2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification (Middle East-Africa play-off)

Last updated

2017 RLWC qualification (Middle East-Africa play-off)
South Africa Lebanon
Flag of South Africa.svg Flag of Lebanon.svg
2890
On aggregate (Lebanon wins series 2–0)
First test
South Africa Lebanon
1240
Date25 October 2015
Venue Bosman Stadium, Brakpan
Man of the Match Elias Sukkar (Lebanon)
Referee Phil Bentham (England)
Second test
Lebanon South Africa
5016
Date31 October 2015
Venue Bosman Stadium, Brakpan
Man of the Match Elias Sukkar (Lebanon)
Referee Phil Bentham (England)

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup Middle East-Africa qualification play-off was a two-match rugby league series, with the winner qualifying for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. The matches were between South Africa and Lebanon and were played at Brakpan Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa on 25 and 31 October 2015.

Contents

Overview

On 3 October 2014, the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying competition was announced with one qualification spot being granted to the Middle East-Africa region. [1]

Initially a one-off play off match in the Dubai Sports City complex was announced. [2] However the match was cancelled after the head of the Emirates rugby league, Sol Mokdad, was arrested following a complaint from UAE rugby union officials.

South Africa was subsequently given the hosting rights for the qualification fixtures. South Africa RL president Kobus Botha stated that the "SARL is extremely excited about hosting this highly prestigious World Cup Qualifier... We hope that this is the first of many such tournaments and a small glimpse into what South Africa can offer as a potential host country for the 2021 World Cup." [3]

Squads

Both teams picked preliminary train-on squads with the South Africans picked what they believed was "a strong, healthy and balanced train-on squad" which contained domestic players as well as eligible South African players based in Australia's reserve grade competitions. [4] The Lebanese selected eligible NRL players along with other reserve grade, domestic and unattached players. [5]

South Africa

The South Africa squad as of 13 October 2015 was as follows: [6]

Club TeamPlayers
Flag of South Africa.svg Barberton Bulldogs Jaice Terblanche
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Burleigh Bears Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Shane Gillham
Flag of South Africa.svg Cape Town Hyenas Shuab Samaai
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Emerald Tigers Jason King
Flag of South Africa.svg Harlequins Rugby League Club Deon Kraemer, Jean Coetzer, Jean-Pierre Nel
Flag of South Africa.svg Northern Bulls Marcell Viljoen, Rudolph Prinsloo, Theo Rhodes
Flag of South Africa.svg UP-Tuks RLC Christo Louw, Dwayne Botma, Johan Joubert, Nardus Raubenheimer, Ruaan Du Preez, Rupert Wells
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wentworthville Magpies New Zealand Kiwis colours.svg Louis Musson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg West Coast Pirates Bradley Williams, Halvor Harris
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wynnum Manly Seagulls Wynnum-Manly Colours.svg Gideon Mzembe

Lebanon

The Lebanon squad as of 17 October 2015 was as follows: [7] [8]

Club TeamPlayers
Flag of Lebanon.svg AUB Toufic El Hajj
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Asquith Magpies Mark Daoud
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Auburn Warriors Jamie Clark, Richard Coorey, Ead Kassem, Elias Sukkar
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Guildford Owls Chris Saab
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Hills James Boustani
Flag of Lebanon.svg Immortals RLFC Ray Finan, Robin Hachache
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Melbourne Storm Melbourne colours.svg Travis Robinson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Newcastle Knights Newcastle colours.svg James Elias
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Newtown Jets Newtown colours.svg Daniel Abou Sleiman, Ahmad Ellaz, Tarek El Masri, Ray Moujalli
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wentworthville Magpies New Zealand Kiwis colours.svg Nick Kassis, Mitchell Mamary
Flag of Lebanon.svg Wolves RLFC Wael Harb
Unattached Adham El Zbaidieh

