2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification – Europe

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:

Wales were granted automatic entry as 1st seed
Ireland were granted automatic entry as 2nd seed
Serbia qualified as 3rd seed after finishing top of the Rugby League European Championship B.
Russia qualified as 4th seed after finishing 2nd in the Rugby League European Championship B.
Italy qualified as 5th seed after finishing 3rd in the Rugby League European Championship B.
Spain qualified as 6th seed after finishing top of the Rugby League European Championship C.

Squads[]

Ireland[]

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

Coach: Mark Aston

Club Team	Players
	Casey Dunne
Ballynahinch Rabbitohs	Gareth Gill

Bradford Bulls	Joseph Keyes
Dublin City Exiles	,

Halifax	Luke Ambler
Huddersfield Giants	Scott Grix, Oliver Roberts

Leigh Centurions	Greg McNally
Oldham R.L.F.C.	Will Hope
Parramatta Eels	James Hasson
Redcliffe Dolphins	Danny Bridge
Rochdale Hornets	Matty Hadden
St. Helens	Shannon McDonnell
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	Liam Finn
Warrington Wolves	George King, Toby King, Joe Philbin
Whitehaven	David Allen

Italy[]

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

Coach: Cameron Ciraldo

Club Team	Players
Blacktown Workers	Dean Parata

Cairns Brothers	Joel Riethmuller
Canterbury Bulldogs	Joseph Tramontana
Cronulla Sharks	Jayden Walker
Hull Kingston Rovers	Terry Campese, Josh Mantellato
Lézignan Corbieres	Christophe Calegari

Mackay Cutters
Newcastle Thunder	Gioele Celerino
Northern Pride	Justin Castellaro, Ryan Ghietti, Colin Wilkie
North Queensland Cowboys
Oldham R.L.F.C.	Richard Lepori
*Sacramento Express	Mirco Bergamasco
St. George Illawarra Dragons	Shannon Wakeman
South Wales Ironmen
Townsville Blackhawks	Brenden Santi
Windsor Wolves	Ryan Tramonte
Wyong Roos	Chris Centrone

* Denotes a rugby union club.

Russia[]

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

Coach:

Club Team	Players

	,
*
RC Lokomotiv Moscow	, ,
	, , , , , , , , ,
	,
	, ,

* Denotes a rugby union club.

Serbia[]

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

Coach:

Club Team	Players
Blacktown Workers	David Andjelić
Cabramatta Two Blues
Collegians
Dewsbury Rams	Jason Muranka
Dorćol Spiders	, , ,

	,
	,
RLK Red Star Belgrade	, , ,
St Clair Comets
Villeneuve Leopards
Western Suburbs Magpies
Wests Tigers	Jordan Grant
Unattached

Spain[]

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

Coach:

Club Team	Players
Army Rugby League
	,
Hull F.C.


Palau XIII Broncos	, , , Mathieu Griffi,


*Stade Français
Tonneins XIII
	, ,
	, ,
Woolston Rovers

* Denotes a rugby union club.

Wales[]

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

On October 14, 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]

^*Sam Hopkins was called into the team for the final qualifier against Italy after Jacob Emmitt withdrew due to a hamstring injury.^[14]

Coach: John Kear

Club Team	Players
Gloucestershire All Golds	Morgan Evans, Steve Parry, Lewis Reece
Hunslet Hawks	Danny Ansell
Leigh Centurions	Sam Hopkins
London Broncos	Elliot Kear, Rhys Williams
Mackay Cutters	Andrew Gay
Oldham R.L.F.C.	Joe Burke
Salford Red Devils	Philip Joseph, Craig Kopczak
Sheffield Eagles	Matty Fozard
Souths Logan Magpies	Ollie Olds
South Wales Ironmen	Courtney Davies, , Connor Farrer, , Christiaan Roets
St. Helens	Regan Grace, Ben Morris
Swinton Lions	^*Jacob Emmitt, Rhodri Lloyd
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	Anthony Walker
Widnes Vikings	Gil Dudson, Lloyd White,

Final Tables[]

Key to colours in pool tables
	Qualifies for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup
	Qualifies for play-off match for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup
	Fails to qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup

Group A[]

Team v t	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Wales	2	2	0	70	14	+56	4
Italy	2	1	1	76	34	+42	2
Serbia	2	0	2	14	112	−98	0

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Group B[]

Team v t	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Ireland	2	2	0	116	22	+94	4
Russia	2	1	1	56	76	−20	2
Spain	2	0	2	12	86	−74	0

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Fixtures[]

Russia vs Spain[]

15 October 2016^[15]

Russia	40 – 6	Spain
Try: 12' 14' 33' 44' 54' 76' 79' Goal: 4/5 1/1 1/1	Report	Try: 69' Goal: 1/1

, Moscow
Attendance: 427
Referee:

Man of the Match:


