Rugby League World Cup bosses defend format 02/12/2010 |
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Organisers of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup have defended the convoluted format unveiled at this week’s official launch.
England, which will jointly host the five-week tournament with Wales, has been placed in the same pool as Australia, along with Fiji and Ireland, and with three teams to qualify for the quarter-finals, is virtually assured of a last-eight spot.
Rugby Football League chairman Richard Lewis admits they have closely followed the model adopted by the Australians at the last World Cup in 2008.
That format was initially ridiculed but it achieved its objective of avoiding one-sided matches and was widely regarded as a success, generating a profit of about £2m.
This time, the competition has been enlarged from 10 teams to 14 and there will be a quarter-final round.
"We tweaked it a bit but we're following a similar philosophy," said Lewis.
"Rugby league is at its best when the matches are close and, with the way those groups are set up, there are going to be a lot of close matches."
Speaking at the launch, held at Manchester's new MediaCityUK, Lewis predicted the 14th staging of the World Cup will be the best yet, with meticulous planning well under way.
"We're three years out but a lot of work has gone on and we're starting to go public with it bit by bit," he added.
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