2000 Rugby League World Cup
The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was the twelfth staging of the Rugby League World Cup. It was held in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, and took place between 28 October and 25 November 2000. Sixteen national teams competed in four groups of four, playing each other once over three weekly rounds before a series of play-offs that culminated in the final between Australia and New Zealand. Tournament favourites Australia defeated New Zealand in the final, claiming their sixth consecutive and ninth total Rugby League World Cup title. Australian winger Wendell Sailor was  named player of the tournament. Summary. Building on the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, it was decided to expand the format further, with the number of teams rising from 10 to 16. As before, an Emerging Nations Tournament was held alongside the main event. The millennium World Cup attracted a record sponsorship of over £1 million from Lincoln Financial Group, who had also sponsored Great Britain's Tests against New Zealand the previous autumn. The 2000 World Cup was not considered a great success. There were too many mismatches in the early stages, and some of the teams lacked  credibility. Notably the inclusion of a side representing New Zealand's Māori population, Aotearoa Māori, alongside the full New Zealand team, and a Lebanon side consisting entirely of Australians of Lebanese origin, led to derisory comments in the media. The tournament's organisers also attracted criticism regarding marketing and ticketing. For these reasons crowds at the tournament were low; also torrential rainstorms and the crisis on Britain's railways following the Hatfield rail crash did not help encourage spectators. There were however some positives: the tournament returned a profit of more than £2m despite the small crowds it  attracted; the French performed creditably, and attendance for the games held in France was encouraging. The much-derided Lebanon team also proved the catalyst for domestic competition in that country. On the competition side of things, favourites Australia and New Zealand cut a swathe through the tournament, with several dominant performances setting up an obvious final clash. New Zealand's 49–6 semi-final dispatch of England, coupled with Australia only hitting the lead in their semi-final against Wales with 23 minutes remaining, had New Zealand installed as favourites in some quarters. However, it was Australia who prevailed in a  tense, absorbing finale. Australia only led 18–12 with 15 minutes remaining, but a glut of possession saw them finish strongly – scoring four late tries to give the appearance of an easy victory. Qualifying. Six countries – , the , , , and – competed for one available place in the tournament. Lebanon deafeated the United States 62–8 in the final play-off match. Teams. The 2000 World Cup tournament features 16 teams: Venues. The games were played at various venues in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France. The Twickenham Stadium in London, the home of the English rugby union was the host stadium for the opening ceremony  and match featuring hosts England and defending champions Australia. Group Stage. Group 1. Results. This was the first rugby league match to be played at Twickenham Stadium, London's home of rugby union. Australians Ben Kennedy, Trent Barrett and Nathan Hindmarsh were selected to make their Kangaroo debuts in this match. Group 3. Results. This was the first match of a double-header in Paris for the opening round. This match formed the second part of the opening round double-header in Paris. Before the match a statue honouring French rugby league legend, Puig Aubert was unveiled by the French  Rugby League Federation at the stadium. Sin Bin: Lomi (25") for flopping. Group 4. Results. The opening match of the World Cup was accompanied by heavy rain. Samoa's Fred Petersen had to be stretchered off the field after suffering a blow to the head while making a tackle 15 minutes into the second half. Sin Bin: McDonald (40). Sin Bin: Nikau (40). Knockout stage. Semi-finals. This was the England rugby league team's biggest ever loss. By winning this match, New Zealand had again equaled their record for consecutive victories with five. Wales became the first team in  twelve months to score more than two tries against Australia.