Rugby League / Ralph Ellis / 26 June 2008 / Leave a comment

So there was no England team at Euro 2008 and a long qualifying road still to travel to South Africa. But there's another World Cup to look forward to and we will have a team there among the favourites.

"When's that?" you ask. It's in Australia in October. The Rugby League World Cup. And yes the Aussies are not surprisingly [1.26] already to win it on home soil but the English team that coach Tony Smith is pulling together will at least be among their rivals. They are [6.8] to back and [9.2] to lay at the moment as the market settles down, but tomorrow night promises a look at how Smith is progressing as his team go to France for a warm-up game.

Okay, so Rugby League against France used to be the sort of challenge provided by cricket against Holland. But that's changing now as the Catalans Dragons evolve in Super League and some of the better Union players switch codes. It will be enough to get some clues on how the plans for a tournament that starts against Papua New Guinea in Townsville are progressing.

The Daily Star was unique when it was first produced nearly 30 years ago in being edited and printed from Manchester, and the paper's Northern roots still influence it's coverage of Rugby League. True to that tradition the paper names Smith's team this morning and the England coach has gone for size and power in his pack.

"It doesn't get any bigger than we've got with Adrian Morley and Jamie Peacock in the front row and Gareth Ellis and Sam Burgess behind them," says Smith. "We wanted a big team to start with and it's an impressive bench as well to make an impact. We have got to dominate that aspect of the game to give our backs the chance to play some rugby."

That sets out the tactics, and Hull KR winger Peter Fox getting his international debut on the wing will give the coach a chance to look at some other options.

If Smith does get his pack right then England could have some potential to spring an upset in Australia. He'll pair Leon Pryce and Rob Burrow together as his half backs in Toulouse tomorrow night, a pair that looked a successful combination for Great Britain against New Zealand last year. Certainly former GB captain Paul Sculthorpe reckons that's the way to go. He's told the Daily Mirror today that Pryce can be the "Leon King" both in France tomorrow and in Australia in the autumn. The pair play together at St Helens and Sculthorpe says: "Leon will be the first to admit he wasn't the best trainer in the business, but in the last year or so he's really put in the extra work and is getting the rewards." England are trading between [1.13] and [1.49] this morning to win in Toulouse tomorrow. If you can get a bet matched at the upper end of that scale Smith's side look a safe prospect for some easy money.

Five things you didn't know about the Rugby League World Cup

1. It was first held in France in 1954, the first world cup of either code.

2. Of the 12 competitions held since, Australia have won it nine times.

3. Great Britain won the other three - but have now been split into separate nations.

4. The 1965 tournament should have been held in France, but they scrapped it because their team was so bad.

5. The original trophy was stolen in 1970, but then mysteriously reappeared a few days after the organizers had commissioned a new one.

Tags: England, France, Ralph Ellis, Rugby League, World Cup