Rugby League World Cup IX thread

[Saugeais]

Quaterfinals

@ Jeanfield
Saugeais (SAU) 16–30 Virabia (VIR)

@ Lowlands Stadium
The Yorozuya (YRZ) 30–24 Lithatrius (LTH)

@ Vauxen Park
Delaclava (DEL) 10–28 Sorthern Northland (SNO)

@ STAI Stadium
Darmen (DAR) 16–31 Polar Islandstates (PIS)

Semi Finals

Virabia vs. The Yorozuya at Jeanfield

Sorthern Northland vs. Polar Islandstates at Vauxen Park

[Saugeais]

Semi Finals

@ Jeanfield
Virabia (VIR) 24–12 The Yorozuya (YRZ)

@ Vauxen Park
Sorthern Northland (SNO) 28–10 Polar Islandstates (PIS)

Third Place Match @ Vauxen Park

The Yorozuya vs. Polar Islandstates

Finals @ Jeanfield

Virabia vs. Sorthern Northland

[Sorthern Northland]

Sorthern Northland versus Polar Islandstates in the semi-final of a World Cup. On that occasion there had been much support for Polar Islandstates, the young upstarts who had been further than any had expected against the established Sorthern side looking to retain their crown. There was no fairytale on that occasion, Sorthern Northland went on to record a comfortable 4-1 win to move onwards to the final and to hoisting the World Cup trophy again.

That was football, this is rugby league. Different sport but almost the same situation. This time it was Sorthern Northland, a side who had appeared in six finals against Polar Islandstates, a side who were playing in their second Rugby League World Cup. For comparison that's the same number of times as Sorthern Northland have won the tournament. Again it was the case of the battle hardened experience Snorths versus the young and daring Polarians fighting the odds.

It wasn't just support of the underdog that saw the Polarians gather much of the neutral support though. They'd lit up this World Cup, they'd entertained, they had been refreshing. The Sortherners? The accusation was that they'd been efficient. That they'd relied on reputation to conquer lesser foes, and such thought perhaps had merit, the Sorthern side had afterall made it this far in a relatively quiet manner.

So football and rugby, two different sports but the same fixture in very similar circumstances. The result was also a similar one. A 28-10 win for the side in red and gold providing passage to another final, the blue, green and white of Polar Islandstates left to contemplate another third place play-off. A fairytale story in the final again being pushed aside for a predictable final.

Or at least a predictable constitution of the teams in the final. Given that four of the six previous finals the Sorthern side had been in had ended in defeat it could be said that a predictable final will be one that ends with captain León Jiménez leading his charges up to collect runners-up medals once the hooter sounded. Opponents Virabia afterall had a one hundred percent record in their two finals so far, the first of those having been against Sorthern Northland. The second one had been the last tournament. Newcomers Chetkosk were the opponents for the first final since the first tournament not to feature Sorthern Northland.

They lost of course, but still it was supposed to herald a changing of the guard. Having gone out in the quarter-finals to Chetkosk the Sorthern team were to be no more. Perhaps to some extent Virabia's victory over Chetkosk kept the tournament in the hand of the established guard, but even they were relative newcomers, competing then in their third tournament. Had Polar Islandstates won their semi-final this time perhaps again it would be talk of a new guard coming in. Instead it's a battle between two sides who already have four Rugby League World Cup titles between them, a battle to determine which nation will become the first to claim three titles.

One side is the defending champions and the other has played more finals than some nations have played matches. It is very much a battle of the old guard and far from the fairytale some may have hoped for. It may need some scratching below the surface, but there are still fairytales to be had in this final.

[Saugeais]

Third Place Match
@ Vauxen Park
The Yorozuya (YRZ) 20–13 Polar Islandstates (PIS)

Finals
@ Jeanfield
Virabia (VIR) 18–19 Sorthern Northland (SNO)


Congrats to Sorthern Northland on winning the 9th Rugby League World Cup.