11/11/2017 - Highlights Rugby League World Cup

Storms coming in from Tonga.

Batten down the hatches.

There is going to be flying debris

everywhere.

Welcome to week three of the Rugby

League World Cup and what a game we

have in store as co-hosts New

Zealand face Tonga earlier today in

Hamilton. We have extended

highlights of that, plus Scotland

versus Samoa as group B reaches its

conclusion. Joining me like a bunch

of giddy schoolboys are former

Scotland international Andrew

Henderson, England's Jon Wilkin and

most excited of all, Robbie

Hunter-Paul. Plenty to get our teeth

most excited of all, Robbie

Hunter-Paul. Plenty to get our teeth

into. This is how group B looks at

the start of the day with New

Zealand and Tonga winning their

first two matches, the top three go

through to the quarterfinals but

with a first-place finish offering a

safe passage through the knockout

stages there was plenty at stake.

And there was so much more to this

one than group position. Prior

And there was so much more to this

one than group position. Prior to

the tournament eight Tongan players

turned down the chance to play for

The Kiwis, including star forward

Jason Taumalolo. The atmosphere was

electric in front of a packed house

in Hamilton. Sit back and enjoy.

electric in front of a packed house

in Hamilton. Sit back and enjoy.

COMMENTATOR: It is going to be a

wonderful game. We have been waiting

for this game for a long time and

it's here.

Tonga and Samoa, it has

gone up a gear here in Hamilton.

Almost set for the start. Mannering

has returned. The team is captained

by Adam Blair. Tonga have made a

late change with Michael Jennings

ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Mahe Fonua comes in on the wing.

Fusitu'a comes in. Hurrell returns.

The captain is Sika Manu.

HAKA.

CHEERING

CHEERING

Stunning. Taumalolo would love to

score against his former team here

to open the scoring. What a fairy

tale that would be. Another penalty.

Discipline hampering New Zealand

early in this game.

Yeah. Just too

long, looking at the referee, the

man asked to get off the player and

Tonga are about to take the two.

Good idea, points on the board. They

need some sort of reward for the

effort put in here. And it is a

penalty goal opening the scoring. It

is 2-0. Solomona. Konrad Hurrell and

the bouncy castle of Asofa-Solomona.

Waerea-Hargreaves. Great battle so

far between him and Taumalolo. Levi.

And now Blair. Lovely purse. There

is the opening try and it is a

stunner down the left edge. They

catch Tonga napping.

They come down

the short side. Nice work by the

captain. He gets them on the

outside, good footwork and gets them

in a scorer is a media try for The

Kiwis. Taumalolo passes the ball,

good hands from Tonga.

Fonua in

space. Mahe Fonua. That was an

excellent shift of the ball out left

from Tonga. The speed of the pass

was excellent. That is an important

tackle made by Mannering, really

helping the momentum.

Watene-Zelezniak almost got mixed

up. Here he goes again, RTS.

RTS,

after a pretty sketchy catch under

his posts makes 40 plus metres. This

is Nikorima. The footwork continues.

Delivers Scheck again outstanding.

Here is Russell Packer. That is

excellent from Russell Packer. 15

metre gain for New Zealand,

straightaway on the left edge,

looking strong on the left side, New

Zealand. Nikorima, Mannering.

Watene-Zelezniak, we have already

seen a try in that manner in this

game. Blair. Short pass and

wonderful off-load to Johnson. Try

to Jordan Rapana. It is 8-2.

Look at

this, coming out wide, beautiful

off-loads, second phase, and a

drive.

It doesn't matter how it goes over,

it is if it goes over. It is 10-2.

The back three of New Zealand has

been perfect. Absolutely top shelf.

Watene-Zelezniak, Rapana and to give

us a Scheck. Tonga need something.

Asofa-Solomona again goes high, and

gets away with that one. Tevita

Pangai Jr.

Greyhounds. Fonua!

Is

Daniel Tupou finishing of their

highest order. But it is a forward

pass.

