2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification – Europe explained

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup Europe qualification was a rugby league tournament held in October and November 2016 to decide the three European qualifiers for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

It consisted of a round-robin tournament which saw Wales and Ireland qualify by winning their respective tables. Italy claimed the final qualifying spot in the World Cup after winning a second place play-off against Russia on 4 November 2016.

Overview

On 3 October 2014, the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying competition was announced.[1] Three European teams were granted automatic qualification, as they had reached the quarter-finals of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup; England, France and Scotland.

Ten teams were able to qualify for the qualification tournament, with the first being eliminated when Spain defeated Latvia on 9 May 2015.[2]

Wales and Ireland were granted entry to the qualification tournament. Both teams already had a chance to qualify for the World Cup during the 2014 European Cup, but failed to do so.[3] One of the other tournament places was allocated to the winner of the European Championship C tournament, and the other three were allocated to the top three teams from the European Championship B.

Italy, Russia and Serbia finished as the top three teams in the European Championship B, with Ukraine being eliminated.[4]

Spain finished as the top team in the European Championship C, with Greece and Malta eliminated.

Teams

Qualified teams for final phase:

Squads

Ireland

The final Ireland 22-man squad as of 9 October 2016 is as follows:[5]

Club Team Players
Casey Dunne
Gareth Gill
Chris Hall
Joseph Keyes
James Kelly, Mikey Russell
Alan McMahon
Luke Ambler
Scott Grix, Oliver Roberts
Matthew Cahoon
Greg McNally
Will Hope
James Hasson
Danny Bridge
Matty Hadden
Shannon McDonnell
Liam Finn
George King, Toby King, Joe Philbin

Italy

The final Italy 22-man squad as of 8 October 2016 is as follows:[6]

Club Team Players
Dean Parata
Patrik Ziliotti
Joel Riethmuller
Joseph Tramontana
Jayden Walker
Terry Campese, Josh Mantellato
Christophe Calegari
Gavin Hiscox
Gioele Celerino
Justin Castellaro, Ryan Ghietti, Colin Wilkie
Kieran Quabba
Richard Lepori
Mirco Bergamasco
Shannon Wakeman
Chris Vitalini
Brenden Santi
Ryan Tramonte
Chris Centrone

Russia

The final Russia 22-man squad as of 6 September 2016 is as follows:[7]

Club Team Players
Kirill Kosharin
Viacheslav Eremin, Andrey Kuznetsov
Ivan Troitskii
Vadim Buryak, Leonid Kalinin, Maxim Tsinkovich
Petr Botnarash, Mikhail Burlutskii, Sergey Gaponov, Anatoly Grigorev,
Sergei Konstantinov, Aleksandr Lysokon, Maksim Suchkov, Denis Tiulenev,
Vladimir Vlasyuk, Nikolay Zagoskin
Anton Iunisov, Iustin Petrushka
Dmitry Bratko, Igor Chuprin, Vadim Fedchuk

Serbia

The final 22-man squad as of 5 October 2016 is as follows:[8]

Club Team Players
Blacktown Workers David Andjelić
Reece Grkinić
Daniel Burke
Jason Muranka
Dalibor Samardžić, Dalibor Vukanović, Stefan Nedeljković, Stevan Stevanović
Joshua Marjanović
Džavid Jašari, Vlado Kušić
Pero Madžarević, Žarko Kovačević
Miloš Ćalić, Miloš Zogović, Vladislav Dedić, Vojislav Dedić
Chad Grant
Vladica Nikolić
James Mirceski
Jordan Grant
Unattached Ilija Radan

Spain

The final 22-man squad as of 4 October 2016 is as follows:[9]

Club Team Players
Chris Lopez
Custodians Madrid Antonio Puerta, Daniel Moreno
Joel Marquez-Laynez
Ivan Ordaz
Clement Laguerre
Alexandre Doutres, Cedric Bringuier, Leandre Torres, Mathieu Griffi,
Pierre Negre
Matt Dulley
Miguel Charters-Blanco
Kevin Aparicio
Gonzalo Morro
Aitor Davila, Juan Pablo Rango, Raul Simo
Daniel Garcia

Wales

The final Wales 22-man squad as of 7 October 2016 is as follows:[10]

On October 14, Dai Evans was brought into the squad to replace Calvin Wellington who withdrew due to a hamstring injury.[11]

On October 21, 19-year old Ben Morris was called up to the squad to play in a mid-qualifying campaign test match against Jamaica.[12]

On October 29, Danny Ansell was called up to the squad with a possibility of playing in the last qualifying game against Italy.[13]

Club Team Players
Morgan Evans, Steve Parry, Lewis Reece
Danny Ansell
Sam Hopkins
Elliot Kear, Rhys Williams
Andrew Gay
Joe Burke
Matty Fozard
Ollie Olds
Regan Grace, Ben Morris
Anthony Walker
Gil Dudson, Lloyd White,

