Australia and England meet in the first match of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, and we’re covering the game with the Who, What, Where, When and How of the big game which.
The 2017 Rugby League World Cup is a big deal for us, being huge rugby league fans and love a minnow or two, and we’ll be covering all of the games throughout.
So visit our 2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP MATCH CENTRE
Now onto the Australia v England game.
AUSTRALIA v ENGLAND MATCH REVIEW
RESULT – Who Won?
AUSTRALIA 18 (J Dugan M Gillett B Slater tries C Smith 3 goals)
ENGLAND 4 (J McGillvary try) at AAMI Park. Referee: Matt Cecchin
How Did They Win?
There was very little in it throughout, and England even dared to surprise Australia early by taking the lead 4-0.
The two try burst in the first half when Gillett crossed in the 22nd minute and when the Aussies took the tap from a penalty in front of the posts and Billy Slater scored not long after gave them a 10-4 lead.
Despite the Sam Burgess injury England kept the score to 10-4 on the back of some great service at hooker from James Roby and great involvement from fullback Johnny Lomax, and if they had the spine combination of Australia they may have got that vital try and momentum.
A penalty goal gave the Aussies some breathing space, and the Kangaroos topped that off with a fortuitous final length of the field try to Josh Dugan.
But there wasn’t much in it at all, and England can take plenty from the game.
What did we learn?
England were very competitive, and did so without Sam Burgess for over a half of football. And if this ended up as the Grand Final in a month’s time then that’s OK by us.
They are up for the tough stuff, and proved that this tournament has more than one potential winner.
Australia will have more to come, and while they certainly didn’t look complacent, they did also look a little rusty at times. Especially Cooper Cronk and his kicking game early.
What was the Moment of the Match?
The big moment of the match, and one that could have big ramifications for the tournament of one of the big three, was when Sam Burgess went down injured before half time.
England battled gallantly without him, and were right in the game throughout the second half until Australia’s class showed through late.
How bad the injury is, and what can England do without are questions that need to be answered down the track.
Any other bits and pieces?
- Fine juggling act from Gareth Widdop in the second half.
- Australia almost lost a scrum against the feed.
- Interesting hearing John Lomax in the call and seeing a smallish fullback in headgear instead of the hulking man brute that was the original John Lomax.
- Debutant Dane Gagai proved the Origin series was no one-off.
- Was the game better off for having just the one referee? Absolutely. Instead of tedious penalties and strict enforcement of rules at the expense of the flow of the game, the game was mostly allowed to flow. NRL take note.
- Wasnt the pre game opening ceremony tremendous. Perhaps not, but the use of Black Box’s Ride On Time will always get our tick of approval.
- Channel 7 did ok, remembering that at least it isn’t Channel Nein.
THE DOWLING-TAMATI #RLWC2017 PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT
We’ve decided that a tournament as big as the 2017 Rugby League World Cup needs a Player of the tournament, and who better than International relations specialists Kevin Tamati and Greg Dowling to name our award.
We award points on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale every match, and the results for this game is below. For the running total from all of the games visit our 2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP MATCH CENTRE
5 POINTS – BILLY SLATER – Involved in plenty, and vital in attack and defence. Capping off an already wonderful season.
4 POINTS – JAMES GRAHAM – So many tackles, so many hit ups, yet he was the one chasing Josh Dugan’s runaway try. Goliath.
3 POINTS – DAVID KLEMMER – Showed his best and Australia were worse off without him.
2 POINTS – JERMAINE McGILLVARY – provided excitement with just about every touch.
1 POINT – GARETH WIDDOP – the best of the halves from both teams on the night. Not much of a night for halves.
MATCH PREVIEW
Who: AUSTRALIA v ENGLAND
Where and When: LIVE Friday 27 Oct – Melbourne
When is it on TV? Channel 7 @ 7pm
What’s the Story?
The 2017 Rugby League World Cup kicks off between traditional sporting rivals Australia and England in Melbourne on Friday night, and is the highlight match of Pool A.
With the Ashes due soon, and David Warner calling for hate between the two cricketing nations, it seems apt that these two teams meet, however there will be no need for a call to arms for the Kangaroos, as they will be in for a tough, physical affair.
English coach Wayne Bennett was quoted as saying he would take positives out of a potential narrow loss to Australia, which of course was blown out to say England would be happy to lose. With the firepower at England’s disposal, and the traditional rivalry at stake, no one will be happy with a loss.
Australia will be looking to lay down a marker for the first match of the tournament, one they will want to win at home after the disappointment of losing in the last World Cup final at home.
There’s talk this one could be feisty, here’s hoping.
Who Will Win and Why?
On paper Australia should have way too much quality for the English side, despite the English boasting plenty of quality NRL talent like Sam Burgess, Gareth Widdop and Josh Hodgson.
The forward packs actually look fairly even, so we say the difference between the sides will be the winning combination of Storm trio Slate, Cronk and Smith who know how to win the big games.
Australia by 8
Who to watch for?
Sam Burgess.
If England are any chance of an upset, he needs to have a big game. He may well appreciate not having to carry the pack like he had to at South Sydney in 2017.
TEAMS
Who’s in the Teams?
AUSTRALIA
- Billy Slater 2. Dane Gagai 3. Will Chambers 4. Josh Dugan 5. Valentine Holmes 6. Michael Morgan 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Aaron Woods 9. Cameron Smith 10. David Klemmer 11. Boyd Cordner 12. Matt Gillett 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Wade Graham 15. Jordan McLean 16. Josh McGuire 17. Tyson Frizell 18. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 19. Ben Hunt 20. Tom Trbojevic 21. Felise Kaufusi
ENGLAND
- Jonny Lomax 2. Jermaine McGillvary 3. Kallum Watkins 4. John Bateman 5. Ryan Hall 6. Gareth Widdop 7. Luke Gale 8. Chris Hill 9. Josh Hodgson 10. James Graham 11. Sam Burgess 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Sean O’Loughlin (c) 14. Alex Walmsley 15. Chris Heighington 16. Thomas Burgess 17. James Roby 18. Ben Curries 19. Kevin Brown 20. Mark Percival 21. Scott Taylor
