World Cup - 2000    Previous    Next

Details from the BBC World Cup 2000 site

The twelfth Rugby League World Cup was held in Great Britain and France in 2000. Building on the previous successful competition, it was decided to expand the format further, with the number of teams rising from 10 to 16. As before, an Emerging Nations Tournament was held alongside the main event.

The 2000 World Cup was not a success. There were too many mismatches in the early stages, and some of the teams lacked credibility. Notably the inclusion of a side representing New Zealand’s Māori population alongside the full New Zealand squad, and a Lebanon side consisting entirely of Australians of Lebanese origin, led to derisory comments in the media. Due to these reasons crowds at the tournament were low; also torrential rainstorms and the crisis on Britain’s railways following the Hatfield rail crash did not help encourage spectators.

The tournament accumulated a mere £2m, and the Rugby Football League went into debt from which it did not recover until 2004. There were however some positives: The French performed creditably, and attendance for the games held in France was encouraging. The much derided Lebanon team also proved the catalyst for domestic competition in that country.

England. Andy Farrell (captain), Paul Anderson, Paul Deacon, Stuart Fielden, Darren Fleary, Mike Forshaw, Andy Hay, Harvey Howard, Sean Long, Nathan McAvoy, Adrian Morley, Scott Naylor, Jamie Peacock, Leon Pryce, Kris Radlinski, Paul Rowley, Paul Sculthorpe, Keith Senior, Kevin Sinfield, Tony Smith, Stuart Spruce, Francis Stephenson, Chev Walker, Paul Wellens

Ireland. Terry O'Connor (captain), David Barnhill, David Bradbury, Liam Bretherton, Kevin Campion, Brian Carney, Gavin Clinch, Martin Crompton, Michael Eagar, Mark Forster, Ian Herron, Chris Joynt, Johnny Lawless, Tommy Martyn, Jamie Mathiou, Barrie McDermott, Steve Prescott, Luke Ricketson, Ryan Sheridan, Paul Southern, Liam Tallon, Danny Williams, Michael Withers

Scotland. Danny Russell (captain), Danny Arnold, Geoff Bell, Andy Craig, Scott Cram, Matt Crowther, Matt Daylight, Richard Fletcher, Lee Gilmour, Nathan Graham, Daniel Heckenberg, Richard Horne, Dale Laughton, Scott Logan, Graham Mackay, David Maiden, Wayne McDonald, Lee Penny, Andrew Purcell, Scott Rhodes, Michael Rhodes, Darren Shaw, Adrian Vowles, Michael Wainwright

Wales. Iestyn Harris (captain), Paul Atcheson, Lee Briers, Dean Busby, Garreth Carvell, Jason Critchley, Keiron Cunningham, Wes Davies, Barry Eaton, Anthony Farrell, Paul Highton, Mick Jenkins, David Luckwell, Justin Morgan, Chris Morley, Hefin O'Hare, Gareth Price, Chris Smith, Paul Sterling, Anthony Sullivan, Kris Tassell, Ian Watson, Dave Whittle

World Cup Final, Sunday 19th November 2000.    Back to top

Australia 40

(Trent Barrett, Nathan Hindmarsh, Darren Lockyer, Wendell Sailor (2), Brad Fittler, Matthew Gidley tries; Matt Rogers 6 goals)

New Zealand 12

(Lesley Vainikolo, Tonie Carroll tries; Henry Paul 2 goals)

Old Trafford Manchester. Crowd: 44,329.

Referee: Stuart Cummings (England).

Australia: Darren Lockyer, Matt Rogers, Adam MacDougall, Matthew Gidley, Wendell Sailor, Brad Fittler (c), Brett Kimmorley, Shane Webcke, Andrew Johns, Robbie Kearns, Gorden Tallis, Bryan Fletcher, Scott Hill.
Interchange: Trent Barrett, Nathan Hindmarsh, Darren Britt, Jason Stevens.

New Zealand: Richie Barnett (c), Nigel Vagana, Tonie Carroll, Willie Talau, Lesley Vainikolo, Henry Paul, Stacey Jones, Craig Smith, Richard Swain, Quentin Pongia, Matt Rua, Stephen Kearney, Ruben Wiki.
Interchange: Robbie Paul, Joe Vagana, Nathan Cayless, Logan Swann.