Please! This was brilliant

from Daniel Tupou, and was that the

fraud one? This one definitely

wasn't. Mbemba finish. My word.

Johnson, nice hands. Here goes Isaac

Liu. Eight points is the margin, two

tackles left in this half as Levi

shuffles it out. The big body. P

off-loads. He runs through the gap

as wide as the Grand Canyon.

He will

be the subject of the video referee.

REFEREE:

We go back to the head on,

the arms have come away.

He cleared

the tackle, the ball off the ground

and then we have grounding.

What a

killer blow this could be in the

context of this game. There is the

try to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. 14-2.

That is a damaging blow for Tonga.

The Dry is converted and it is

half-time at Waikato Stadium in

Hamilton and New Zealand lead Tonga

16-2 -- the try.

Pangai Jr. Manu.

Sika Manu, the captain. Havili.

Again they come out from the backs.

Hurrell. Good tackle. Hurrell was

putting the hip in to it. No

question. Check out the length of

the pass, Fusitu'a. Robust coming

into midfield here. Havili. Pangai

Jr again. Serious heat on the New

Zealand lines. Tonga starting the

second half as they did the first

but they couldn't score a try, they

hung on. Beautifully taken. What a

try. David Fusitu'a. Every Tongan

fan is standing and waving their

flags.

Brilliant work, Fusitu'a,

6-foot four inches, up he goes,

above were Telly Zelezny coup

doesn't attempt to catch the

football. Beautiful work. Two dries

for New Zealand last year and now

playing for Tonga.

Good carry from

Hurrell. Can they turn this position

into more points? Tonga need to be

the next scorers. Perhaps Taumalolo

will set it up. What they ball

carrier he is. Good front foot

running ball here. Adam Blair in the

tackle this time. Carrying a couple

of Kiwis to within five metres of

the line. Havili. On the last play,

he looks indecisive. Hurrell on the

back foot and he brings in Fusitu'a!

Absolutely brilliant! David

Fusitu'a, look at them, they can't

get enough of him. His second try

for Tonga brings this game alive, if

it wasn't already alive in the

second spell. Lolohea. Nobody in

front of him and he decides to go

backwards and finds Conrad who drops

off the flicked ball and finds a

hole between Adam Blair and to live

as a Scheck and into the crowd.

Game

on, 16-10. -- Tuivasa-Sheck. No

upright connection that time and we

are back to a four point game. Many

thought the last 20 in this match

would be one-way traffic with Tonga

out on their feet. Some of the Kiwi

forwards just getting onside. Tackle

three. 19 minutes to play. What a

wonderful conclusion we have got to

this game. The next scorer could

well win it. Leuluai whack out

there. -- back out there. Rapana

will play-the-ball. Leuluai almost

caught on the hop. No way! Lolohea!

Tonga! This is extraordinary. They

went to sleep. The play-the-ball

nobody wanted to deliver and then

the long pass wide seas the thief in

Tuimoala Lolohea. Here is Lolohea

with the steel and the try, 16-16

with the kick to come. So, Tonga hit

the front 18-16. And we have 17

minutes to play. Wow, this is going

to be a stunning finish. It is a

good carry. Tonga making very good

metres into The Kiwis' half from the

kick-off. Here comes Masila. Murdoch

Masila is through. There is going to

be another try. Hopoate. What

scenes.

20 unanswered points in the

second half and New Zealand are

facing a real test now. This was the

damaging play, they shift it and

away they go, the one-on-one myths,

good pace, and your full-back is

exactly where you want him.

22-16,

Tonga on fire. He nails it for the

8-point lead. 1995, Tonga led by 12

points in the last ten for New

Zealand to claw back but this is

different. Leuluai with the fast

play-the-ball, Blair passes it.

Excellent tackling from Tonga. Now

Solomona again. Two tackles left in

this set. Leuluai. Johnson. The

Tongan defence rushes up again.

Nikorima takes on the line, Nikorima

off-loads it nicely. Here is a

chance coming back infield. Roger

Tuivasa-Sheck. Check out their hands

from Asofa-Solomona. There is space

on the right. Tuivasa-Sheck! He is

there! Much longer in this game,

folks! Tuivasa-Sheck scores his

second try.

