2000: Australia
2000 Rugby League World Cup tournament
The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was the twelfth staging of the tournament and was held during October and November in Great Britain, Ireland and France. Building on the previous successful competition, 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.
Favourites Australia defeated New Zealand in the tournament's final. Kangaroos winger Wendell Sailor was named player of the tournament.
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 tournament returned a profit of more than £2m The French performed creditably, and attendance for the games held in France was encouraging. The 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 a final clash.
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.
Australia 40 - 12 New Zealand
November 25th 2000
Old Trafford, Manchester
Referee: Stuart Cummings
Attendance: 44,329
Australia: Lockyer, Sailor, Gidley, MacDougall, Rogers, Fittler (C), Kimmorley, Webcke, Johns, Kearns, Tallis, Fletcher, Hill. Subs: Stevens, Britt, Hindmarsh, Barrett.
Tries: Gidley, Hindmarsh, Lockyer, Sailor 2, Fittler, Barrett. Goals: Rogers 6
New Zealand: Barnett, Vagana, Carroll, Talau, Vainikolo, H Paul, Jones, Smith, Swain, Pongia, Rua, Kearney, Wiki. Subs: Cayless, Vagana, Swann, R Paul.
Tries: Vainikolo, Carroll. Goals: H Paul 2
Semi Finals
New Zealand beat England: 49 - 6 at Reebok Stadium, Bolton. Attendance: 16,032
Australia beat Wales: 46 - 22 at McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield. Attendance: 8,124
Quarter Finals
Australia beat Samoa: 66 - 10 at Vicarage Road, Watford. Attendance: 5,404
England beat Ireland: 26 - 16 at Headingley, Leeds. Attendance: 15,405
New Zealand beat France: 54 - 6 at The Jungle, Castleford. Attendance: 5,158
Wales beat Papua New Guinea: 22 - 8 at Auto Quest Stadium, Widnes. Attendance: 5,211
2000 World Cup Group One Results
Australia beat England: 22 - 2 at Twickenham, London. Attendance: 33,758
Fiji beat Russia: 38 - 12 at Craven Park, Barrow. Attendance: 2,187
Australia beat Fiji: 66 - 8 at Gateshead. Attendance: 4,197
England beat Russia: 76 - 4 at Knowsley Road, St Helens. Attendance: 5,736
Australia beat Russia: 110 - 4 at The Boulevard, Hull. Attendance: 3,044
England beat Fiji: 66 - 10 at Headingley, Leeds. Attendance: 10,052
| Group One | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | F | A | D | Points |
| Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 198 | 14 | 184 | 6 |
| England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 144 | 36 | 108 | 4 |
| Fiji | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 144 | -88 | 2 |
| Russia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 224 | -204 | 0 |
2000 World Cup Group Two Results
New Zealand beat Lebanon: 64 - 0 at Kingsholm, Gloucester. Attendance: 2,496
Wales beat Cook Islands: 38 - 6 at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham. Attendance: 5,017
New Zealand beat Cook Islands: 84 - 10 at Madjeski Stadium, Reading. Attendance: 3,982
Wales beat Lebanon: 24 - 22 at Stradey Park, Llanelli. Attendance: 1,497
Cook Island drew with Lebanon: 22 - 22 at Millenium Stadium, Cardiff. Attendance: 5,500
New Zealand beat Wales: 58 - 18 at Millenium Stadium. Attendance: 17,612
| Group Two | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | F | A | D | Points |
| New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 206 | 28 | 178 | 6 |
| Wales | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 80 | 86 | -6 | 4 |
| Lebanon | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 44 | 110 | -66 | 1 |
| Cook Islands | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 144 | -106 | 1 |
2000 World Cup Group Three Results
Papua New Guinea beat France: 23 - 20 at Charlety Stadium, Paris. Attendance: 7,498
Tonga beat South Africa: 66 - 18 at Charlety Stadium, Paris. Attendance: 7,498
France beat Tonga: 28 - 8 at Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne. Attendance: 10,288
Papua New Guinea beat South Africa: 16 - 0 at Stade Sept Derniers, Toulouse. Attendance: 4,313
France beat South Africa: 56 - 6 at Stade Municipale, Albi. Attendance: 7,969
Papua New Guinea beat Tonga: 30 - 22 at Stade Municipale, St Esteve. Attendance: 3,666
| Group Three | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | F | A | D | Points |
| PNG | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 42 | 27 | 6 |
| France | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 104 | 37 | 67 | 4 |
| Tonga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 96 | 76 | 20 | 2 |
| South Africa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 138 | -114 | 0 |
2000 World Cup Group Four Results
Ireland beat Samoa: 30 - 16 at Windsor Park, Belfast. Attendance: 3,207
Aotearoa Maori beat Scotland: 17 - 16 at Firhill Park, Glasgow. Attendance: 2,008
Ireland beat Scotland: 18 - 6 at Tolka Park, Dublin. Attendance: 1,782
Samoa beat Aotearoa Maori: 21 - 16 at Derwent Park, Workington. Attendance: 4,107
Ireland beat Aotearoa Maori: 30 - 16 at Tolka Park, Dublin. Attendance: 3,164
Samoa beat Scotland: 20 - 12 at Tynecastle, Edinburgh. Attendance: 1,579
| Group Four | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | F | A | D | Points |
| Ireland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 38 | 40 | 6 |
| Samoa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 58 | -1 | 4 |
| Maori | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 67 | -18 | 2 |
| Scotland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 34 | 55 | -21 | 0 |
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Fixtures
| Rugby League World Cup | ||
| Sat 26 Oct, 14:30 | Australia vs England | |
| Sat 26 Oct, 16:30 | Wales vs Italy | |
| Sun 27 Oct, 16:00 | Papua New Guinea vs France | |
| Sun 27 Oct, 18:00 | New Zealand vs Samoa | |
| Mon 28 Oct, 20:00 | Fiji vs Ireland | |
| Tue 29 Oct, 20:00 | Tonga vs Scotland | |
| Wed 30 Oct, 20:00 | USA vs Cook Islands | |
