Twelve months later than planned, the 16th World Cup gets under way with the first of 61 matches across all three formats in Newcastle on Saturday afternoon. Here, the PA news agency examines the key talking points surrounding what organisers say will be the biggest and best tournament yet. It will be going up against cricket’s T20 World Cup in Australia but has been arranged to finish before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and organisers are hoping for a spin-off for the women’s event from England’s successful Euro 2022 Championship. This issue has now been resolved.#RLWC2021 pic.twitter.com/NGoNFaKutE — Rugby League World Cup 2021 (@RLWC2021) October 11, 2022Organisers announced three weeks ago that ticket sales had passed 300,000 and they are edging ever closer to the 382,080 aggregate total for the last World Cup in Australia in 2017. Wales, with the canny John Kear in charge for a second-successive World Cup, find themselves in the “group of pain” alongside Pacific heavyweights Tonga and Papua New Guinea, as well as the Cook Islands.

Source: The Herald October 12, 2022 05:16 UTC