Almanac Rugby League – 2021/22 World Cup Wrap: The Roos hot to trot!

 

 

 

When the big occasion presented itself, two teams of champions became champion teams as both the Jillaroos and the Kangaroos dominated their respective World Cup finals. Meanwhile, the tournament hosts, England, rolled out an historic victory when they defeated the favourites, France, in the wheelchair division.

 

Wheelchair tournament

England upset the odds by defeating favourites France 28-24 in a game where momentum and the lead changed several times. Wheelchair rugby league is no place for the feint hearted and the final was exciting, pulsating, skilful and brutal all at the same time.

 

France had the better of the first half before a late try to the home side got them to within two points at the break. England took command early in the second period and got out to a handy lead before a couple of penalties to France had the teams tied at 24-24 with three minutes on the clock. A weaving ‘run’ from England captain Tom Halliwell broke the deadlock and gave the hosts their first World Cup trophy in 14 years. Halliwell was adjudged player of the match.

 

Women’s tournament:

Australia’s Jillaroos left their best until last when they destroyed the New Zealand Ferns 54-4 in the women’s division of the World Cup. After an ugly, narrow win over the same opponent in the round robin just nine days earlier, the Australians were at their best from the very start and the 10 tries to 1 outcome reflected their total dominance.

 

Veteran halfback Ali Brigginshaw, who endured a modest NRLW year by her standards, wound back the clock to orchestrate a team performance for the ages. Her selection of running plays, passes and kicks to control the game added to claims that she has been the code’s best  female player of the past decade. She was the deserved winner of the player of the match award.

 

But this was a comprehensive team effort where the Jillaroos dominated in every position. Isabelle Kelly and Jessica Sergis ran amok, feeding off the inroads made by their forwards such as Shannon Mato, Kennedy Cherrington and Kezie Apps, and the scheming of Brigginshaw and Taryn Aiken. Then the bench players came on and provided more of the same. It was all a case of too big, too strong, too skilful, too co-ordinated. Imagine what might have happened if Millie Boyle had been available for the tournament!

 

The Ferns were best served by fullback Appii  Nicholls, halfback Raecene McGregor and the tireless Georgia Hale. But that was never going to be enough against this Australian outfit.

 

Referee Belinda Clarke had a very good game.

 

The other notable feature of the women’s competition was the huge advance in skills, speed and the overall quality of play. No doubt the NRLW has had a lot to do with this. Will we see more overseas players come on board as the number of teams in the domestic competition increases? That might be one way for other nations to start to bridge what seems to be a considerable gap between them and this Jillaroos outfit.

 

Men’s tournament:

The human interest story and the vibe of the men’s division may have been all about Samoa but the hard-nosed reality of the competition asserted itself when the Kangaroos dominated the brave men in blue to win the final by 30-10.

 

From my perspective, this was the story of a team of champions who bonded to become a champion team to potentially rank with the very best Australian teams of all time. And that all comes back to coach Mal Meninga. While he may rely on the tactical nous of his team of assistants, there is no doubt that Meninga has that rare ability to not only get the best out of each of his players but also manages to get each of them to bring what they have to contribute to an overall team performance. And that’s no mean feat when you’re dealing with characters and egos on this scale!

 

The Australians’ performance was built around a defensive wall that took the Samoans over an hour to crack. By then Samoa was 20 points behind and the game lost. Perhaps the defensive capability was best demonstrated during the 10-minute period after Angus Crichton was sin binned. During that time, the Kangaroos both kept their line in tact and extended their lead through a Cameron Murray try.

 

In attack the Australians were relentless up front, creative in the halves, dominant our wide and clinical in their finishing. The Cleary/Munster/Tedesco interchange for the latter’s second try after half-time was magical. Tedesco was everywhere as usual and a clear winner of the best player award; Nathan Cleary had his best game of the series and although his partnership with Cameron Munster is a work in progress, they did enough to keep the Samoan defence guessing. Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton were monsters in the middle of the park while Holmes and Addo-Carr were electric on their respective wings.

 

What a team of individual stars from 1- 17! Then look at the talent in the rest of the squad. Now imagine trying to fit Tom Trbojevic into this team. A wealth of riches. Then look at their ages – the Kangaroos look so strong for the next 5-6 years at least.

 

With a domestic focus in mind, this World Cup leaves you scratching your head about NSW’s 2022 State of Origin selections. Josh Addo-Carr, Jack Wighton and Reagan Campbell-Gillard demonstrated why they should have been in sky blue for the whole series. Let’s see what happens in 2023. By contrast, Queensland got it right when they chose the likes of Cotter, Carrigan and Tuilgi.

 

Golden Boot recipients:

England’s Sebastien Bechara received this award for wheelchair rugby league’s best player in the world for 2022. New Zealand’s Raecene McGregor won the women’s award, an amazing turnaround considering that she didn’t have a club contract leading into the 2022 NRLW season! Kiwi Joey Manu was the recipient of the men’s award after a dominant NRL season, a rich vein of form which carried over into the World Cup.

 

And that’s rugby league for 2022. Pre-season training for 2023 is already underway and we have an expanded season in prospect as the Dolphins join the men’s competition and the women’s league continues its growth.

 

See you then!