Have a look at this,

they shift it here, little skip and

a hop and across the front, Roger

touches it there. And watch his

work, out the back it goes. I

thought he just had to run to the

right but he spied a gap inside and

somehow finds the line. His second.

What they setup we have here. Tonga

24-22 New Zealand with seven minutes

to play. Four minutes to go. Fonua.

Great run. Mahe Fonua. Not

originally listed to play this game

but has done a great job in Michael

Jennings' absence.

The dummy half

will do the trick for Tonga.

Soaking

up the time on the clock. Taumalolo,

great run.

They are in field goal range if that

might be of interest to them.

Eight metres now Tuimoala Lolohea.

Not a bad option. Last play. Here go

Tonga with one last crack at the

line, oh, they've done it! Fusitu'a

has got it. Fusitu'a with three

tries and Tonga, oh, what a day for

them. Well, they won't stop cheering

here in Hamilton. It will be like

this for the next hour. A nice

little hit and spin which creates a

bit of attention from Dallin

Watene-Zelezniak and Fusitu'a goes

through. , 28-22 New

Watene-Zelezniak and Fusitu'a goes

through. , 28-22 New Zealand.

I'm

lost for words right now. When you

come from a liberal nation and

although I did not grow up and

Tonga, parents are there and I'm

very proud of where I'm from. Yeah,

it's a great feeling.

Pretty special

and emotional. The fans, I guess,

making issue and I get a lot of

people doubted us as well,

especially going in at half-time, so

to come back and score the points

that we did and win the match, yeah,

it's incredible and amazing.

I think

we let ourselves down in discipline.

We have been really good through the

tournament and tonight I think we

gave away too many penalties. You

can't do that against a side like

Tonev who took it to us and the band

were outstanding, give them credit.

When you have a look around at the

sea of red, what is going through

your mind?

It is crazy, man, I look

up there and sometimes, I'm singing

along unconsciously, you know, the

passion they have for our little

nation. It is a believable.

Momentum

is a powerful thing and so is

believed, the belief after doing

this, creating history for Tonga?

Massive belief now, beating a

world-class outfit like New Zealand,

it's only going to give the boys a

massive boost and confidence going

into next week.

A lot has been said

in the last few weeks, especially

leading into the game but we said at

half-time that we still have 40

minutes to play and the boys came

out and done exactly that. That just

shows the true character, what the

boys are about. To be honest, what

they are as a team and a country.

Obviously very disappointed with the

result but you know, we will worry

about doing the video on that

tomorrow and the following day. At

the moment, you've got to give a lot

of respect to Tonga.

It is

outstanding. I'm just really proud

of these blokes. They've made a lot

of people proud since the day they

got together and the day the blokes

made a decision to play for Tonga.

It was obvious from the day we

turned up, how proud people were of

them. They've just continue to make

people proud ever since. That effort

out there was outstanding.

Obviously, a real step up from last

week and the game then. They

continue to find something. I could

not be any prouder.

Rob Lee, I know

it did not go the way you were

hoping it would but what a game,

what a special game and special

occasion.

Special occasion, Hamilton

has a massive, it's not that far

from South Auckland, where there is

a huge Tonev population and in

Hamilton itself, that is where they

have the temple and the Mormon

church so a huge population, so the

obvious place to play it. You could

see the sea of red and black in the

stands going hand-in-hand, wonderful

atmosphere, you could be on the TV.

Have you ever seen a haka like that?

Both their challenges, you have the

New Zealand haka and Lee Tomlin one.

You can just see the energy. -- and

the Tongan one. The energy was

coming from the stands,

Asofa-Solomona going head to head

with Andrew Fifita, there, which is

a bit naughty, they should not be

touching each other, the respect is

in the line but I think it shows the

passion of what was going to happen

in the game and they did not let us

down, hugely emotional drive from

Tonga during that game.

