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Same old story Australian dominance a symptom of a sport in crisis
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -- Another Rugby League World Cup has come and gone, another new format, another new dawn but the same end result -- Australia win almost at a canter. True, for almost 70 minutes of Saturday's final at Old Trafford, New Zealand made the tournament's 1-7 favorite work for it but there was an awful inevitability about the eventual outcome. A late burst of flowing rugby once the Kiwis' admirable defensive spirit was finally broken gave the Australians a somewhat flattering 40-12 scoreline but there was no questioning their superiority. The win was their ninth from 12 World Cups -- Britain took the three others an eon ago -- and their sixth in a row. Australia has been undisputed world champion for a quarter of a century and the way the game is going there is little chance of change to the status quo. It is a problem the sport is well aware of and the need to spread the gospel of the 13-man code was behind the decision to expand this year's tournament to 16 teams. Quick to ridicule People were quick to ridicule the inclusion of the likes of Lebanon, the Cook Islands and the New Zealand Maoris while results such as Australia's 110-4 thrashing of Russia in the group stage gave fuel to the doubters. It was not all doom and gloom, however. Ireland's efforts in reaching the quarterfinals and France's return from virtual international exile drew encouraging crowds in those countries and sparked calls for new Super League clubs there. There is also talk of a new Five Nations championship -- with England included -- similar to the rugby union championship to cash in on the new interest levels. The encouraging signs shown by Tonga and Papua New Guinea and the exciting 22-22 draw between the Cook Islands and Lebanon with only pride at stake would also have brought satisfaction to those who have concerns about the game's future. However, the fall-out from the television-inspired civil war that ripped the sport apart five years ago (Australia's 1995 World Cup winning side was a virtual second string) is still not complete and the damage may yet be terminal. Interest in Australia has waned and the forced closure of some traditional clubs is still a sore point with many fans. British clubs have gained revenue from the switch to satellite TV but the general disappearance of rugby league from terrestrial TV may ultimately prove disastrous in an era when soccer appears all-consuming. Australian captain Brad Fittler, who has now won three World Cups, recognizes that his country's dominance is not healthy for the future of the sport but insists it is not a situation set in stone. "We went through a bad spell in the 60s and 70s when Britain used to beat us and now we're pretty much on top," he said on Saturday in the biggest understatement of the sporting year. "But they're putting some measures in place to address the issue and I'm sure they'll come back stronger. "I actually think England are a better team than they showed here. I don't think they performed to their potential in this tournament and the gap between us is not as big as some people think." Wendell Sailor, man of the match in the final and seemingly set for a switch to rugby union, was not so sure. "I think Australia could put out two teams as they did in the cricket and both would be right up there but I hope it doesn't happen because that would be a kick in the guts for rugby league," he said. "We've got to keep working at the development of the sport in other countries because we all recognize it's not healthy for Australia to just keep on winning." Fittler said his team had tried to turn on the style in the latter stages on Saturday, aware of the rare opportunity to show off the game to an audience of millions. "Footy's going through a tough period at the moment and we wanted to put on a bit of a show once we had the game won," he said. Great games "There were some big scores and one-sided games in the early rounds but to be honest you get that in World Cups, whatever the sport -- soccer certainly has it. But I thought the semifinals and final were great games." Rugby union, fresh from the relative success of their World Cup last year, is hardly in a position to scoff. The top level of that sport is still made up by three or four countries and though the world champions cannot be predicted so easily, the semifinalists surely can. Japan leaked more than 100 points to New Zealand in the 1995 World Cup while England also made three figures against the Netherlands in the laughable excuse of the qualifying competition for the 1999 event. Soccer, the true "world game" with more than 200 countries federated to FIFA, has produced only seven different world champions in 70 years of trying. However, the bottom line remains that rugby league is a game in crisis and with only Australia, buoyed by the presence of most of the leading New Zealanders, and England running viable leagues the prospects for change are minimal. New Zealand coach Frank Endacott, who is now standing down, subconsciously summed up the sad predictability of the future after Saturday's game. "Australia have plenty of youth and around 80 percent of our team are going to be around for the next World Cup, so maybe it will be a good final in four years' time," he said. Nobody raised an eyebrow at his assumption that the same two teams would be slugging it out for the trophy and it would be a brave punter to go against Australia making it seven in a row.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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