FB	1
RW	5
RC	21
LC	3
LW	18
SO	6
SH	7
PR	8	(c)
HK	4
PR	10
SR	12
SR	11
LF	13
Substitutes:
IC	17
IC	2
IC	9
IC	15
Coach:


FB	1
RW	2
RC	3
LC	4
LW	5
FE	6
HB	7
PR	8
HK	9
PR	10
SR	11
SR	12
LK	13	(c)
Substitutes:
IC	14
IC	15
IC	16
IC	17
Coach:

Wales vs Serbia[]

15 October 2016^[16]

Wales	50 – 0	Serbia
Try: Williams (2) 12', 19 Grace (2) 28', 56 Olds (2) 33', 69' Davies 46' Gay 52' Dudson 76 Goal: White 4/6 Davies 3/3	Report	Try:

Parc Stebonheath, Llanelli
Attendance: 902
Referee:

Man of the Match:

Elliot Kear


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
RW	2
RC	3
LC	4
LW	5	54' to 64'
FE	6
HB	7	(c)
PR	8	David Andjelić
HK	9
PR	10	Jordan Grant
SR	11
SR	12	Jason Muranka
LK	13
Substitutes:
IC	14
IC	15
IC	16
IC	17
Coach:

Serbia vs Italy[]

22 October 2016^[17]

Serbia	14 – 62	Italy
Try: (2) 68', 79' 73' Goal: 1/2	Report	Try: Lepori (4) 4', 10', 12', 46' Cerruto (4) 17', 35', 49', 71' Wakeman 22' Santi 45' Campese 58' Calegari 62' Goal: Bergamasco 7/11 Campese 0/1

Makiš Stadium, Belgrade
Attendance: 1,037
Man of the Match:

Terry Campese


FB	1
RW	2
RC	3
LC	4
LW	5
FE	6
HB	7	(c)
PR	8
HK	9
PR	10	Jordan Grant
SR	11
SR	12	Jason Muranka
LK	13
Substitutes:
IC	14	David Andjelić
IC	15
IC	16
IC	17
Coach:


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
SR	11	Jayden Walker
SR	12	Brenden Santi
LK	13	Joel Riethmuller
Substitutes:
IC	14	Colin Wilkie
IC	15	Christophe Calegari
IC	16
IC	17	Gioele Celerino
Coach:
Cameron Ciraldo

Spain vs Ireland[]

22 October 2016

Spain	6 – 46	Ireland
Try: 62' Goal: 1/1	Report	Try: Roberts 2' Dunne (2) 5', 52' Littler (2) 29', 74' Hasson 39' Peacock 56' King 66' Grix 77' Goal: Finn 5/9

, Valencia
Attendance: 323
Referee:

Patrice Benausse
Man of the Match:

Liam Finn


FB	1
RW	2
RC	3
LC	4
LW	5
FE	6
HB	7
PR	8
HK	9	Nicolas Munoz
PR	10
SR	11
SR	12	65' to 75'
LK	13
Substitutes:
IC	14
IC	15
IC	16
IC	17
Coach:


FB	1	Shannon McDonnell
RW	2	Casey Dunne
RC	3	Stuart Littler
LC	4	Oliver Roberts
LW	5
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
IC	17	Gareth Gill
Coach:
Mark Aston

Italy vs Wales[]

29 October 2016^[18]

Italy	14 – 20	Wales
Try: Wilkie 26' Castellaro 29' Goal: Campese 3/3	Report	Try: Morris (2) 16', 59' Walker 37' Gay 52' Goal: Davies 2/4

Stadio Brianteo, Monza
Attendance: 839
Referee:


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
SR	11	Jayden Walker
SR	12	Brenden Santi
LK	13	Joel Riethmuller
Substitutes:
IC	1	Mason Cerruto
IC	14	Colin Wilkie
IC	16
IC	17	Gioele Celerino
Coach:
Cameron Ciraldo


FB	1	Elliot Kear
RW	2	Rhys Williams
RC	26	Ben Morris
LC	16	Andrew Gay
LW	3
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	Steve Parry
Substitutes:
IC	14	Joe Burke
IC	15	Anthony Walker
IC	23	Sam Hopkins
IC	24	Danny Ansell
Coach:
John Kear

Ireland vs Russia[]

30 October 2016^[17]

Ireland	70 – 16	Russia
Try: Hope 7' Dunne 10' (2) 13', 36' Grix (2) 23', 62' T. King 32' McDonnell 38' Roberts (2) 46', 72' G. King 59' 64' Littler 69' Goal:Finn 8/11 Littler 1/2	Report	Try: 4' 26' 79' Goal: 2/3

Carlisle Grounds, Bray
Attendance: 867
Referee:


FB	1	Shannon McDonnell
RW	2	Casey Dunne
RC	3	Stuart Littler
LC	4	Toby King
LW	5
FE	6	Scott Grix
HB	7	Liam Finn (c)
PR	8	George King
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
IC	17	Gareth Gill
Coach:
Mark Aston


FB	1
RW	5
RC	21
LC	3
LW	18
SO	6
SH	7
PR	8	(c)
HK	4
PR	10
SR	12
SR	11
LF	13
Substitutes:
IC	17
IC	2
IC	9
IC	15
Coach:

Second place play-off[]

The final qualifying place was determined by a single knockout match held between the two group runners-up on 4 November 2016.

4 November 2016^[19]

Italy	76 – 0	Russia

Leigh Sports Village, Leigh, England

References[]

^ QUALIFICATION DETAILS FOR 2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP ANNOUNCED Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.eu.com, 3 August 2014
^ Spain defeat Latvia to take first step towards RLWC2017, rlif.com, 10 May 2015
^ Extra incentive for Wales & Ireland this Euro Championship, rlif.com, 13 October 2014
^ Serbia claim a historic first-ever victory over Russia - 2017 World Cup qualifying Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.eu.com, 16 May 2015
^ IRELAND NAME SQUAD AFTER TRIAL MATCH Archived 2016-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 9 October 2016
^ ITALY NAME COSMOPOLITAN 22-MAN SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIER^{[permanent dead link]}, rlef.com, 8 October 2016
^ RUSSIA NAME NEW LOOK SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Archived 2016-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 6 October 2016
^ THREE DEBUTANTS IN SERBIA 22-MAN SQUAD FOR QUALIFIERS Archived 2016-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 6 October 2016
^ FIVE DEBUTANTS IN SPAIN 22-MAN SQUAD FOR QUALIFIERS Archived 2016-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 4 October 2016
^ WALES CONFIDENT FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Archived 2016-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 7 October 2016
^ DAI EVANS DRAFTED IN TO WALES' 22-MAN SQUAD, WALES RUGBY LEAGUE, 14 October 2016
^ MORRIS HOPING TO FEATURE FOR WALES AFTER CALL-UP, WALES RUGBY LEAGUE, 21 October 2016
^ ANSELL READY FOR WALES DEBUT IF CALLED UPON, WALES RUGBY LEAGUE, 28 October 2016
^ International dates for Leigh Centurions pair, Leigh Journal, 29 October 2016
^ "Russia and Spain will kick-off 2017 RLWC European Qualifiers in Moscow". Rugby League Planet. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
^ "WALES TO TAKE ON SERBIA IN LLANELLI". walesrugbyleague.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "World Cup 2017: Pool breakdown". NRL.com. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
^ "Rugby League World Cup European Qualifier to be staged in Monza". Rugby League Planet. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
^ [1]

[1] QUALIFICATION DETAILS FOR 2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP ANNOUNCED Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.eu.com, 3 August 2014

[2] Spain defeat Latvia to take first step towards RLWC2017, rlif.com, 10 May 2015

[3] Extra incentive for Wales & Ireland this Euro Championship, rlif.com, 13 October 2014

[4] Serbia claim a historic first-ever victory over Russia - 2017 World Cup qualifying Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.eu.com, 16 May 2015

[5] IRELAND NAME SQUAD AFTER TRIAL MATCH Archived 2016-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 9 October 2016

[6] ITALY NAME COSMOPOLITAN 22-MAN SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIER^{[permanent dead link]}, rlef.com, 8 October 2016

[7] RUSSIA NAME NEW LOOK SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Archived 2016-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 6 October 2016

[8] THREE DEBUTANTS IN SERBIA 22-MAN SQUAD FOR QUALIFIERS Archived 2016-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 6 October 2016

[9] FIVE DEBUTANTS IN SPAIN 22-MAN SQUAD FOR QUALIFIERS Archived 2016-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 4 October 2016

[10] WALES CONFIDENT FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Archived 2016-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 7 October 2016

[11] DAI EVANS DRAFTED IN TO WALES' 22-MAN SQUAD, WALES RUGBY LEAGUE, 14 October 2016

[12] MORRIS HOPING TO FEATURE FOR WALES AFTER CALL-UP, WALES RUGBY LEAGUE, 21 October 2016

[13] ANSELL READY FOR WALES DEBUT IF CALLED UPON, WALES RUGBY LEAGUE, 28 October 2016

[14] International dates for Leigh Centurions pair, Leigh Journal, 29 October 2016

[15] "Russia and Spain will kick-off 2017 RLWC European Qualifiers in Moscow". Rugby League Planet. Retrieved 30 May 2016.

[16] "WALES TO TAKE ON SERBIA IN LLANELLI". walesrugbyleague.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2016.

[multiple-17] Jump up to: ^a ^b "World Cup 2017: Pool breakdown". NRL.com. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.

[18] "Rugby League World Cup European Qualifier to be staged in Monza". Rugby League Planet. Retrieved 25 May 2016.

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show v t 2017 Rugby League World Cup
General	Festival of World Cups Qualifying Europe Europe play-off Asia-Pacific Americas Middle East-Africa Squads
Stages	Group stage Group A Group B Group C Group D Inter-group matches Knockout stage Final
Women	Women's World Cup Squads Final