Emotion is

one big thing but I thought

performance was what one the day and

ultimately, Tonga produced a

performance. There was a lot of

emotion at the start but in big,

emotional games like that, it is who

settles down and plays well and

ultimately, Tonga played better than

the Kiwis on the day which is why

they got the result.

That it was

going to be physical war they given

but were you surprised that the

exceptional skill levels and

handling on both sides?

It was a

great occasion, the World Cup has

truly come alive after that game

today. Tonga, you've got to give

them a massive amount of credit will

stop they were 16-2 down at

half-time. New Zealand had a lot of

say in the first half but to come

back and scored 26 points in the

second half against a decent New

Zealand side is fantastic for them.

It has put the cat amongst the

pigeons.

They were so emotional, you

could tell from the interviews, at

the end, incredible scenes at the

end of the game. Is there any danger

that Tonga will feel like they've

almost won the World Cup now?

In

fairness, it was a concern, we saw

some pictures at the end of the

game, Jason Taumalolo kneeling on

the ground, it might be a family

member with him, tears pouring down

his cheeks. Lots of emotional energy

went into this game because as we

knew before the start of the game,

eight players withdrew from the New

Zealand selection to make themselves

available for Tonga. They have come

under a lot of criticism in New

Zealand and from the New Zealand and

Australian media. All of these

players have had that riding on

their back. To achieve success

against one of the big three teams

and doing it in such fashion, where

they overpowered the team with

individual brilliance in a lot of

places, you look at how they've

played the game, 86% completion rate

also, that is just a performance to

be proud.

Yeah, International rugby

is about performance, statistically

in this game, the Kiwis let

themselves down, completed but made

a lot of errors and conceded a lot

of penalties which read into the

powerful Tonga pack who really took

the game and Jason Taumalolo, for

those who don't know, is probably

the best forward in world rugby

league at the moment, there's nobody

like him. He is quick as an outside

back with footwork and strong and

has minutes in the middle of the

field for Tonga, exceptional.

David

Fusitu'a got a hat-trick but some of

the build-up play

Fusitu'a got a hat-trick but some of

the build-up play to the tries was

exceptional.

Some of the skills on

display were outstanding. As you can

see, fantastic kick into the corner

and that is some catch. Outstretched

like that, to take the ball in the

air is a believable. And the next

try, changing direction, a bit off

the cuff, to be honest, but some

poor inside defence from New

Zealand.

The Kiwis will be annoyed

with that.

Yes because they had no

right to score the try, they just

chased to write and even close to

the line, the winger comes in and

makes a poor decision to do so, and

again, conceding a soft try in the

end. Some areas for New Zealand to

fix but I don't think they will be

disheartened by that of the weekend.

fix but I don't think they will be

disheartened by that of the weekend.

They will learn from it and

potentially we will see a response

in the next game.

There's a lot of

growth left in New Zealand, Adam

Blair was talking about the

discipline which is not just about

giving away penalties but also

controlling the ball. Russell Packer

in the front row gives a cutout

pass, Tuimoala Lolohea gets the

intercept which starts the rot for

New Zealand. The emotional

atmosphere of the game itself and

Tonga made it a tough day at the

office but I think New Zealand will

grow.

But it throws the tournament

wide open because we cannot have in

Australia and New Zealand final.

And

I think that he two players dropping

back or choosing to play for Tonga,

I think it's made this tournament

for me, made it interesting and now

we go into the quarterfinals and the

tee top-seeded teams going into the

tournament are split up so the big

challenge, maybe what we will talk

about in the future is who England

will have to play down the line

because they will have to possibly

play Tonga. But the tournament comes

to life now going into the

quarterfinals.

It was quite some

game. So far Scotland have had a

World Cup to forget with two heavy

defeats to Tonga and New Zealand but

a win against Samoa could still see

them into the quarterfinals.

However, it is not just on the pitch

where their campaign has gone awry

with three players including

influential captain Danny Brough

sent home last week for misconduct.

Your commentators for this one, Dan

and Andrew Ryan.

