England v Papua New Guinea Betting

RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP – ENGLAND v PAPUA NEW GUINEA – 25th OCTOBER

The 2008 Rugby League World Cup will be the 13th staging since the inaugural event of 1954, but the first since 2000. It will be the fourth time that the tournament has been held in Australia. The tournament will feature the world’s best ten teams, split into three groups. Eighteen matches will take place in twelve different venues across four states. Group A will be made up of four teams, Australia, England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, whilst the other two groups will involve three teams each. The semi-finals will be made up of the first three teams in the first group and the winner of a playoff between the winners of the second and third groups. Papua New Guinea were initially unhappy about the format of the tournament, threatening to withdraw after accusing organisers of sacrificing their chances to satisfy TV audiences.

Get a Free £25 bet on England v Papua New Guinea when you open an account with Blue Square or 888sport.

England will be overwhelming favourites for their opening clash with Papua New Guinea’s “Kumuls” at the Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville, Queensland on October 25th.

England (competing as Great Britain) last won the Rugby League World Cup in 1972, with Australia winning all six tournaments since. However, French coach John Monie issued a warning to the Australians that neither England nor New Zealand should not be underrated or underestimated in their respective challenges for the World Cup. In particular, Monie highlighted the strength in depth of the England squad. He also pointed out the continual improvement in the Super League sides and the increased competition for Test places.

Realistically, the Papua New Guinea campaign at the 2008 World Cup looks gloomy, but coach Adrian Lam is adamant that his team, quarter-finalists in 2000 can cause an upset at the World Cup, despite the strength of their qualifying group. The former Wigan Scrum-half said of the opening fixture against England, “We will be preparing well for that and we are going to give them a game that we can be proud of. We will go through some videos of England’s recent performances and derive a game plan that would work in our favour. We have a great team here and with self belief and determination we can achieve the unthinkable.”

TEAM NEWS

England
Coach Tony Smith’s 24-man English World Cup squad is dominated by players who participated in the recent Super League Grand Final. Captained by prop Jamie Peacock, the squad features eight players from champions Leeds Rhinos and seven from defeated finalists St Helens. Grand Final “Man of the Match” winner, Leeds’ winger / full back Lee Smith earns his first international call-up under Smith. Also included are Wigan Warriors’ second row Gareth Hock, winger Mark Calderwood and hooker Mickey Higham, along with Warrington Wolves’ centre Martin Gleeson, prop Adrian Morley and second row Ben Westwood. The squad is completed by Bradford’s duo of back row Jamie Langley, centre Paul Sykes and Harlequins’ second row Rob Purdham.

Papua New Guinea
Five new faces have been named in the 24-man Papua New Guinea squad for the 2008 rugby league World Cup. Papua New Guinea’s squad boasts NRL players Neville Costigan, Paul Aiton and Keith Peters and promising youngsters Tu’u Maori, Jay Aston and David Moore. The squad is further strengthened by the inclusion of Hull KR veterans Makali Aizue and Stanley Gene and captain John Wilshere, who helped Salford to the National League title this year.

It would be one of the greatest shocks of World Cup history if the Kumuls were to beat England and an even greater shock if they managed to qualify for the semi-finals.

Where to watch England v Papua New Guinea

The Rugby League World Cup match between England and Papua New Guinea will be shown live on Sky Sports on Saturday 25th October at 08:00.

All odds correct at time of writing. Please click here for the latest odds

    • Share/Bookmark


    Related Articles:
  • Australia v England Odds
  • England v New Zealand Odds
  • Will England win the World Cup?
  • Will England Qualify for the 2010 World Cup
  • Rugby Union Betting – Bet on New Zealand v England (14th June)


    • Written by Jason Tynan · Filed Under Rugby 

    Comments

    One Response to “England v Papua New Guinea Betting”

    1. PNG Supporter on October 17th, 2008 9:08 pm

      I am optimistic that PNG boys can put up a good show. They will live up to the slogan ” Land of the Unexpected” to put up surprise attack against the league giants.

      Go Kumuls. Unfortunately for me, I am in China and I cannot watch the game. You have our support,,,olgeta PNG lain stap long China

    Got something to say?