A League of their own

The Rugby League World Cup kicked off in Australia at the weekend, and what a weird and pointless competition it is.

Four years in Leeds have given me an appreciation of the thirteen man game which was previously missing. The subtlety and skill required is often overlooked and although I feel Union is a superior game, League definitely has its merits.

The Super League is a great spectacle and the Grand Final is one of the sporting highlights of the year. Sadly a world cup in the sport fails to provide any interest for me.

The format is ridiculous. Three groups, one with Australia, England and New Zealand as well the unfortunate Papua New Guinea, and two further groups which include France, Scotland, Ireland and three Pacific nations.

The winners of the two small groups will fight it out for the chance to play the winner of group A while the second and third placed teams in the same group will lock horns for a place in the final.

So basically Australia will be in the final against either England or New Zealand. It is a bizarre set up and one that I don't feel benefits the sport. First of all, why are PNG given the short straw of being in the group of certain fatality?

BRUTAL HIT

The introduction of the Catalan Dragons and the Celtic Crusaders to the Super League has and should continue to develop the sport in Europe, but further progress must be made if the sport is to rival it's better looking brother, Union.

An annual five/six nations tournament should be established, or a Churchill Cup type affair, where England put out a second string team. Strides must be taken to push the game on, because a world cup should be the pinnacle of any sport, but in reality the NRL, Super League and the triangular series all rate higher than this farcical fortnight.

Guinness Round Five

Mid-week rugby is rare but due to the Lions Summer tour to South Africa, an extra round of games has been slipped in to make the season a week shorter.

Spread over three days all twelve teams played and the table now looks somewhat different after a couple of surprise results.

On Tuesday, Gloucester produced a delightful display of attacking rugby to dispatch a hard-working Newcastle 39-23. Ian Balshaw picked up a hat-trick in only his second game back after injury, while James Simpson-Daniel notched a brace.

The other big news of the night was that Jonny Wilkinson picked up yet another injury. Just when it looked like he was back and hitting top-form he has dislocated his knee and faces another lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Sharks bitten

Wednesday saw four games played. The least surprising result of the night was Saracens picking up a win at Bristol who still only have two losing bonus points.

Elsewhere, Leicester produced a spirited and trademark second-half comeback against east-midlands rivals Northampton. Trailing 16-9 at the break the Tigers came back to win 29-19 with Toby Flood scoring 19 of the home side's points.

The shock of the round saw league leaders, Sale, go down 28-6 at London Irish.Having not conceded a try all season, the Sharks let Irish cross their whitewash four times and with only two Charlie Hodgson penalties in reply they slip to third in the table.

Adams Park hosted the final game of the night, as Wasps welcomed back Danny Cipriani against Bath. A solid return for the young England starlet who was only denied a 100% kicking record by a dodgy referee. Sadly Cipriani's hour long cameo, watched by his new woman Kelly Brook, was not enough to see Wasps record their first home win of the season.

Bath held out for a tense 27-23 win to leave the London side still languising at the foot of the table with just seven points. Wasps will be hoping Cipriani's return can kick-start their season but with no Guinness rugby til November 14 now, they will have to hope some cup-success can give them some much needed respite.

With Wilkinson now out, Martin Johnson may now call up Cipriani to the senior squad, to complete what would be a remarkable recovery for the youngster.

Warriors wounded

Thursday saw the last game of the round played, and there were no surprises as Harlequins beat Worcester 30-23 with Ugo Monye scoring two tries for Quins.

Bath are now top of the league, three points clear of Sale, Tigers and Quins and a further point clear of Saracens and Irish. Bristol remain last with Warriors and Wasps just ahead with only one win to their names still.

As I said there is no league rugby till November 14 but there will be EDF and Heineken Cup to keep us entertained, and I will be sure to keep you updated.