Final Tables

Group B

Fixtures

Russia vs Spain

FB 1 Nikolay Zagoskin
RW 5 Vadim Buryak
RC 21 Kirill Kosharin
LC 3 Leonid Kalinin
LW 18 Dmitry Bratko
SO 6 Aleksandr Lysokon
SH 7 Denis Tiulenev
PR 8 Sergei Konstantinov (c)
HK 4 Petr Botnarash
PR 10 Ivan Troitskii
SR 12 Mikhail Burlutskii
SR 11 Andrey Kuznetsov
LF 13 Viacheslav Eremin
Substitutes:
IC 17 Igor Chuprin
IC 2 Maksim Suchkov
IC 9 Vladimir Vlasyuk
IC 15 Sergey Gaponov
Coach:
Denis Korolev
FB 1 Daniel Garcia
RW 2 Clement Laguerre
RC 3 Antonio Puerta
LC 4 Alexandre Doutres
LW 5 Chris Lopez
FE 6 Ivan Ordaz
HB 7 Miguel Charters-Blanco
PR 8
HK 9 Gonzalo Morro
PR 10 Adria Alonso
SR 11 Cedric Bringuier
SR 12 Matt Dulley
LK 13 Aitor Davila (c)
Substitutes:
IC 14 Andrew Pilkington
IC 15 Leandre Torres
IC 16 Kevin Aparicio
IC 17 Juan Pablo Rango
Coach:
Darren Fisher

Wales vs Serbia

FB 1 Elliot Kear
RW 2 Regan Grace
RC 4 Christiaan Roets
LC 18 Andrew Gay
LW 5 Rhys Williams
SO 6 Courtney Davies
SH 7 Ollie Olds
PR 8 Gil Dudson
HK 9 Lloyd White
PR 10 Craig Kopczak (c)
SR 11 Rhodri Lloyd
SR 15 Joe Burke
LF 13 Philip Joseph
Substitutes:
IC 14 Steve Parry
IC 16 Jacob Emmitt
IC 17 Anthony Walker
IC 19 Matty Fozard
Coach:
John Kear
FB 1 Vojislav Dedić
RW 2 Joshua Marjanović
RC 3 Miloš Ćalić
LC 4 Stevan Stevanović
LW 5
FE 6 Daniel Burke
HB 7 Dalibor Vukanović (c)
PR 8 David Andjelić
HK 9 Vladislav Dedić
PR 10 Jordan Grant
SR 11 Chad Grant
SR 12 Jason Muranka
LK 13 Stefan Nedeljković
Substitutes:
IC 14Ilija Radan
IC 15 James Mirceski
IC 16 Reece Grkinić
IC 17 Džavid Jašari
Coach:
Ljubomir Bukvic

Serbia vs Italy

FB 1 Vojislav Dedić
RW 2 Miloš Zogović
RC 3 Miloš Ćalić
LC 4 Stevan Stevanović
LW 5 Joshua Marjanović
FE 6 Daniel Burke
HB 7 Dalibor Vukanović (c)
PR 8Ilija Radan
HK 9
PR 10 Jordan Grant
SR 11 James Mirceski
SR 12 Jason Muranka
LK 13 Chad Grant
Substitutes:
IC 14
IC 15
IC 16 Vlado Kušić
IC 17 Vladislav Dedić
Coach:
Ljubomir Bukvic
FB 1 Mason Cerruto
RW 2 Chris Centrone
RC 3 Justin Castellaro
LC 4 Mirco Bergamasco
LW 5 Richard Lepori
FE 6 Terry Campese
HB 7 Ryan Ghietti
PR 8 Shannon Wakeman
HK 9 Dean Parata
PR 10 Gavin Hiscox
SR 11 Jayden Walker
SR 12 Brenden Santi
LK 13 Joel Riethmuller
Substitutes:
IC 14 Colin Wilkie
IC 15 Christophe Calegari
IC 16 Kieran Quabba
IC 17 Gioele Celerino
Coach:
Cameron Ciraldo

Spain vs Ireland

FB 1 Daniel Garcia
RW 2 Clement Laguerre
RC 3 Antonio Puerta
LC 4 Alexandre Doutres
LW 5 Chris Lopez
FE 6 Ivan Ordaz
HB 7 Miguel Charters-Blanco
PR 8
HK 9 Nicolas Munoz
PR 10 Joel Marquez-Laynez
SR 11 Leandre Torres
SR 12
LK 13 Kevin Aparicio
Substitutes:
IC 14 Andrew Pilkington
IC 15
IC 16
IC 17
Coach:
Darren Fisher
FB 1 Shannon McDonnell
RW 2 Casey Dunne
RC 3 Stuart Littler
LC 4 Oliver Roberts
LW 5 Alan McMahon
FE 6 Scott Grix
HB 7 Liam Finn (c)
PR 8 James Hasson
HK 9 Joseph Keyes
PR 10 Luke Ambler
SR 11 David Allen
SR 12 Will Hope
LK 13 George King
Substitutes:
IC 14 Haydn Peacock
IC 15 Matty Hadden
IC 16 James Kelly
IC 17 Gareth Gill
Coach:
Mark Aston

