The 2017 Rugby League World Cup Americas qualification was a rugby league tournament that was held in December 2015 to decide the American qualifier for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. It consisted of a round-robin tournament involving three teams, Canada, Jamaica and the United States, at two venues in Florida in the United States.
The United States won the tournament and qualified for the World Cup.
Overview edit
On 3 October 2014, the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying competition was announced. Seven of the eight teams who made the knockout-stages of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup were announced as automatic qualifiers.[1]
USA, who were quarter-finalists in 2013, were denied automatic qualification due to an internal governance dispute which saw the nation's Rugby League International Federation membership temporarily suspended. Once the issue was resolved, USA was allowed to enter the qualification process.[citation needed] In August 2015, the qualifiers were announced to be held in Florida in December 2015.[2]
Squads edit
Canada edit
The Canada squad as of 26 November 2015 was as follows:[3]
- Coach:
Aaron Zimmerle
| Club Team | Players |
|---|---|
 Bradford Dudley Hill |
Chad Bain |
 Brantford Broncos |
 Billy Gemmell, Christian Miller, Steve Piatek
|
| Capilano Cougars |
Alex Boyd
|
 Easts Tigers |
 Tom Dempsey
|
| Jamberoo Superoos |
 Steve Bouchard
|
| London Skolars |
 Louis Robinson
|
| Souths Logan Magpies |
 Rhys Jacks
|
| Sunshine Coast Falcons |
 Ryley Jacks
|
| Surrey Beavers |
Jamie Kelly
|
| Toronto Centurions |
Jonathan Cregg, Robin Legault, Matt Wyles
|
| Toronto City Saints |
Eddie Bilborough, Antoine Blanc, Enoch Wamalwa
|
| Valley Warriors |
Daniel Blasco-Morris, Rick Schouten, Adam Timler
|
Jamaica edit
The Jamaica squad as of 25 November 2015 was as follows:[4]
- Coach:
Romeo Monteith
United States edit
The USA squad as of 25 November 2015 was as follows:[5]
On 2 December the US team suffered a setback after Tui Samoa pulled out of the squad for personal reasons. He was replaced by Corey Makelim.[6]
- Coach:
Brian McDermott
Standings edit
| Key to colours in table | |
|---|---|
| Qualified for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup | |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 38 | +16 | 4 |
 Jamaica
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 1 |
| Canada
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 52 | −10 | 1 |
Fixtures edit
United States vs Jamaica edit
4 December 2015
|
| United States
|
20 – 14 | Jamaica
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Offerdahl 10' Howden 12' D. Howard 43' Makelim 54' Goal: Freed (2/4) |
Report |
Try: Peltier (2) 30', 78' Farrell 49' Goal: Farrell (1/3) |
|
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Canada vs Jamaica edit
8 December 2015
|
| Canada
|
18 – 18 | Jamaica
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Ryley Jacks 63' Legault (2) 76', 79' Goal: Piatek (3/3) |
Report |
Try: Bryan 21' A. Brown 26' Reittie 57' Goal: Farrell (3/5) |
|
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United States vs Canada edit
This match was also the third and final game of the 2015 Colonial Cup series.
12 December 2015
|
| United States
|
34 – 24 | Canada
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Alley (2) 2', 53' Howden (2) '9, '44 D. Howard (3) 36', 58', 79' Burroughs 63' Goal: Howden (1/4) |
Report |
Try: Kelly 18' Ryley Jacks (3) 32', 40', 66' Goal: Piatek (4/4) |
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References edit
- ^ QUALIFICATION DETAILS FOR 2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP ANNOUNCED Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.eu.com, 3 August 2014
- ^ Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers Awarded to Jacksonville & Deland, FL Archived 2015-08-16 at the Wayback Machine, usarl.com, 13 August 2015
- ^ WOLVERINES NAME SQUAD FOR RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.com, 27 November 2015
- ^ CORE OF REGGAE WARRIORS FROM UK COMPETITION Archived 2015-11-26 at the Wayback Machine rlef.com, 25 November 2015
- ^ "USA HAWKS ANNOUNCE 20-MAN SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS". Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ^ Setback for USA Hawks with RLWC Qualifiers set to start.