COMMENTATOR: The Rugby league World

Cup returns to Cairns in far North

Queens and

Cup returns to Cairns in far North

Queens and for a winner take all

group B match, Samoa against

Scotland. One of these teams will go

on to the quarterfinals. The other

goes home.

Samoa, so much class in

their but none more so than Joseph

Leilua, their centre, the strike

power out on the edge, used to go to

man today. For Scotland, they have

been under pressure, the first two

games, their number six today, Danny

Addy, is the key.

Thomas. Danny Addy. Frankie Mariano.

The man from Featherstone. Inside

the 20. Almost roaring a penalty.

Danny Addy with the chip kick and

here comes Lewis Tierney! Making a

mess of it and Lewis Tierney gets it

down and it looks like Scotland have

the first try.

Slow from here, slow.

Yes, that is good. I'm happy with

that. All good, thank you, mate, we

are going to confirm the decision of

the drive.

Greg Little play from

Danny Addy on the last play, coming

over to the right edge and Lewis

Tierney pushing up the middle,

Tonumaipea made an absolute meal of

it, was not sure whether to pick it

up or not it dead. Poor error from

Young Tonumaipea.

Let's see what

Samoa have in attack.

Jarome Luai, did not run it much

last week but he can certainly run

the ball. Now, Joshua pop shrugged

off to including Danny Addy.

Herman Ese'ese. Needed to be

stopped, Douglas and have another

front rows involved. Openside, and a

powerful one, junior Paulao has --

Junior Paolo has crashed over, and

Samoa too big and too powerful.

Samoa in for their first try.

Shane Toal. From the Barrow Raiders

in the third tier of English

football. Metres on offer. That has

been touched by Bunty Afoa and it is

a penalty to Scotland. Pouring on a

little more pressure, countering

well.

Just trying to get in the arm

wrestle but at the moment, Scotland

are getting all the yardage.

Not the

regular kicker, Danny Brough was

their usual one. Not a bad strike.

Oh, it is a beauty. How could we

doubt him? Scotland back in front,

8-6 as we approach the midway point

of the first half.

Thomas. Looking for Lachlan Stein.

Arm raised, last tackle, Bentley.

Danny Addy can see the line in front

of him. REFEREE:

Going to play the

knock-on, on the last tackle.

Out on

the ten metre line for a changeover.

Scotland electing to run on the last

play again and Danny Addy stepping

off his right foot, saw some space

inside but unfortunately, the error

and a sigh of relief for Samoa.

My

goodness, the ball has been stolen

by Mariano! This is going to be a

dry! -- try. It will lead inspection

but it appears Timoteo Lafai tried

to release it.

Tim Lafai is looking

to pass and at this data does not

look like there is a touch between

any other Scotland player and

Scotland have taken possession and

if we follow through, can I get a

look at the grounding? And the ball

is grounded, we have got a decision,

we are going to the board.

Frankie

Mariano puts them in front to 12-6.

Scotland on top.

Oh, my goodness, a long pass, casual

take by Jarome Luai. Into the final

two minutes of the first period.

There is a run by Brown, he's gets

them open. Lewis Tierney chasing and

the pass has gone forward and Samoa

butcher a dry with Pita Godinet.

Tossed up in the air and it was an

instant call by the on field

referee.

Thomas. Picks out Tim Lafai who has

been on the wing pretty much all

afternoon and now he draws in two

defenders and sends his team-mates

down the wing. Samoa will get a full

set inside Scottish territory.

Paolo at first receiver. Brown. Lalo

would space, here's trouble, out it

goes and Matthew Wright gets it

down. Samoa have their second and

they are back in business. But we

will go upstairs.

We are going to go

slow, here, thanks, mate, slow,

slow, the ball is up. That is all

good, we are going to confirm that

live decision and then we are going

to the board.

It had to be, that was

green all the way.

Sensational

put-down to make it a one school

game. -- one score game.

Jarome

Luai. Could not keep its footing but

on the next play, Tonumaipea goes

straight through. They have tied it

up, Samoa and the kick is makeable.

