealand were the defending champions, having defeated Australia in 2008. Australia won the tournament, beating New Zealand 34–2 in the final to lift the trophy for the tenth time. In terms of attendance, exposure and revenue, the 2013 tournament is considered the most successful Rugby League World Cup to date.

Organisation

Background

The Rugby League International Federation confirmed this competition as a part of its international program. The RLIF announced a five-year plan to build up to the 2013 World Cup with Four Nations tournaments held in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The competition was part of the UK's " Golden Decade of Sport". 2013 was chosen as the year of the World Cup to avoid a clash with the London Olympics in 2012. After 2013, the Cup will be held on a

quadrennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints. ...

cycle.

Host selection

In addition to the United Kingdom, Australia announced its intention to bid for the hosting rights, despite hosting the previous World Cup in 2008. The

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

had been preparing a rival bid due to the success of the 2008 event but the business plan presented by the Rugby Football League for the UK to be the host was accepted by the RLIF at a meeting in July 2009. The event formed part of what was being dubbed a 'Golden Decade' in British Sport. The UK last hosted the World Cup in 2000, with the event generally being considered unsuccessful. Prince Charles welcomed representatives of all 14 nations and tournament organisers with a reception at

Clarence House Clarence House is a royal residence on The Mall in the City of Westminster, London. It was built in 1825–1827, adjacent to St James's Palace, for the Duke of Clarence, the future king William IV. Over the years, it has undergone much exten ...

Qualification

There were two qualifying pools for the remaining two World Cup places; a European and an Atlantic pool, with one side from each to qualify. The European Qualifying group involved Italy, Lebanon, Russia and Serbia while the Atlantic Qualifying group involved Jamaica, South Africa and the USA. In the Atlantic Qualifiers the United States and Jamaica defeated South Africa in the opening rounds leaving the final match between the two to determine who qualified for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. United States defeated Jamaica to qualify for their first ever Rugby League World Cup. *Qualifying Pool One (Europe) ** ** ** ** *Qualifying Pool Two (Atlantic) ** ** **

Teams

The competition featured fourteen teams, compared to ten in 2008. Originally around twenty teams were to be involved in qualification, but subsequently the total number of teams involved in the tournament was fixed at nineteen. Twelve nations automatically qualified; the ten nations that contested the previous World Cup, Wales as winners of the 2009 European Nations Cup and the Cook Islands as runners up in the

2009 Pacific Cup The 2009 Pacific Cup, known as the 2009 SP Brewery Pacific Cup due to sponsorship, was a rugby league competition held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The competing teams were the , , , , . Tonga, Fiji and PNG had their places in the draw c ...

Match officials

Rules and officiating panel: Daniel Anderson, Stuart Cummings and

David Waite David Waite (born 30 May 1951) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He has also coached Great Britain in the Rugby League Tri-Nations. Background Waite was born in New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New ...

. * Australia: Ben Cummins, Shayne Hayne, Ashley Klein and Grant Atkins. * England:

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 ...

, Richard Silverwood,

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 ...

;

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 ...

, Joe Cobb, Mark Craven, Robert Hicks, Chris Leatherbarrow, Tony Martin, Tim Roby, Clint Sharrad, George Stokes, Matt Thomason and Warren Turley * France:

Thierry Alibert Thierry Alibert is a professional rugby league referee. Alibert is a full-time professional referee, under jurisdiction from the Rugby Football League, and currently takes charge of Super League games, as well as selected Challenge Cup and int ...

and Jose Pereira *

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 ...

and Jamal Thompson.Ref's call as one-punch rule gets knocked out for Rugby League World Cup
''smh.com.au'', 16 October 2013

Pre-tournament matches

Before the World Cup it was announced that USA would face France in Toulouse, Scotland would play Papua New Guinea at Featherstone, England would play Italy at Salford, New Zealand would play the Cook Islands in Doncaster and England Knights would play Samoa at Salford.

Venues

The games were played at various venues in England, Wales, Ireland, and France. The Millennium Stadium in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

was the host stadium for the opening ceremony and a double header featuring hosts England playing Australia and Wales taking on Italy. The decision to play England vs Australia in Cardiff to open the tournament drew criticism from some in the press who believed that the game should have been played in England where a higher attendance could be expected, or at least a full house which would have looked better than the almost half empty Millennium Stadium.