First test

25 October 2015
South Africa  Flag of South Africa.svg12 – 40Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon
Try: Joubert 12'
King 56'
Raubenheimer 73'
Goal: Williams (0/2)
Coetzer (0/1)		 Report
Try: Robinson (3) 3' c, 33', 78' c
Saab 17' c
Abou-Sleiman 21' c
Mamary 59' c
El Masri 63' c
Goal: Boustani (6/7) 4', 18', 22', 60', 64', 79'
Bosman Stadium, Brakpan
Referee: Flag of England.svg Phil Bentham
Player of the Match: Elias Sukkar (Lebanon)
FB1 Jason King
RW2 Gideon Mzembe
RC3 Johan Joubert
LC4 Jean Coetzer
LW5 Shuab Samaai
SO6 Theo Rhodes
SH7 Bradley Williams
PR8 Jaice Terblanche
HK9 Marcell Viljoen
PR10 Louis Musson
SR11 Dwayne Botma
SR12 Halvor Harris
LF13 Shane Gillham
Substitutions:
IC14 Nardus Raubenheimer
IC15 Rupert Wells
IC16 Rudolph Prinsloo
IC17Jean-Pierre Nel
Coach:
Brian Greige
FB1 Daniel Abou Sleiman
RW2 Adham El Zbaidieh
RC3 Tarek El Masri
LC4 Chris Saab
LW5 Travis Robinson
FE6 Mark Daoud
HB7 James Boustani
PR8Mitchell Mamary
HK9 Ali Allouche
PR10 Ray Moujalli
SR11 Elias Sukkar
SR12 Nick Kassis
LK13 Ahmad Ellaz
Substitutions:
IC14 Richard Coorey
IC15 James Elias
IC16 Wael Harb
IC17 Robin Hachache
Coach:
Darren Maroon

Notes:

Second test

31 October 2015
South Africa  Flag of South Africa.svg16 – 50Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon
Try: Mzembe 36'
Wells 54'
Viljoen 76'
Goal: Williams (2/3)		 Report
Try: Abou Sleiman 2'
Robinson (3) 11', 19', 44'
Daoud 26'
Sukkar 32'
El Masri 60'
Boustani 63'
Kassis 74'
Goal: Boustani (7/10)
Bosman Stadium, Brakpan
Referee: Flag of England.svg Phil Bentham
Player of the Match: Elias Sukkar (Lebanon)
FB1 Jason King
RW2 Gideon Mzembe
RC3 Johan Joubert
LC4 Jean Coetzer
LW5 Rupert Wells
SO6 Theo Rhodes
SH7 Bradley Williams
PR8 Jaice Terblanche
HK9 Marcell Viljoen
PR10 Rudolph Prinsloo
SR11 Dwayne Botma
SR12 Halvor Harris
LF13 Shane Gillham
Substitutions:
IC14 Shuab Samaai
IC15 Louis Musson
IC16Deon Kraemer
IC17Christo Louw
Coach:
Brian Greige
FB1 Daniel Abou Sleiman
RW2 Adham El Zbaidieh
RC3 Tarek El Masri
LC4 Chris Saab
LW5 Travis Robinson
FE6 Mark Daoud
HB7 James Boustani
PR8Mitchell Mamary
HK9 Ali Allouche
IC10 Richard Coorey
SR11 Elias Sukkar
SR12 Nick Kassis
LK13 Ahmad Ellaz
Substitutions:
IC14 James Elias
IC15 Wael Harb
IC16 Robin Hachache
IC17 Ead Kassem
Coach:
Darren Maroon

Notes:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russia national rugby league team</span>

The Russia national rugby league team, nicknamed The Bears, represents Russia in international rugby league tournaments and other rugby league fixtures. The Bears, played their first fixtures against two British club sides: York Wasps and Fulham RLFC. In 2013, Russia became a full member of the Rugby League International Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greece national rugby league team</span>

The Greece national rugby league team represents Greece in rugby league. The team has been participating in international competition since 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italy national rugby league team</span> National sports team

The Italy national rugby league team represents Italy in rugby league football. With origins dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, the team has competed regularly in international competitions since 2008, when their current governing body, the Federazione Italiana Rugby League, was formed. They are currently ranked 13th in the IRL World Rankings.

