2017 Rugby League World Cup qualification (Europe play-off)
The 2017 Rugby League World Cup Europe qualification play-off was a rugby league match that will played on 4 November 2016 at Leigh Sports Village in England. This match decides who is the final European country qualifying for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. Italy defeated Russia 76-0 to qualify for the 2017 World Cup.
| 2017 RLWC qualification (Europe play-off) | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 4 November 2016 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Leigh Sports Village | ||||||||||||
| Location | Leigh, Greater Manchester, England | ||||||||||||
| Man of the Match |  Terry Campese | ||||||||||||
| Referees |  Chris Campbell | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 450 | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
Overview
On 3 October 2014, the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying competition was announced with three more qualification places being announced for European countries after England, France and Scotland had already qualified courtesy of reaching the 2013 World Cup knock-out stage.[1]
In the final round of European Qualification there were two groups of 3 with the countries that topped both pools advancing straight into the 2017 World Cup while the teams placed second headed into a one-off play-off match held at the Leigh Sports Village to see who will be the 14th and final country to qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.
Italy qualified for the play-off match after finishing second in group A. Italy were almost in no need of a play-off match after being 40 minutes away from causing a shock result over Wales in Monza.
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Serbia | 62 | 14 | 22 October 2016 | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | 1,037 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales | 14 | 20 | 29 October 2016 | Stadio Brianteo, Monza | 839 |
While Russia qualified for the play-off match after finishing second in group B.
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Spain | 40 | 6 | 15 October 2016 | Fili Stadium, Moscow | 427 |
 Ireland | 16 | 70 | 29 October 2016 | Carlisle Grounds, Bray | 867 |
Squads
Both teams squads remained unchanged throughout the qualifiers.
Italy
- Coach:
.svg.png.webp)
Cameron Ciraldo
| Club Team | Players |
|---|---|
| Blacktown Workers |  Dean Parata |
| Brianza Tigers |  Patrik Ziliotti |
| Cairns Brothers |  Joel Riethmuller |
| Canterbury Bulldogs | Joe Tramontana |
| Cronulla Sharks |  Jayden Walker |
| Hull Kingston Rovers |  Terry Campese, Josh Mantellato |
 Lézignan Corbieres |  Christophe Calegari |
| Lions Brescia |  Giuseppe Pagani |
| Mackay Cutters |  Gavin Hiscox |
| Newcastle Thunder |  Gioele Celerino |
| Northern Pride |  Justin Castellaro, Ryan Ghietti, Col Wilkie |
| North Queensland Cowboys |  Kieran Quabba |
| Oldham R.L.F.C. |  Richard Lepori |
 *Sacramento Express |  Mirco Bergamasco |
| St. George Illawarra Dragons |  Shannon Wakeman |
| South Wales Ironmen |  Chris Vitalini |
| Townsville Blackhawks |  Brenden Santi |
| Windsor Wolves |  Ryan Tramonte |
| Wyong Roos | Chris Centrone |
- * Denotes a rugby union club.
Russia
- Coach:
Denis Korolev
| Club Team | Players |
|---|---|
| CSKA Moscow |  Kirill Kosharin |
| Dinamo | Viacheslav Eremin, Andrey Kuznetsov |
| *Ivanovo White Sharks | Ivan Troitskii |
| RC Lokomotiv Moscow | Vadim Buryak, Leonid Kalinin, Maxim Tsinkovich |
| Nara | Petr Botnarash, Mikhail Burlutskii, Sergey Gaponov, Anatoly Grigorev, Sergei Konstantinov, Aleksandr Lysokon, Maksim Suchkov, Denis Tiulenev, Vladimir Vlasyuk, Nikolay Zagoskin |
| Moscow Fili | Anton Iunisov, Iustin Petrushka |
| Moscow Storm | Dmitry Bratko, Igor Chuprin, Vadim Fedchuk |
- * Denotes a rugby union club.
Qualifier
Match details
4 November 2016 20:00 |
| Italy |
76 – 0 | Russia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Castellaro (2), Cerruto (2), Lepori (2), Wilkie (2), Campese, Celerino, Centrone, Santi, Wakeman, Walker Goals: Campese (10/14) |
[2] |
Leigh Sports Village, Leigh, England Attendance: 450 Referee: Chris CampbellMan of the Match: Terry Campese |
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With the win Italy became the 14th, and final, team to qualify for the 2017 World Cup.
References
- QUALIFICATION DETAILS FOR 2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP ANNOUNCED Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, rlef.eu.com, 3 August 2014
- "Italy take the final RLWC2017 place". Rugby League International Federation. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.