Australia is almost ready to host its next major sporting event – the Rugby League World Cup. On 25th October, in the Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville – the home of the North Queensland Cowboys – England and Papua New Guinea will kick off what will be the 13th such event.
It might surprise some that the history of the Rugby League World Cup goes as far back as 1954; there have only been 6 World Cups for Rugby Union and 9 for cricket, for example. What might not be quite so surprising, certainly to the host country, is that the last 6 tournaments have been won by Australia – the closest of them a mighty 13 points to 12 victory over New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground back in 1977.
Australia has become very good at organising major sporting events now. The Olympics of 2000 and the Rugby Union World Cup of 2003 were both regarded as being amongst the best for spectators, and participants, in their particular fields. As well as averaging crowds of an incredible 38,282 spectators, the Rugby World Cup Final was seen by television viewers in 205 countries around the world.
October and November are great times of the year for visiting Australia – the temperatures and the welcomes will be warm and the beers will be cold. There’s also a superb tourist infrastructure that means it’s easy to find accommodation and travel from venue to venue. With the prospect of some highly competitive Rugby League on offer as well, it’s no wonder that people have been looking forward to this event for years. If you’re still thinking of coming out and haven’t yet booked your hotel , then check out hotelscombined.com for some great ideas - or perhaps if you fancy camping trip, then australianexplorer.com would be the place to look.
There are 10 teams competing for the original Paul Barrierre Trophy – in Group A, Australia, England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea; in Group B, France, Fiji and Scotland; and in Group C, Tonga, Ireland and Samoa. The Official Opening Ceremony, bizarrely taking place before the tournament’s third fixture – Australia and New Zealand – will be held at the impressive wave-like stadium, the Sydney Football Stadium. A sell-out 45,500 will be sure to witness a typically competitive match between these two great rivals.
There will 18 matches in all, culminating in the final at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 22nd November. There are sure to be some shocks along the way and, undoubtedly, some great moments as well as the inevitable controversy. Everything that makes Rugby League such a fast, compelling sport will be in abundant evidence – with Australia being keen to hold on to their trophy in front of their home supporters and their rivals just as committed to taking it away from them for the first time since Great Britain did so way back in 1972.
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup is sure to enter the sporting record books – there will be unforgettable teams and the world’s best players, creating magical moments. This all means that memorabilia connected with the event will be in great demand. Whether you are thinking of autographed players’ jerseys or shorts, balls used for games, signed programmes and photographs or any of the numerous options available, you can be sure that authentic memorabilia will be highly prized and greatly sought after. The very best site for finding 2008 Rugby League World Cup authentic memorabilia is Australia’s very own Framed4u.com.au. For a lasting memento of one of the world’s great tournaments, there could be no better site to visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment