International RL Blog

“It’s really pleasing, if you are going to achieve things it’s got to be difficult but the collective spirit, desire and passion was there for all to see,” said victorious Wales coach John Kear as his side qualified for the 2017 World Cup after beating Italy 20-14, in a tense thriller at the Stadio Brianteo in Monza. Kear, who led England in the 2000 World Cup and has also taken charge of France added: “We’ve had a lot of adversity over the qualifiers, we’ve had to bring new players in because of injuries and lost a half-back so had to reshuffle, as well as losing Rhodri Lloyd to a hamstring injury here early on, but we showed a collective will to get the job done and finished the stronger. “At 14-6 down going into half time we needed something and Anthony Walker came up with a special play. People like Matty Fozard have come of age in these games and I’ve been delighted to see how much he’s improved, and Phil Joseph was a giant in the middle.” Wales debutant Danny Ansell cam...

Lebanon defeated Italy 26-22 in a closely fought game in Catania, Sicily to retain the Mediterranean Cup. The first ever international RL match between South American countries took place in Sydney when Chile defeated El Salvador 58-20. Serbian second division side Novi Beograd beat Kodikoy Bulls 40-6 as the Bulls (from Turkey) made the first international RL appearance by a Turkish side and scrum half Demir scored their first points with a fine break and conversion.   The Ohana RL Festival will take place on 20/8/16 at the Aloha Stadium in Hawaii and it will include Tonga v Samoa and Fiji v Canada Italy will host Wales on 22/10/16 at the 18 000 capacity, Stadio Brianteo in Monza. The game is a World Cup qualifier with both Wales and Italy in the same group as Serbia and the winners guaranteed a place in the 2017 tournament in Australia.