Samoa have scored a 38-16 win over Lebanon to secure the tenth and final place in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
Lebanon tried hard all game and for a while in the second half looked like they were on the comeback trail, but the Samoan side just had way to much fire power.
The Samoan side was heavily boosted by players who have played for other nations in the past with Tony Puletua, George Carmont, Harrisen Hansen, Willie Talau, Nigel Vagana and Ali Lauitiiti all lining up for the Island nation.
Lebanon can take heart in the fact that since 2000’s World Cup appearance the game in Lebanon has moved ahead in leaps and bounds. Hopefully funding from the World Cup can go into improving the standing of Lebanese Rugby League and I’m certain that when the World Cup rolls around next time Lebanon will be taking part in the main tournament.
I would even go as far as to say that the IRLF should set some benchmarks for the game in Lebanon to achieve, and if those benchmarks were achieved then Lebanon should gain automatic qualification the next time around.
So the ten teams that have qualified for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup are:
Australia
New Zealand
England
Papua New Guinea
France
Tonga
Fiji
Ireland
Scotland
Samoa
With only Scotland really being of questionable quality it is already looking like a good competition.
So now we look towards 2008 and a World Cup that is gearing up to be the best ever. I cant wait, I’ve got my tickets already, hurry up and get yours!