Italy vs Wales

FB 2 Chris Centrone
RW 3 Justin Castellaro
RC 15 Christophe Calegari
LC 4 Mirco Bergamasco
LW 5 Richard Lepori
FE 6 Terry Campese
HB 7 Ryan Ghietti
PR 8 Shannon Wakeman
HK 9 Dean Parata
PR 10 Gavin Hiscox
SR 11 Jayden Walker
SR 12 Brenden Santi
LK 13 Joel Riethmuller
Substitutes:
IC 1 Mason Cerruto
IC 14
IC 16 Kieran Quabba
IC 17 Gioele Celerino
Coach:
Cameron Ciraldo
FB 1 Elliot Kear
RW 2 Rhys Williams
RC 26 Ben Morris
LC 16
LW 3 Dai Evans
SO 6 Courtney Davies
SH 17 Matty Fozard
PR 8 Gil Dudson
HK 9 Lloyd White
PR 10 Craig Kopczak (c)
SR 11 Rhodri Lloyd
SR 12 Philip Joseph
LF 13
Substitutes:
IC 14
IC 15 Anthony Walker
IC 23 Sam Hopkins
IC 24 Danny Ansell
Coach:
John Kear

Ireland vs Russia

FB 1 Shannon McDonnell
RW 2 Casey Dunne
RC 3 Stuart Littler
LC 4 Toby King
LW 5 Alan McMahon
FE 6 Scott Grix
HB 7 Liam Finn (c)
PR 8
HK 9 Joseph Keyes
PR 10 Luke Ambler
SR 11 David Allen
SR 12 Will Hope
LK 13 Oliver Roberts
Substitutes:
IC 14 Joe Philbin
IC 15 Matty Hadden
IC 16 James Kelly
IC 17 Gareth Gill
Coach:
Mark Aston
FB 1 Vyascheslav Eramin
RW 5 Vadim Buryak
RC 21 Kirill Kosharin
LC 3 Leonid Kalinin
LW 18 Dmitry Bratko
SO 6 Aleksandr Lysokon
SH 7 Denis Tiulenev
PR 8 Sergei Konstantinov (c)
HK 4 Petr Botnarash
PR 10 Ivan Troitskii
SR 12 Mikhail Burlutskii
SR 11 Andrey Kuznetsov
LF 13 Nikolai Zagoskin
Substitutes:
IC 17 Vadim Fedchuk
IC 2 Maksim Suchkov
IC 9 Maksim Tsynkovich
IC 15 Maksim Suchkov
Coach:
Denis Korolev

Second place play-off

See main article: article and 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification (Europe play-off). The final qualifying place was determined by a single knockout match held between the two group runners-up on 4 November 2016.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.rlef.eu.com/news/article/874/qualification-details-for-2017-rugby QUALIFICATION DETAILS FOR 2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP ANNOUNCED
  2. http://rlif.com/rugby-league-international-news/article/1558/spain-defeat-latvia-to-take Spain defeat Latvia to take first step towards RLWC2017
  3. http://rlif.com/rugby-league-international-news/article/1492/extra-incentive-for-wales- Extra incentive for Wales & Ireland this Euro Championship
  4. http://www.rlef.eu.com/european_shield/report?RLE00000632 Serbia claim a historic first-ever victory over Russia - 2017 World Cup qualifying
  5. http://www.rlef.eu.com/news/article/1323/ireland-name-squad-after-trial IRELAND NAME SQUAD AFTER TRIAL MATCH
  6. http://www.rlef.eu.com/news/article/1322/italy-name-cosmopolitan-22-man-squad ITALY NAME COSMOPOLITAN 22-MAN SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
  7. http://www.rlef.eu.com/news/article/1316/russia-name-new-look-squad RUSSIA NAME NEW LOOK SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
  8. http://www.rlef.eu.com/news/article/1314/three-debutants-in-serbia-22-man THREE DEBUTANTS IN SERBIA 22-MAN SQUAD FOR QUALIFIERS
  9. http://www.rlef.eu.com/news/article/1313/five-debutants-in-spain-22-man FIVE DEBUTANTS IN SPAIN 22-MAN SQUAD FOR QUALIFIERS
  10. http://www.rlef.eu.com/news/article/1320/wales-confident-for-world-cup WALES CONFIDENT FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
  11. http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/14860/dai-evans-drafted-in-to DAI EVANS DRAFTED IN TO WALES' 22-MAN SQUAD
  12. http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/14883/morris-hoping-to-feature-for MORRIS HOPING TO FEATURE FOR WALES AFTER CALL-UP
  13. http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/14904/ansell-ready-for-wales-debut ANSELL READY FOR WALES DEBUT IF CALLED UPON
  14. http://www.leighjournal.co.uk/sport/14830150.International_dates_for_Leigh_Centurions_pair/ International dates for Leigh Centurions pair