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2008 Festival of World Cups

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2008 (2008) Festival of World Cups  ()
Festival of World Cups logo
Host country Australia
2013

The 2008 Festival of World Cups was a series of rugby league world cups held in Australia during 2008. The festival was staged in concurrence with the 2008 Men's Rugby League World Cup also in Australia and coincided with the centenary of rugby league celebrations in Australia.[1][2]

The festival contained world cups for Student, Police, Women, Defence and Wheelchair teams.[2] The Universities tournament officially started the Festival in July ahead of the remaining competitions in October.[1]

Colin Love, the Rugby League World Cup 2008 Tournament Director and RLIF Chairman, stated "The festival highlights how the World Cup is embracing the Rugby League community and acknowledging its wide-ranging affiliates", adding "It’s a great opportunity to showcase the broad appeal of the game internationally".[2]

Festival schedule

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The Festival of World Cups included:

Event[2] Dates[2] Areas/Venues[2] Winner
University 4 July - 19 July 2008 Griffith University and other Brisbane venues; Langlands Park (Final) Australia
Men 25 October - 22 November 2008 Twelve venues across four Australian states; Suncorp Stadium (Final) New Zealand
Police 2 November - 15 November 2008 Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast; Suncorp Stadium (Final) Fiji
Women 2 November - 15 November 2008 Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast; Suncorp Stadium (Final) New Zealand
Defence 5 November - 16 November 2008 Penrith, Townsville; Sydney Football Stadium (Final) Great Britain
Wheelchair 7 November - 17 November 2008 Sydney metropolitan area England

University

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The seventh University Rugby League World Cup was held in July, being the first of the six world cups to be held. The previous tournament was held in 2005 and won by New Zealand. The eight countries that took part were Australia, New Zealand, England, Greece, Scotland, Wales, France and Ireland.[3] Australia defeated England in the final, while Greece won the plate competition.

19 July 2008
Australian Universities 26 - 16 England Students

Men

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The thirteenth Rugby League World Cup was held throughout October and November. Ten teams took part. Defending Champions and hosts Australia, New Zealand, England, France and Papua New Guinea all qualified automatically, while Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Ireland and Scotland all qualified through tournaments in 2006 and 2007. The final was held at Suncorp Stadium on 22 November.

22 November 2008
New Zealand 34 - 20 Australia

Police

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The inaugural International Police Rugby League World Cup was held during November alongside the Women's Rugby League World Cup at Stockland Park. [4] The final was held as a curtain raiser to the first semi-final of the men's World Cup at Suncorp Stadium. AMP sponsored the event with organisers hoping would go towards the formation of an International Police Rugby League Federation.[5]

Group stage
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/− Pts
New Zealand 3 4 0 0 120 36 +84 8
Fiji 3 3 0 1 170 50 +120 6
Australia 3 2 0 2 80 76 +4 4
Great Britain 3 1 0 3 42 126 -84 2
Papua New Guinea 4 0 0 4 40 164 -124 0

Source:[6]

3rd/4th play-off
15 November 2008
Australia 22 - 2 Great Britain
Final
15 November 2008
Fiji Police 20 - 12 New Zealand Police

Women

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The third Women's Rugby League World Cup was held at Stockland Park alongside the Police World Cup.[7] Eight teams took part including defending champions New Zealand.[8] The final was held at Suncorp Stadium on 15 November.[9]

15 November 2008
Australia  0 - 34  New Zealand
Report

Defence

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The inaugural Defence Forces World Cup was held in Sydney with the final played at the Sydney Football Stadium as a curtain raiser to the second Semi Final of the Men's tournament. Five defence forces took part, New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands.[10][11]

Group stage
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/− Pts
Great Britain 3 4 0 0 196 68 +128 8
Australia 3 3 0 1 110 63 +47 6
New Zealand 3 2 0 2 153 80 +73 4
Cook Islands 3 1 0 3 106 128 -22 2
Papua New Guinea 4 0 0 4 22 248 -226 0

Source:[6]

3rd/4th play-off
15 November 2008
New Zealand 32 - 10 Cook Islands
Final
16 November 2008
Australian Defence Forces 16 - 26 Great Britain Armed Forces
Report

Wheelchair

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2008 (2008) Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup  ()
Number of teams4
Host country Australia
2013

Four teams took part in the inaugural Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup which was held at indoor venues in Sydney. The four teams were France, Australia, England and a Barbarians scratch team which replaced New Zealand who withdrew shortly before the start of the tournament.[12][13]

Group stage

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Group stage
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/− Pts
England 3 3 0 0 134 48 +86 6
France 3 2 0 1 170 40 +130 4
Australia 3 1 0 2 128 78 +50 2
Barbarians 3 0 0 3 4 270 –266 0
Results
7 November: Sydney Academy of Sport, Narrabeen
England 34 – 26 Australia
Barbarians 0 – 108 France
10 November: Betts Stadium, Mount Druitt
England 74 – 4 Barbarians
Australia 14 – 44 France
12 November: Sydney Academy of Sport, Narrabeen
Australia 88 – 0 Barbarians
France 18 – 26 England

Source:[6]

Finals

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Semi-finals Final
      
1 England 66
4 Barbarians 0
England 44
Australia 12
3 Australia 22
2 France 20 3rd/4th play-off
France 52
Barbarians 0

Source:[6]

17 November 2008[14]
England  44 – 12  Australia
Report
Betts Stadium, Mount Druitt, Sydney

References

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  1. ^ a b "Universities World Cup Opened". Rugby League International Federation. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Festival of World Cups Schedule". Rugby League International Federation. 8 May 2008. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
  3. ^ 2008 Tertiary Student Rugby League World Cup Archived 28 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine @ 2008 University Student Rugby League World Cup.
  4. ^ Qld to Host Police World Cup Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine @ Queensland Police Service Rugby League
  5. ^ AMP Sign up as World Cup Sponsors Archived 13 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine @ Queensland Police Service Rugby League
  6. ^ a b c d "Results: 2008". RLEF. Archived from the original on 24 July 2009.
  7. ^ Womens and Police Rugby League World Cup Sunshine Coast Events
  8. ^ England Women’s Rugby League World Cup squad announced England RL
  9. ^ Kiwi Ferns and NZ Police progress[permanent dead link] RLWC08, 14 November 2008
  10. ^ Anzac clash first up in Defence League world cup @ NZDF, 7 November 2008
  11. ^ Semi Final Warm Up Games[permanent dead link] @ RLWC08, 14 November 2008
  12. ^ Wheelchair Rugby League tournament Archived 12 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine @ RLWC08, 8 November 2008
  13. ^ Weelchair RLWC[permanent dead link] @ RLWC08, 14 November 2008
  14. ^ "England Wheelchair Rugby League win the World Cup". Sport Focus. 17 November 2008. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
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