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

in Leeds, the

Halliwell Jones Stadium The Halliwell Jones Stadium is a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England, which is the home ground of the Warrington Wolves. It has also staged Challenge Cup semi-finals, the European Nations Final, the National League Grand Finals' Day, ...

in Warrington, the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham and the

DW Stadium The DW Stadium is a stadium in Robin Park, in Wigan, within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The ground is owned and managed by Wigan Football Company Limited, which is 85% owned by Wigan Athletic and 15% owned ...

in Wigan hosted the quarter-finals. Both semi-finals were hosted at Wembley Stadium, with the final held at Old Trafford.

Match schedule

The match schedule was announced on 22 March 2012. The Rugby League International Federation announced the kickoff times of the matches, with the opening kickoff to be held on 26 October in Cardiff, at 14:30 local time. The group stage matches will be played at 14:00, 14:30, 16:00, 16:30, 18:00, and 20:00 local time, with knockout stage matches at 13:00, 15:00, and 20:00 local time. The semi-finals will be played at 13:00 and 15:30 local time and the final, on 30 November 2013 at the Old Trafford stadium, at 14:30 local time.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony took place at the Millennium Stadium on 26 October. The ceremony saw 550 dancers perform, 500 amateur and 50 professional, including former players

Martin Offiah Martin Nwokocha Offiah MBE ( (''original pronunciation''), (''commonly used'')); born 29 December 1965) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Offiah was inducted i ...

and Gareth Thomas, both of whom are former Strictly Come Dancing contestants. The ceremony also featured live music and a light show. The ceremony preceded the opening matches of

versus Australia, versus

and

Group stage

The draw, undertaken at the launch of the event in Manchester on 30 November 2010, involved four groups The first two groups are made up of four teams whilst the other two groups feature three teams each. There will be a quarter-final round made up of the first three teams in the first two groups and the winners of each of the smaller groups. 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

Quarter-finals will follow the group stage, with three teams from each of Groups A and B and one team from each of Groups C and D qualifying. ''All times listed below are in

Greenwich Mean Time Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a con ...

(

UTC+0 UTC+00:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +00:00. In ISO 8601, an example of the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+00:00. It is also known by the following geographical or historical names: *Greenwich Mean ...

) for English and Welsh venues.''

Quarter-finals

---- ---- ----

Semi-finals

----

Final

Try scorers

;9 tries * Brett Morris *

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 ...

;8 tries * Ryan Hall * Roger Tuivasa-Sheck ;5 tries * Cooper Cronk *

Antonio Winterstein Antonio Winterstein (born 30 May 1988) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the North Queensland Cowboys and Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. A Samoan international captain, he was a member of the Cowboys' 2015 NRL prem ...

;4 tries *

Darius Boyd Darius Boyd (born 17 July 1987) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who played , , and for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and has played for Australia at international level and State of Origin for Queensland. Boyd c ...

* Billy Slater * Bryson Goodwin * Shaun Johnson * Manu Vatuvei * Matty Russell * Christiaan Roets ;3 tries * Chris Taripo * Josh Charnley * Brett Ferres * Akuila Uate * Sonny Bill Williams ;2 tries * Greg Bird *

Daly Cherry-Evans Daly Cherry-Evans (born 20 February 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level. He captains Manly and won the 2011 NRL Grand ...

Andrew Fifita Andrew Fifita ( to, ʻAnitelū Fifita) (born 28 June 1989) is a retired professional rugby league footballer who played as a . He has played for Tonga and Australia at international level. Fifita previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland ...

* Greg Inglis * Josh Papalii * Jonathan Thurston * Dominique Peyroux * Tom Briscoe *

Sam Burgess Samuel Burgess (born 14 December 1988) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or forward in the 2000s and 2010s. He played in England for the Bradford Bulls in the Super League and in Australia for the Sout ...

Sean O'Loughlin Sean O'Loughlin (born 24 November 1982) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a loose forward for and captained the Wigan Warriors in the Super League, and has also played for Great Britain and England at int ...

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 ...

* Chris Centrone *

Aidan Guerra Aidan Guerra (born 25 February 1988) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Sydney Roosters, with whom he won the 2013 NRL Grand Final, and the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He represented both Italy and Australia ...

* Ray Nasso *

Simon Mannering Simon Alexander Mannering (born 28 August 1986) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL. A New Zealand international second row forward, ...

* Frank-Paul Nu'uausala * Dean Whare * Suaia Matagi * Ben Roberts * Pita Godinet * Alex Hurst * Ben Hellewell * Glen Fisiiahi * Sika Manu * Willie Manu * Clint Newton * Joseph Paulo * Matt Petersen * Tui Samoa * Rhodri Lloyd ;1 try * Michael Jennings *

Luke Lewis Luke Lewis (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian rugby league commentator and former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia ...

