This afternoon’s clash between England and Ireland is just the latest instalment of Rugby League World Cup matches that have taken place in Huddersfield.
The John Smith’s stadium, or as it was formerly known, The McAlpine Stadium and Galpharm Stadium, has hosted three RLWC matches.
Here is a reminder of how they each turned out – just to whet your appetite:
It may not have been a classic in the sense that the following two are, but this match marks the first ever World Cup match hosted at the then newly-built McApline Stadium.
Fresh off the back of a 46-0 defeat at the hands of England, the Fijians will surely have gone into the clash bereft of confidence against the defending six-time champions.
Needless to say, the match was, to put it kindly, a one-sided affair.
If you are to believe the bookies (England are 1/600), you can expect a distinctly similar outcome today.
With the semi-final tied at 20-20, the Oceania rivals entered into extra time. Just five minutes into added time, Terry Hill went over to finish off a remarkable team try for Australia, before Andrew Johns converted a try by captain Brad Fittler to finish off the tie, as Australia made their way to a final which saw them claim their seventh World Cup in the final against England.
Different tournament, same stage. Australia were in the semi-finals of the tournament – again (they hadn’t failed to reach at least the final since the inaugural competition in 1954), and the opponents were Wales.
After an early Welsh flourish, Australia cantered to a victory by a 24-point margin, but not before Wales became the first team in over 12 months to score more than two tries against the Australian juggernaut.
Australia would go on to claim their sixth consecutive World Cup title and eighth in total.
