International Results : 2019 June

The international calendar for RL suddenly burst into life. There were matches being played in different locations, some classed as a friendly but the others being part of a series.

21st June, Sydney, Australia (WC qualifying repechage match) Cook Is vs RSA

It was always going to be a big ask that the RSA would be able to contain the Kukis. While many making up the Rhinos play the game in Australia, it isn't at the top level and domestic players don't have a strong competition to develop in. The CI rely heavily on NZ born players with more experience.

That's how it transpired, as about 2,600 turned up in neutral Australia to enjoy the match. The Kukis quickly took control and raced to a 46-0 lead by half time. The second half was more even and the Rhinos managed to score too, which was some consolation.

Cook Is 66-6 South Africa.

The Cook Is will later head stateside to take on the USA to decide the final place in the 2021 WC.

22nd June, Auckland, NZ (Oceania Cup Pool A) NZ vs Tonga

Mate Ma'a Tonga have had some great wins recently and want to progress and eventually be recognised as a tier one nation. The Kiwis have had some ordinary performances over the same period and wished to get back on track. So plenty riding on the result. Nearly 24,000 were on hand to see the game.

NZ hit the ground running and Tonga struggled to stay with them. At half time it was 16-4 to the home side with the thousands on Tongan fans there unable to lift their team sufficiently. The local side continued to outplay their opponents in the second half and won surprisingly comfortably in the end. Hot and cold Shaun Johnson was outstanding on this occasion for the Kiwis, scoring three tries.

NZ 34-14 Tonga.

22nd June, Sydney, Australia (Oceania Cup Pool B) Samoa vs PNG

Toa Samoa and the PNG Kumuls came together for this clash with PNG having the better recent form. In a tight, tough encounter it was Samoa who had the slightly better first half, leading 12-6 at the break. In the end Samoa got away to win and deservedly so, in front of 8,500 spectators.

Samoa 24-6 PNG

22nd June, Sydney, Australia. Fiji vs Lebanon

At the same venue as above, Fiji Bati took on the Lebanon Cedars with the 8,500 attendees getting bang for their buck in this double header. Both sides have a strong recent history in internationals but Lebanon had some high profile defections and issues with its federation.

How much that affected the Cedars I can't be sure but Fiji were vastly stronger overall. They raced to a surprising 34-4 lead at half time, effectively having won the contest by that time. Lebanon had a nice patch in the second period but had no answer to a very polished Bati performance.

Fiji 58-14 Lebanon

22nd June, Kingston, Jamaica. Jamaica vs USA

Jamaica had not long back narrowly upset the USA Hawks in getting direct qualification to the 2021 World Cup, the latter now to play the Cook Is if they are to get there. So here was a chance to see if that was a one off win. The USA are usually successful when these two nations come together. The Reggae Warriors chose local players only, rather that use any UK based ones so an interesting test of domestic quality.

The Hawks took an early lead and after a seesaw half of scoring it was 18-14 to the visitors. The Reggae Warriors then went ahead 26-18 and went on to win a close encounter of the second kind.

Jamaica 26-24 USA

USA Season : 2019 (Preview)

The 2019 season has commenced with one team no longer competing and a new side added. In all, eleven teams will compete in two conferences. This keeps travel costs down to a minimum. In addition, instead of having a seven Northern Conference and a four team Southern Conference as was the case last year, it is now a six to five split.

Northern Conference: The teams are listed below in the blue section of the chart. The Boston 13s and the Northern Virginia Eagles are at the two extremities but overall travel is not excessive. The Brooklyn Kings won last years conference and made the grand final. The 2017 conference winner - the New York Knights - are not competing this season.

Southern Conference: These sides are on the yellow section of the the chart below. The Atlanta Rhinos are quite a distance to the north of the other teams, the remainder all in Florida. Last year it was the Jacksonville Axemen that comfortably won the conference and then the grand final, so the team to beat in 2019. The new side is the Lakeland Renegades which I believe is based in Winter Haven and is 50 miles east of Tampa.

2019
Northern Conference			Southern Conference
1	Boston 13s		1	Atlanta Rhinos
2	Brooklyn Kings		2	Jacksonville Axemen
3	Delaware Black Foxes		3	Lakeland Renegades
4	Northern Virginia Eagles		4	South Florida Copperheads
5	Philadelphia Fight		5	Tampa Bay Mayhem
6	White Plains Wombats

2021 World Cup Qualifiers - Europe C

The fixtures below are all in 2018 (except the last one), involving six nations and six games. They involve Group C ranked countries and a full list of the groups can be found by clicking here. There is a match between the two winning sides of the North and South groups to see which side progresses but I am unsure of the details at this stage.

16th June, Vrchlabi, Czech Rep:

Czech Rep 20-12 Norway.

The first match in the 2021 World Cup Qualifiers - European Championship C North -  was won by the hosts. Over 1,000 spectators in a small town were impressive. The game was close and Norway had the upper hand early on but was unable to take full advantage.

30th June, Budapest, Hungary:

Malta 22-44 Ukraine.

The first match for the European Championship C South was watched by 500 spectators at the Marsa Sports Complex. In warm conditions, the Ukraine side had the better of the first half to lead 18-6 at the break. Although Malta was able to score more in the second half, they couldn't stop the visitors doing likewise.

25th August, Osnabrück, Germany:

Germany 24-4 Czech Rep.

The second European Championship C North game went to Germany. It was a tight game, with the hosts scoring just before the break to lead 6-0. The larger Czech forwards were unable to break down a resolute defence as they hoped.

8th September, Kharkov, Ukraine:

Ukraine 26-28 Greece.

The second fixture for the European Championship C South had Greece leading 20-8 at halftime. However, the home side came storming back for a tense finish to the game. Both sides scored four tries each but a penalty goal was the difference in the end.

15th September, Porsgrunn, Norway & Athens, Greece:

Norway 40-20 Germany.

The third and final European Championship C North game with not much in it up to halftime, with the hosts leading 16-10. Norway needed to win well to progress (14 or 15 points) and they took the game away from Germany with an impressive points haul.

Malta 60-4 Greece.

The third and final European Championship C South match Greece showed their class, racing to a 30-4 halftime advantage. They didn't let up in the second period, running out comfortable winners. Greece won both their fixtures and progress.

Group C North							Group C South
Nation	W	L	P	F	A	+/-	Nation	W	L	P	F	A	+/-
Norway	1	1	2	52	40	+8	Greece	2	0	4	88	30	+58
Germany	1	1	2	44	44	0	Ukraine	1	1	2	70	50	+20
Czech R	1	1	2	24	36	-8	Malta	0	2	0	26	104	-78

18th May 2019, London, England:

The playoff game to see which team progressed, was a high scoring match. Greece were soon ahead 14-0 and by half time it was a lopsided 39-0. The second half was more even, as Norway came back. The score was 38-20 at one stage but eventually Greece took the game 56-26.

Norway can return home proud of their come back performance while Greece attempt to make their first WC appearance in the next round played in Oct/Nov 2019 against Scotland and Russia.