And they have a chance to take the

lead, their third try of the

afternoon. Tonumaipea and Scotland

could not hang on any longer. It is

14-14, with the kick from mid range.

Matthew Wright, B Breeze will take

this again from left to right so the

angle will be closed. -- the breeze.

Too much hook and the wind plays its

part. It is important to note that a

draw favours Samoa. They have the

superior for and against. And a big

moment in this game, a penalty, 40

metres out and Danny Addy landed one

in a first half from around this

range. What a moment we have. That

ball clearly raked out with more

than one in the tackle. He got one

in at the southern end from 40

metres out and he would appear to

have the wind at his back ever so

slightly, to put Scotland back in

front.

He pulled it, left edge, they get

the ball back. The chance slips, as

so often, when players look for

distance, they tend to pull it.

Danny Addy can kick them and so can

Thomas. Douglas, a powerful run,

inside the 30, now. Here it comes,

Danny Addy. He wanted it. Pita

Godinet rushed on him, Thomas, it is

low and just not far enough. That

was so close.

Bentley. Bell. Into the 40.

Danny Addy, thought about it. Joseph

Paolo rushed up. Now the ball on.

Darren Anderson. They have gone

sideways. Danny Addy is going to

launch. He got the distance but he

has pulled it. And that might be

their World Cup. He has hit the

cover off the ball but the wind

takes it left and now a seven tackle

set for Samoa. If they hang onto it,

they go to the quarterfinals.

Yet to have a draw in this

tournament, and we are 38 seconds

away. It will be a split decision.

Herman Ese'ese. Scotland have to get

this back somehow.

Jarome Luai for Paulo. Nine seconds

left.

The final play, a deliberate kick

for touch. And Samoa are through to

the World Cup quarterfinals. The

Braveheart lived up to their name

and they were so close to causing a

monumental upset. Samoa progress

without winning a game. Final score

14-14.

without winning a game. Final score

14-14.

A lot was made last year of

the draw against New Zealand and,

you know, the effort in the Four

Nations and the last World Cup and

that for me was in perspective one

of the best performances Scotland

has had for a long time with regards

to effort. If you think about the

young squad we have got, the first

couple of results we have had, the

resilience, the effort and the

spirit, the skill, the desire that

this team showed, there, in every

bit of adversity that you can have,

I don't think anybody could be

prouder.

We had a chance to win the

game and then another one with the

drop goal but, yeah, we can be

proud, you know, obviously not proud

of the first two games but proud of

sort of this performance. We owed it

to ourselves and the fans that

everybody associated with Scotland.

We are still alive, plenty to go,

we've had a really wonderful World

Cup. We haven't probably played as

well is what we would have hoped but

we are still in the competition.

We've got a game next week. You will

see some of that Samoan pride and

passion in that game. But the blue

they are a good side, Samoa, and

we've got guys in Championship one,

and playing in Super League.

We've

come together and we've really tried

to leave the jersey in a better

position and I think we did tonight.

This is how group B has ended up,

Tonga upsetting the odds to finish

top spot with maximum points. New

Zealand have to make do with second

place and Samoa edge out Scotland

for the final qualifying position on

points difference. They can be very

proud, can't they, Scotland, after

that?

Absolutely and an extreme you

proud, too because they've gone into

the World Cup under strength to

start with and then found themselves

even more understrength with the

departures last week. They've had a

lot of disruption throughout the

campaign. It has been a

disappointing campaign. And. But to

finish with that performance, they

have really faced it head-on.

They've been unlucky, they competed

high, they controlled the game, I

thought Danny Addy was very

influential. A missed penalty goal

40 metres out with eight minutes to

go.

It was a heck of an effort from

Danny Addy and as you say, he had a

fantastic game.

And two drop goal

attempt, Thomas just goes wide and

Danny Addy as well, struck it really

well, probably a bit unlucky,

Scotland, to not progress to the

quarterfinals after that. It was not

to be but they can be very browed of

their efforts.