* Josh Morris *

Cameron Smith Cameron Smith may refer to: * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1983), Australian rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (rugby league, born 1998), English rugby league footballer * Cameron Smith (golfer) (born 1993), Australian golfer * Cammy Smi ...

* Daniel Fepuleai * Jonathan Ford * Isaac John * Drury Low *

Keith Lulia Keith Lulia (born 17 June 1987) is a former Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He previously played for the Wests Tigers, the St. George Illawarra Dragons, the Newcastle Knights and the Bradf ...

Lulia Lulia Lulia Lulia is a Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who played in the 2013 World Cup. Playing career Lulia plays for the Shellharbour Sharks. In 2013, Lulia was named in the Cook Islands squad for the World Cup A world c ...

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 ...

* George Burgess * Rob Burrow *

Rangi Chase Moutoa Lance "Rangi" Chase (born 11 April 1986) is a rugby league footballer who plays for the Rochdale Hornets in RFL League 1. He played at representative level for the New Zealand Māori before moving to Britain and playing for the Exiles ...

Leroy Cudjoe Leroy Cudjoe (born 7 April 1988) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Huddersfield Giants in the Betfred Super League. A product of the Huddersfield academy system, he also captained Huddersfield as well a ...

Ben Westwood Ben Westwood (born 25 July 1981) is an English former rugby league footballer who played as a or in the Betfred Super League. He played for England and the England Knights at international level. He previously played for the Wakefield Trin ...

* Thomas Bosc *

Vincent Duport Vincent Duport (born 15 December 1987) is a French professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League. He was previously playing for Toulouse Olympique in the Co-operative Championship. Primarily a centr ...

* Morgan Escare * Aaron Groom *

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 ...

* Wes Naiqama * Semi Radradra * Vitale Junior Roqica * Korbin Sims * Tariq Sims * Eloni Vunakece * Damien Blanch * James Hasson * Tyrone McCarthy *

Cameron Ciraldo Cameron Ciraldo (born 30 October 1984) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL, and a former professional rugby league footballer. He is known as the defens ...

* Josh Mantellato *

Anthony Minichiello Anthony Minichiello (born 24 May 1980) is a former professional rugby league footballer who captained the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League, and retired having set records for most games and most tries in the club's history. An Austr ...

Mark Minichiello Markus Antonio "Mark" Minichiello (born 30 January 1982) is a former Italy international rugby league footballer who played as a forward. He previously played for the Sydney Roosters, South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL ...

* James Tedesco * Jesse Bromwich * Greg Eastwood * Josh Hoffman * Krisnan Inu * Isaac Luke * Frank Pritchard * Elijah Taylor * Josiah Abavu * Dion Aiye * Wellington Albert * Nene MacDonald * Jessie Joe Parker * Joseph Leilua * Penani Manumeasili * Anthony Milford * Junior Moors *

Sauaso Sue Sauaso "Jesse" Sue (born 20 April 1992) is a Samoan international rugby league footballer who plays as a and forward for the Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League. He previously played for the Wests Tigers, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldo ...

* Daniel Vidot *

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 ...

* Brett Carter * Luke Douglas * Ben Fisher * Kane Linnett * Brett Phillips * Daniel Foster * Konrad Hurrell *

Nafe Seluini Nafe Seluini is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Intrust Super Cup. He previously played for the Penrith Panthers and the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. Playing career A Mangere E ...

Jorge Taufua Jorge Taufua () (born 23 October 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for Wakefield Trinity in the Betfred Super League. He has played for both Tonga and Samoa at international level. Taufua has previously played ...

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 ...

* Peni Terepo *

Bureta Faraimo Bureta Faraimo (born 16 July 1990) is a United States international rugby league footballer who plays on the for the Castleford Tigers in the Betfred Super League. He has previously played for the Parramatta Eels and the New Zealand Warriors ...

* Kristian Freed *

Mark Offerdahl Mark Offerdahl (born 15 October 1987) is a United States international rugby league footballer who plays for and coaches his hometown club the Goondiwindi Boars in Australia. Primarily playing as a , he can also play as a or . He was a member ...

* Craig Priestley * Taylor Welch * Ben Evans * Elliot Kear * Lloyd White * Rob Massam * Anthony Walker

Attendances

Seven grounds achieved sell-out crowds, with four setting stadium records. Games held in both Wales and Ireland were watched by the biggest crowds ever for rugby league internationals in those countries. The final was played in front of the largest crowd ever to attend an international rugby league fixture.

Broadcasting

* The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Organisation

Background

Host selection

Qualification

Teams

Match officials

Pre-tournament matches

Venues

Match schedule

Opening ceremony

Group stage

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Inter-group matches

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Try scorers

Attendances

Broadcasting

References

External links