International Results : 2018 October (Friendly)

A busy month for International RL. I think it would be fair to say it has never been busier. This is only the games not associated with tournaments such as World Cup Qualifiers or regional competitions.

7th October, Belgrade, Serbia:

Serbia 2-54 France

The match was to commemorate two things. First, it was the 65th anniversary of RL in the country when two French sides visited to launch the sport. Then the centenary when French and Serbian forces liberated the country. The match itself was unsurprisingly favouring the visitors, who went in at the break 26-2. It was a good run out for Serbia, preparing for World Cup qualification matches.

12th October. Sydney, Australia:

Italy 18-8 South Africa

The Italian side was without some top players but still had a large pool to choose from. South Africa is trying to grow its success in international RL. In a tight game in wet conditions, Italy led 12-0 at the break with two converted tries. However, with 10 minutes to go, the Rhinos had come back with two unconverted tries and only trailed 8-12. A late converted try to the Azzurri secured the victory.

13th October, Auckland, NZ:

New Zealand 24-22 Australia

Australia were hot favourites to win this won and after a close first half, the visitors did indeed lead 12-8 although rather fortuitously. The Kiwis roared into the lead in the second period to lead 26-12 only to have to weather a late rally.

17th October, Leigh, England:

England 44-6 France

Both sides went into the fixture missing many top players but it's a fixture that should be encouraged. The timing of the game wasn't ideal but there were few options. It could have been promoted better though.

England took control from the off and raced to a 38-0 lead. This included a hat-trick in a 14 minute spell for Tom Johnstone. The second spell was shared 6-6, a relief as everyone wanted to see a competitive outing by France.

England v France. 

Picture source: Sky Sport UK.

20th October, Auckland, NZ:

Australia 34-16 Tonga

A packed stadium in a neutral venue (well, a lot of Tongans call Auckland home) came to see the passion of this small Pacific Island nation take on the mighty Kangaroos. The match soon got away from Tonga as a clinical Australia took control and lead 30-10 at halftime. Things were closer in the second period but not in a way that threatened to change the outcome.

20th October, Brisbane, Australia:

El Salvador 48-10 Colombia

These are two nations new to the game. It was made up of people living in Australia who originate from these nations. The victors scored nine tries to two and while I haven't got a summary of the match, the score tells it all really.

27th October, Sydney, Australia:

Italy 36-32 Niue

With Samoa pulling out of the fixture, Niue agreed at short notice to play. In a close first half, Niue led just 22-18 at the turn around and led with moments left to play. However, the Azzurri scored right on full time to snatch a dramatic victory.

Nordic Cup : 2018

This has been an event held between Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Denmark was the stronger of the three nations at first but more recently have not been able to complete all their games. I assume the game has gone backward there. In Sweden it seems to be holding its own, but Norway is moving forward. They are now the strongest nation of the three and the only one challenging for World Cup qualification.

Denmark won the first event in 2011, followed by two seconds and another title. That made them the most successful nation up until then. In 2016, it only was able to fulfill its home game, a win over Sweden. The same thing happened again in 2017, this time a loss at home to Norway. This put in third for the first time.

Norway has won four titles, including the last three. This makes it the most successful of the three nations. Sweden won its only series in 2013 but has always turned up and given its best.

Coming into 2018, Denmark has not been part of the Nordic Cup, so a one-off game seems to be the outcome, although that is my assumption. I will correct that if proven otherwise. On Oct 13th at Partille, Gothenburg, Sweden (the hosts) had a job to do in containing the visiting Norwegian side.

Norway soon took control and raced to a 30-0 halftime lead. Sweden did better in the second stanza but were unable to close the gap, the result 6-46 in favour of the visitors. After the game, the Swedish coach admitted that Norway is getting much stronger but will go away and work on improving in their domestic competition.

		NORDIC CUP
		YEAR	1st	2nd	3rd
		2011	Denmark	Norway	Sweden
		2012	Norway	Denmark	Sweden
		2013	Sweden	Denmark	Norway
		2014	Denmark	Sweden	Norway
		2015	Denmark	Norway	Sweden
		2016	Norway	Denmark	Sweden
		2017	Norway	Sweden	Denmark
		2018	Norway	Sweden

Hopefully, Denmark will be able to get back into the series. The cost involved for what are amateur players is a sacrifice.

