2017 Rugby League World Cup Group A

Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup

Group A of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup is one of the four groups in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, which began on 27 October and was completed on 12 November 2017. The group comprised hosts Australia as well as England and France. They were joined by the winner of the Middle East-Africa qualifier, Lebanon. The group was one of two weighted groups containing top seeded teams where the top 3 qualify for the quarter finals. Australia, England and Lebanon finished the group stage in these positions. ^[1]

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia (H)	3	3	0	0	104	10	+94	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	England	3	2	0	1	69	34	+35	4
3	Lebanon	3	1	0	2	39	81	−42	2
4	France	3	0	0	3	30	117	−87	0

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
(H) Hosts

Matches

Australia vs England

27 October 2017 20:00 AEDT (UTC+11)

Australia	18–4	England
Tries: Gillett (23') 1 Slater (29') 1 Dugan (79') 1 Goals: Smith 3/4 (25', 76' pen, 80')	Report	Tries: 1 (5') McGillvary Goals: 0/1 Widdop

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne [2] Attendance: 22,724 Referee: Matt Cecchin (Australia) Player of the Match: Billy Slater (Australia)

Team lists:

FB 1 Billy Slater WG 2 Dane Gagai CE 3 Will Chambers CE 4 Josh Dugan WG 5 Valentine Holmes FE 6 Michael Morgan HB 7 Cooper Cronk PR 8 Aaron Woods HK 9 Cameron Smith (c) PR 10 David Klemmer SR 11 Boyd Cordner SR 12 Matt Gillett LK 13 Jake Trbojevic Substitutes: IC 14 Wade Graham IC 15 Jordan McLean IC 16 Josh McGuire IC 17 Tyson Frizell Coach: Mal Meninga

FB 1 Jonny Lomax WG 2 Jermaine McGillvary CE 3 Kallum Watkins CE 4 John Bateman WG 5 Ryan Hall FE 6 Gareth Widdop HB 7 Luke Gale PR 8 Chris Hill HK 9 Josh Hodgson PR 10 James Graham SR 11 Sam Burgess SR 12 Elliott Whitehead LK 13 Sean O'Loughlin (c) Substitutes: IC 15 Chris Heighington IC 16 Thomas Burgess IC 17 James Roby IC 18 Ben Currie Coach: Wayne Bennett

France vs Lebanon

29 October 2017 16:00 AEDT (UTC+11)

France	18–29	Lebanon
Tries: Ader (16', 52') 2 Cardace (68') 1 Goals: Barthau 3/4 (20' pen, 53', 69')	Report	Tries: 2 (40', 80') Robinson 1 (8') Layoun 1 (63') Doueihi 1 (76') Moses Goals: 4/5 Moses (9', 40', 64', 77') Field Goals: 1 (74') Moses

Canberra Stadium, Canberra [3] Attendance: 5,492 Referee: Gerard Sutton (Australia) Player of the Match: Mitchell Moses (Lebanon)

Team lists:

FB 1 Mark Kheirallah WG 2 Fouad Yaha CE 3 Bastien Ader CE 4 Damien Cardace WG 5 Ilias Bergal FE 6 Theo Fages (c) HB 7 William Barthau PR 8 Antoni Maria HK 9 Éloi Pélissier PR 10 Julian Bousquet SR 11 Benjamin Garcia SR 12 Benjamin Jullien LK 13 Jason Baitieri Substitutes: IC 14 Clément Boyer IC 15 Nabil Djalout IC 16 Thibaut Margalet IC 17 Lucas Albert Coach: Aurelien Cologni

FB 1 Anthony Layoun WG 2 Travis Robinson CE 3 James Elias CE 4 Jason Wehbe WG 5 Abbas Miski FE 6 Mitchell Moses HB 7 Robbie Farah (c) PR 8 Tim Mannah HK 17 Andrew Kazzi PR 14 Mitchell Mamary SR 16 Jaleel Seve-Derbas SR 12 Ahmad Ellaz LK 13 Nick Kassis Substitutes: IC 9 Michael Lichaa IC 10 Alex Twal IC 15 Elias Sukkar IC 18 Adam Doueihi Coach: Brad Fittler