The South Africa national rugby league team to date have competed at two Rugby League World Cups in 1995 and 2000.

The Serbia national rugby league team represents Serbia in the sport of rugby league football. They have competed in international competition since 2003 under the administration of the Serbian Rugby League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmad Ellaz</span> Lebanon international rugby league footballer

Ahmad Ellaz is a Lebanese rugby league player who has represented his country. His position is usually in the back row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyd White (rugby league)</span> Wales international rugby league footballer

Lloyd White is a Welsh international rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for Toulouse Olympique in the Betfred Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Rugby League World Cup</span> 15th Rugby League World Cup tournament

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams of 14 Rugby League International Federation member countries who qualified through either standing in the previous tournament or a series of qualification play-off matches. In the final, defending champions Australia, playing in their 14th consecutive final, defeated England at Brisbane's Lang Park.

The 2014 Rugby League European Championship was an international rugby league football tournament. The tournament took place in England, Wales, France, Ireland and Scotland between 17 October and 2 November. It was announced beforehand that the winner of the tournament would qualify for the 2016 Four Nations, and also that if Ireland or Wales won tournament, they will automatically qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. France and Scotland had already qualified for that tournament.

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying process began on 9 May 2015 with the 2015 European Championship C. In August 2014, it was announced that seven of the eight quarter-finalists at the 2013 tournament would receive automatic qualification. Fourteen teams took part in the qualifying process to fill the remaining seven spots.

The 2015 Rugby League European Championship was an international rugby league football tournament. The tournament took place between 16 October and 7 November in Wales, France, Scotland and Ireland.

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup Asia-Pacific qualification play-off was a rugby league match that was played on 17 October 2015 at Campbelltown Stadium in Australia. Tonga defeated the Cook Islands 28–8 to qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup Americas qualification was a rugby league tournament that was held in December 2015 to decide the American qualifier for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. It consisted of a round-robin tournament involving three teams, Canada, Jamaica and the United States, at two venues in Florida in the United States.

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.

The 2015 European Championship C tournament was the eighth staging of the Rugby League European Bowl tournament played in the respective European countries participating between 26 September to 17 October 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification (Europe play-off)</span>

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup Europe qualification play-off was a rugby league match that was played on 4 November 2016 at Leigh Sports Village in England. The match decides who was the final European country to qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, with Italy defeating Russia 76–0.

Colin Wilkie is former Italy international rugby league footballer who played as a utility for the Northern Pride in the Intrust Super Cup.

The 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup qualification was the qualifying process which will decide the 8 teams that would join the 8 quarter-finalists from the 2017 World Cup including the hosts England, who received an automatic spot, at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The process commenced in June 2018, with the commencement of the 2018–19 Rugby League European Championship C tournament, which acted as the first round for European qualification.

A list of men and women international rugby league matches played throughout 2019 and does not include wheelchair rugby league international matches. A † denotes a recognised, but unofficial match that did not contribute to the RLIF World Rankings.

References

  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. ↑ Dubai to host RLWC2017 Qualifier, rlif.com, 19 April 2015
  3. ↑ Venue changed for Middle East-Africa RLWC qualifier, aprlc.com, 24 July 2015
  4. ↑ SARL NAME TRAIN-ON SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , rlef.eu.com, 6 October 2015
  5. ↑ LEBANON NAME INITIAL SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine , rlef.eu.com, 1 October 2015
  6. ↑ "SOUTH AFRICA ANNOUNCE 20-MAN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS SQUAD". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "ROBINSON BROTHERS HEADLINE STRONG LEBANON SQUAD". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "ROBINSON WITHDRAWAL DISRUPTS LEBANON PREPARATIONS". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "2017 RLWCQ - MEA GAME 1: SOUTH AFRICA V LEBANON – PREVIEW". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.