Danny Addy's drop

goal was

their efforts.

Danny Addy's drop

goal was a long way out. It was a

really good crack. It is not often

you go there and wonder how we

missed it.

It was not in an ideal

spot to start with but he hits it

perfectly. The biggest challenges

the length on the kick and he does

it and hit it straight, it is just a

couple of metres to the left of the

sticks. Danny Addy had a great game

and I think he really stepped up.

When you lose the experience of

Danny Brough, and let's not talk

around

Danny Brough, and let's not talk

around this, it should have been

Danny Brough taking that kick so

Danny Brough has probably let them

down by not being out there to kick

the ball.

Would they have but that

performance in if they had not had

the adversity of Danny Brough and

the others sent home?

We were

chatting about this and it could go

a couple of ways, especially the

captain in Danny Brough and that

could have a detrimental effect on

how the team played. It can

galvanise you, help you find other

players who like the responsibility

and want more. Danny Addy stepped up

and had a great game and took on

some of that responsibility that

Danny Brough left.

I believe

Scotland would always have had a

performance in the tournament and

they have had to come because the

last two games, they underperformed.

With or without Danny Brough, the

forwards were immense. If you look

at Samoa, they were not in the game

today. Their completion rate was

something around 50, 55, 56%. But

when you have a team that you are

playing against are keyed up and

they want the game, they can make

you play that badly and I think it

was a mixture of them probably not

being 100% in the game and thinking

Scotland have had all this

adversity, they would easily win,

and Scotland turning up ready to

play.

Sanogo into the quarterfinals

without winning a

Sanogo into the quarterfinals

without winning a game in the

groups, that is mad to think you can

go into the quarterfinals of the

World Cup without winning. They have

scraped through. They have a big

game coming up. They cannot play

that badly against Australia and

expect to win.

What next for

Scotland rugby league? Or do they

need to do to build on this?

A

couple of things. There needs to be

predicted, if not just for Scotland,

Wales and Ireland, more money put

into those nations which has to come

from the International Federation.

They have to take it more seriously

and look for investment and also

some onus on the nations themselves.

I know they are not full-time

employed but those volunteers will

have to go Above and Beyond try and

generate income and resource to go

into those nations. Without the

funds it's not going to grow.

Are we

getting left behind in the northern

hemisphere?

I would say

traditionally, Tonga, Samoa, and

these second-tier teams they have

history and heritage with rugby

league. Rugby league recruits all of

the power and punch and pace from

these islands and there isn't much

of that coming from Scotland. We are

not instinctively going to Scotland

to recruit rugby league players. It

is a challenge but if this is the

way we are going we must invest in

the second-tier nations and making

them work.

A long way to go but we

have had some cracking stuff

them work.

A long way to go but we

have had some cracking stuff and

well done to Scotland today.

Confirmation of who plays who in the

quarterfinals as things stand. Group

a winners Australia B Lebanon 34-0

in the other game today, highlights

on the BBC website and they will

face some are. Tonga play the cyber

pernicious bird in England's group

and New Zealand will take on Fiji

while the group of eight runners-up,

currently England, played the group

C winners which will either the

Papua New Guinea or Ireland. The

Rugby League Women's World Cup kicks

off this Thursday in Australia and

you can follow the tournament across

the BBC. Rugby union follows us next

on BBC One with Samoa taking on

Scotland in the autumn

internationals. Later on it is Wales

against Australia on BBC Two from

4:45pm. Before that on BBC Two there

is track cycling, the World Cup from

Manchester, and please join Mark

Chapman and the team tomorrow from

9:30am

Chapman and the team tomorrow from

9:30am for England's final group

game against France live on BBC Two.

My thanks to Robbie, Jon Wilkin and

Andrew. We are moving over to the

BBC website, connected televisions

and the BBC sport at where we will

look ahead to tomorrow's fixtures

including England versus France.

Join Mark Chapman for the game live

on BBC Two tomorrow. Will it be

Gaelic glory or a French dressing?

Au revoir.