Notes:

• Lebanon's victory over France was their first ever win at a World Cup. ^[3]

Australia vs France

3 November 2017 20:00 AEDT (UTC+11)

Australia	52–6	France
Tries: Graham (12', 15', 31', 66') 4 Munster (43', 74') 2 Dugan (33') 1 Frizell (49') 1 Slater (52') 1 Holmes (78') 1 Goals: Smith 6/8 (16', 32', 44', 51', 53', 67') Munster 0/2	Report	Tries: 1 (24') Kheirallah Goals: 1/1 Marginet (25')

Canberra Stadium, Canberra [4] Attendance: 12,293 Referee: Robert Hicks (England) Player of the Match: Wade Graham (Australia)

Team lists:

FB 1 Billy Slater WG 2 Tom Trbojevic CE 3 Will Chambers CE 4 Josh Dugan WG 5 Josh Mansour FE 6 Michael Morgan HB 14 Cameron Munster PR 8 Jordan McLean HK 9 Cameron Smith (c) PR 10 Reagan Campbell-Gillard SR 11 Wade Graham SR 12 Tyson Frizell LK 13 Josh McGuire Substitutes: IC 15 Felise Kaufusi IC 16 Aaron Woods IC 17 David Klemmer IC 18 Valentine Holmes Coach: Mal Meninga

FB 1 Mark Kheirallah WG 2 Fouad Yaha CE 3 Bastien Ader CE 4 Olivier Arnaud WG 5 Ilias Bergal FE 6 Rémy Marginet HB 7 Theo Fages (c) PR 13 Jason Baitieri HK 17 John Boudebza PR 10 Julian Bousquet SR 11 Benjamin Garcia SR 12 Benjamin Jullien LK 15 Mickaël Rouch Substitutes: IC 8 Maxime Hérold IC 9 Éloi Pélissier IC 14 Thibaut Margalet IC 16 Romain Navarrete Coach: Aurelien Cologni

England vs Lebanon

4 November 2017 20:00 AEDT (UTC+11)

England	29–10	Lebanon
Tries: Watkins (9') 1 McGillvary (25') 1 Hall (28') 1 Currie (32') 1 T. Burgess (56') 1 Goals: Widdop 4/5 (11', 26', 33', 57') Field Goals: Widdop (80') 1	Report	Tries: 1 (18') Kassis 1 (76') Wehbe Goals: 1/2 Moses (19')

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney [5] Attendance: 10,237 Referee: Ben Thaler (England) Player of the Match: Josh Hodgson (England)

Team lists:

FB 21 Stefan Ratchford WG 2 Jermaine McGillvary CE 3 Kallum Watkins CE 4 John Bateman WG 5 Ryan Hall FE 6 Gareth Widdop HB 7 Luke Gale PR 8 Chris Hill HK 9 Josh Hodgson PR 10 James Graham SR 11 Ben Currie SR 12 Elliott Whitehead LK 13 Sean O'Loughlin (c) Substitutes: IC 14 Alex Walmsley IC 15 Chris Heighington IC 16 Thomas Burgess IC 18 George Williams Coach: Wayne Bennett

FB 1 Daniel Abou-Sleiman WG 2 Travis Robinson CE 3 Bilal Maarbani CE 4 Adam Doueihi WG 5 Abbas Miski FE 6 Mitchell Moses HB 7 Robbie Farah (c) PR 8 Tim Mannah HK 16 Jamie Clark PR 14 Mitchell Mamary SR 10 Alex Twal SR 12 Ahmad Ellaz LK 13 Nick Kassis Substitutes: IC 9 Michael Lichaa IC 15 Ray Moujalli IC 17 Jason Wehbe IC 18 Elias Sukkar Coach: Brad Fittler

