2013 Rugby League World Cup

14th Rugby League World Cup tournament

The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's Festival of World Cups. Fourteen teams contested the tournament: Australia, England, New Zealand, Samoa, Wales, Fiji, France, Papua New Guinea, Ireland, Scotland, Tonga, Cook Islands, Italy and the United States. The latter two were competing in the Rugby League World Cup for the first time. New Zealand were the defending champions, having defeated Australia in 2008. Australia won the tournament, beating New Zealand 34–2 in the final to lift the trophy for the tenth time. In terms of attendance, exposure and revenue, the 2013 tournament is considered the most successful Rugby League World Cup to date.

Rules and officiating panel: Daniel Anderson, Stuart Cummings and David Waite. New Zealand: Henry Perenara and Jamal Thompson.

Before the World Cup it was announced that USA would face France in Toulouse, Scotland would play Papua New Guinea at Featherstone, England would play Italy at Salford, New Zealand would play the Cook Islands in Doncaster and England Knights would play Samoa at Salford.

The games were played at various venues in England, Wales, Ireland, and France. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was the host stadium for the opening ceremony and a double header featuring hosts England playing Australia and Wales taking on Italy. Headingley in Leeds, the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington, the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham and the DW Stadium in Wigan hosted the quarter finals. Both semi finals were hosted at Wembley Stadium, with the final held at Old Trafford. London Manchester Cardiff Wembley Stadium Old Trafford Millennium Stadium Capacity: 90,000 Capacity: 76,212 Capacity: 74,500 Limerick Hull Wigan Huddersfield Leeds St. Helens Thomond Park KC Stadium DW Stadium John Smith's Stadium Headingley Langtree Park Capacity: 26,500 Capacity: 25,586 Capacity: 25,133 Capacity: 24,500 Capacity: 21,062 Capacity: 18,000 Avignon Warrington Parc des Sports Halliwell Jones Stadium Capacity: 17,518 Capacity: 15,200 Halifax Perpignan The Shay Stade Gilbert Brutus Capacity: 14,061 Capacity: 13,000 Bristol Salford Memorial Stadium Salford City Stadium Capacity: 12,100 Capacity: 12,000 Leigh Wrexham Rochdale Hull Workington Neath Leigh Sports Village Racecourse Ground Spotland Craven Park Derwent Park The Gnoll Capacity: 11,000 Capacity: 10,500 Capacity: 10,249 Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 5,000

The match schedule was announced on 22 March 2012. The Rugby League International Federation announced the kickoff times of the matches, with the opening kickoff to be held on 26 October in Cardiff, at 14:30 local time. The group stage matches will be played at 14:00, 14:30, 16:00, 16:30, 18:00, and 20:00 local time, with knockout stage matches at 13:00, 15:00, and 20:00 local time. The semi finals will be played at 13:00 and 15:30 local time and the final, on 30 November 2013 at the Old Trafford stadium, at 14:30 local time.

The opening ceremony took place at the Millennium Stadium on 26 October. The ceremony saw 550 dancers perform, 500 amateur and 50 professional, including former players Martin Offiah and Gareth Thomas, both of whom are former Strictly Come Dancing contestants. The ceremony also featured live music and a light show. The ceremony preceded the opening matches of England versus Australia, versus Wales and Italy.

Seven grounds achieved sell out crowds, with four setting stadium records. Games held in both Wales and Ireland were watched by the biggest crowds ever for rugby league internationals in those countries. The final was played in front of the largest crowd ever to attend an international rugby league fixture. Date Teams Venue Location Attendance26 October 2013Millennium StadiumCardiff45,05226 October 2013Millennium StadiumCardiff45,05227 October 2013Craven ParkHull7,48127 October 2013Halliwell Jones StadiumWarrington14,96528 October 2013SpotlandRochdale8,87229 October 2013Derwent ParkWorkington7,63030 October 2013Memorial StadiumBristol7,2471 November 2013Parc des SportsAvignon17,1582 November 2013John Smith's StadiumHuddersfield24,3752 November 2013Langtree ParkSt. Helens14,1373 November 2013Racecourse GroundWrexham8,0193 November 2013Derwent ParkWorkington7,2804 November 2013 Craven ParkHull6,8715 November 2013Leigh Sports VillageLeigh10,5547 November 2013AJ Bell StadiumEccles6,0418 November 2013HeadingleyLeeds18,1809 November 2013KC StadiumHull25,1149 November 2013Thomond ParkLimerick 5,02110 November 2013The GnollNeath 3,72010 November 2013The ShayHalifax 10,22611 November 2013Stade Gilbert BrutusPerpignan 11,57615 November 2013HeadingleyLeeds16,20716 November 2013Racecourse GroundWrexham5,76216 November 2013DW StadiumWigan22,27617 November 2013Halliwell Jones StadiumWarrington 12,77623 November 2013WembleyLondon67,54523 November 2013WembleyLondon67,54530 November 2013Old TraffordTrafford74,468