2021 World Cup Qualifiers - Europe B

The fixtures below are all in 2018, involving three nations and three games in total. They involve Group B ranked countries and a full list of the groups can be found by clicking here. The top two go through and the third team is eliminated.

6th October, Valencia, Spain:

Spain 32-24 Russia.

The first match in the 2021 World Cup Qualifiers - European Championship B  -  was won by the hosts. In what was always going to be an intriguing matchup with two closely ranked sides, the lead seesawed and by halftime the hosts led 14-12.

Spain threatened to get away but Russia kept coming back, to keep the score close. In the end, Spain was more polished, with many of its players connected to French sides.

Russia v Serbia

13th October, Moscow, Russia:

Russia 36-18 Serbia.

There was nothing in the first half, with the score tied at 8-8 until just before the break when Russia went ahead 18-8 with two quick tries. In the second half, Russia took control and gradually pulled away. Serbia did score two late consolation tries to get back to 18-30 and then conceded another try at the death.

20th October, Belgrade, Serbia:

Serbia 24-20 Spain.

In a tight group, Serbia needed a 14 point win at home to go through to the next round. However, in a tight first half the scores were 14 -14 at the break. As the second half progressed and the 70 minute mark past, Serbia had fought to be 10 points ahead and close to their objective. Unfortunately for them and much to the visitors' delight, Spain scored again to go through at the hosts' expense.

Below the final results with each team taking a match and goal difference the deciding factor. Russia and Spain progress, Serbia's short journey finishes here.

	Teams		W	L	Pt	PD
	1	Russia	1	1	2	+10
	2	Spain	1	1	2	+4
	3	Serbia	1	1	2	-14

UK Top Teams : 2016-2018

I've assigned points for teams in Super League, grand finalists and Challenge Cup quarter-finalists forward. Over three year we can see which teams dominate proceedings. The winners are well rewarded so teams that struggle to compete at the top of a competition get exposed.

Interestingly, Wigan is the most successful without being the top in any of the three years. Hull FC pipped Warrington in 2016, Leeds got the nod over Hull FC in 2017 and Warrington were the best over Saints and Wigan, who were tied. The Catalan team came 4th in 2018, the highest the French club has finished.

For the last few years, there have been 23 rounds, followed by eight more, at which point the league leader is crowned. To me, that was absolute nonsense. Once a competition breaks up into new divisions, surely the winner at that point is the league winner. That's how I've scored it. although in reality, it doesn't make much of a difference.

SL Ranking 2016-18
		Grd	'18				'17				'16				Summary
Rk	Team	Tot	Lge	Fnl	CC	Tot	Lge	Fnl	CC	Tot	Lge	Fnl	CC	Tot	Lge	Fnl	CC	Tot
1	Wigan	124	18	20	6	44	10	6	16	32	16	20	12	48	44	46	34	124
2	Hull FC	119	11	2	6	19	16	12	20	48	20	12	20	52	47	26	46	119
3	Warrington	110	14	16	16	46	8		6	14	18	16	16	50	40	32	38	110
4	Castleford	95	16	12		28	20	16	6	42	11	8	6	25	47	36	12	95
5	St Helens	93	20	12	12	44	11	12		23	14	12		26	45	36	12	93
6	Leeds	78	8		12	20	18	20	12	50	8			8	34	20	24	78
7	Wakefield	67	10	8		18	12	8	6	26	9	2	12	23	31	18	18	67
8	Catalan	64	9	4	20	33	7			7	12	6	6	24	28	10	26	64
9	Huddersfield	46	12	6	6	24	9	2		11	5		6	11	26	8	12	46
10	Salford	43	6			6	14	4	12	30	7			7	27	4	12	43
11	Widnes	30	5			5	5			5	10	4	6	20	20	4	6	30
12	Hull KR	13	7			7					6			6	13	0	0	13
13	Leigh	12			6	6	6			6					6	0	6	12
14	Featherston	6							6	6					0	0	6	6
	Total	900	136	80	84	300	136	80	84	300	136	80	84	300	408	240	252	900