Australia vs Lebanon

11 November 2017 20:00 AEDT (UTC+11)

Australia	34–0	Lebanon
Tries: Munster (9', 50') 2 Maloney (25') 1 Cordner (55') 1 Gagai (76') 1 T. Trbojevic (79') 1 Goals: Maloney 4/4 (52', 56', 78', 80') Smith 1/2 (26')	Report

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney [6] Attendance: 21,127 Referee: James Child (England) Player of the Match: Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Australia)

Team lists:

FB 1 Valentine Holmes WG 2 Dane Gagai CE 3 Tom Trbojevic CE 4 Cameron Munster WG 5 Josh Mansour FE 6 James Maloney HB 7 Cooper Cronk PR 8 Aaron Woods HK 9 Cameron Smith (c) PR 10 David Klemmer SR 11 Boyd Cordner SR 12 Matt Gillett LK 13 Felise Kaufusi Substitutes: IC 14 Ben Hunt IC 15 Jordan McLean IC 16 Reagan Campbell-Gillard IC 17 Wade Graham Coach: Mal Meninga

FB 1 Anthony Layoun WG 19 Danny Barakat CE 3 James Elias CE 4 Adam Doueihi WG 5 Abbas Miski FE 6 Mitchell Moses HB 7 Robbie Farah (c) PR 8 Tim Mannah HK 9 Michael Lichaa PR 15 Ray Moujalli SR 11 Chris Saab SR 12 Ahmad Ellaz LK 16 Jamie Clark Substitutes: IC 10 Alex Twal IC 14 Mitchell Mamary IC 17 Andrew Kazzi IC 17 Jason Wehbe Coach: Brad Fittler

England vs France

12 November 2017 18:00 AWST (UTC+8)

England	36–6	France
Tries: McGillvary (42', 64') 2 Widdop (3') 1 Ratchford (6') 1 Graham (9') 1 Percival (23') 1 Bateman (29') 1 Goals: Widdop 4/7 (4', 7', 10', 43')	Report	Tries: 1 (34') Garcia Goals: 1/1 Albert (35')

Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth [7] Attendance: 14,744 Referee: Phil Bentham (England) Player of the Match: Gareth Widdop (England)

Team lists:

FB 1 Gareth Widdop WG 2 Stefan Ratchford CE 3 Mark Percival CE 4 John Bateman WG 5 Jermaine McGillvary FE 6 Kevin Brown HB 7 Luke Gale PR 8 Chris Hill HK 9 James Roby PR 10 James Graham SR 11 Ben Currie SR 12 Mike McMeeken LK 13 Sean O'Loughlin (c) Substitutes: IC 14 Alex Walmsley IC 15 Thomas Burgess IC 16 Scott Taylor IC 17 George Williams Coach: Wayne Bennett

FB 1 Mark Kheirallah WG 2 Fouad Yaha CE 3 Bastien Ader CE 12 Benjamin Jullien WG 5 Ilias Bergal FE 6 Theo Fages (c) HB 7 Lucas Albert PR 8 Antoni Maria HK 9 John Boudebza PR 16 Maxime Hérold SR 11 Benjamin Garcia SR 10 Julian Bousquet LK 13 Jason Baitieri Substitutes: IC 14 Romain Navarrete IC 15 Thibaut Margalet IC 19 Mickaël Rouch IC 20 Nabil Djalout Coach: Aurelien Cologni

References

1. "Rugby League World Cup 2017 draw: Every game, every venue". The Courier Mail. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
2. Marmont, Andrew (28 October 2017). "Aussies edge England in Cup opener". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-27. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
3. Kroiter, Jon (29 October 2017). "Moses inspires Lebanon to win over France". NRL.com.
4. Gabor, Martin (3 November 2017). "French fried by Graham masterclass". NRL.com.
5. Newton, Alicia (4 November 2017). "England outclass Lebanon in Sydney". NRL.com.
6. "Rugby League World Cup 2021".
7. "Rugby League World Cup 2021".

External links

• Official RLWC 2017 Site