Nathan Smith discusses Day 1 of the Rugby League 9s
Day 1
Summary
A hot Sydney day saw twelve men’s, and four women’s sides go at it. On the face of it, there seemed a likely pattern of results, however this wasn’t the case. The Cook Islands, who were expected to be fodder for the Tonga Invitational team, ended up blitzing the 2017 World Cup semi-finalists 30-7. The crowd favourite, Maika Sivo, was on the losing end of a Samoan raid after his stacked Fijian team lost 32-17. Indeed, the 9s proved, in its first day, that the format can favour the underdog.
Results
Men
France 8-12 Lebanon
England 25-4 Wales
Tonga Invitational 7-30 Cook Islands
Samoa 32-17 Fiji
Australia 25-12 New Zealand
Papua New Guinea 27-10 United States of America
Women
England 25-4 Papua New Guinea
Australia 22-8 New Zealand
Standings (W-L-D, differential +/-, total points)
1. England 1-0-0, +21, 2.
2. Australia 1-0-0, +14, 2.
3. New Zealand 0-1-0, -14, 0.
4. PNG 0-1-0, -21, 0.
Day 1 Pool Standings
Pool A (W-L-D, differential +/-, total points)
1.Papua New Guinea 1-0-0, +17, 2.
2. Australia 1-0-0, +13, 2.
3. New Zealand 0-1-0, -13, 0.
4. USA 0-1-0, -17, 0.
Pool B (W-L-D, differential +/-, total points)
1. England 1-0-0, +21, 2.
2. Lebanon 1-0-0, +4, 2.
3. France 0-1-0, -4, 0.
4. Wales 0-1-0, -21, 0.
Pool C (W-L-D, differential +/-, total points)
1. Cook Islands 1-0-0, +23, 2.
2. Samoa 1-0-0 +15, 2.
3. Fiji 0-1-0, -15, 0.
4. Tonga Invitational 0-1-0, -23, 0.
