Live Coverage RLWC Begins: Round 2 Game Previews

Live Coverage RLWC Begins: Round 2 Game Previews

Live coverage of the Rugby League World Cup begins on FloRugby for Canada, Uruguay, Chile, and select Asian countries.

Nov 1, 2017 by Alex Goff
Live Coverage RLWC Begins: Round 2 Game Previews

FloRugby is showing the Rugby League World Cup live for Canada, Uruguay, Chile, and all of Asia (minus Japan, Malaysia, and Hong Kong), and Round 2 is right about the corner.

See Brian Lowe’s take on Round 1 and what to expect from Round 2 here.

Here’s a look at the upcoming games:

Friday, Nov. 3 

Australia (1-0) vs. France (0-1) - Watch LIVE

Site: Canberra, ACT, Australia

Australia, of course, beat England 18-4 in the tournament opener. This was a game much closer than the score makes it appear. 

Key Stats: Australia more than doubled England's line breaks (7-3) and outgained the English per carry 9.9 to 8.8.

France lost 29-18 to Lebanon in a bit of an upset.

Key Stats: France lost despite gaining more territory, making more offloads, making more line breaks, and tackling better. 

See viewing info here.


Saturday, Nov. 4

New Zealand (1-0) vs. Scotland (0-1) - Watch LIVE

Christchurch, Canterbury, NZ

New Zealand saw some players opt to play for Tonga and won easily anyway, beating a tough Samoa team 38-8.

Key Stats: You mean besides the seven tries to one? NZ dominated possession and line breaks and outgained Samoa by 274 meters. That outweighed a poorer error rate and tackle rate.

Scotland got whiplash in losing to Tonga 50-4. Now the Scots get to play Tonga's B side (OK, we kid, but it's going to be more of the same for Scotland, we think).

Key Stats: Missed tackles. Missing 47 tackles isn't going to get you a victory in any game.

See viewing info here.


Samoa (0-1) vs. Tonga (1-0) - Watch LIVE

Hamilton, Waikato, NZ

This promises to be a physical contest of seismic proportions. Samoa has to win this one after dropping a 38-8 decision to New Zealand.

Key Stats: Most of Samoa's stats are not that different from New Zealand, except line breaks (five for NZ, one for Samoa). A 90 percent tackle rate for the Samoans is very good.

Tonga crushed Scotland and has to feel pretty confident.

Key Stats: The Tongans had more errors and more penalties than Scotland but played defense only 42 percent of the time because they kept moving the ball. Tonga had 12 line breaks to Scotland's two.

See viewing info here.


England (0-1) vs. Lebanon (1-0)

Sydney, NSW, Australia

That's right, England is 0-1. This is a crucial game. Lebanon pretty much has nothing to lose.

Key Stats: Nothing for England. Its numbers were about as good as Australia's. The English just couldn't get a turnover that could have broken open the game.

Key Stats: For Lebanon, as we said above, its numbers against France weren't better. But, the Lebanese held onto possession 50 percent of the time and finished better and kicked more successfully.


Sunday, Nov. 5

Papua New Guinea (1-0) vs. Ireland (1-0)

Port Moresby, PNG

Finally a clash of two teams that have won a game. Papua New Guinea has looked confident and a vocal home crowd hasn't hurt.

Key Stats: Well, 50-6 over Wales. That's right, Wales. PNG basically doubled Wales' meters output, which is pretty shocking. Linebreaks were 15-0, so, yeah, dominant.

Ireland pulled off a bit of a surprise over Italy and want to be giant killers again.

Key Stats: No passing. The Irish had only four offloads, while Italy had 13. It was one pass and truck it up, and it worked.


Italy (0-1) vs. USA (1-0) - Watch LIVE

Townsville, QLD, Australia

Two teams looking for a win. Both teams battled in their losses.

Key Stats: For Italy, its offload rate was very good. A tackle rate of 93 percent is worth noting, but there were too many mistakes.

For the USA, the Tomahawks made the quarterfinals in the last World Cup. This will be a harder road, but a win here, after losing to Fiji, is a must.

Key Stats: Less then 8.0 meters per carry is not good, and the Americans had way, way too many missed tackles (55).

See viewing info here.


Fiji (1-0) vs. Wales (0-1) - Watch LIVE

Townsville, QLD, Australia

Wales was just plain bad against Papua New Guinea, so there is only one direction to go. Fiji looked brilliant.

Key Stats: Seventy-six. That's right, 76 missed tackles. Pretty unacceptable at this level.

For Fiji, it unleashed some of that union 7s flair combined with league power, and it was beautiful to see. 

Key Stats: 10.6 meters per carry and a 93 percent tackle rate will win you most games.

See viewing info here.


Round 2 Games With Kickoff Times Around The World



Nov 3Nov 4Nov 4Nov 4Nov 5Nov 5Nov 5

Australia v FranceNew Zealand v ScotlandSamoa v TongaEngland v LebanonPNG v IrelandItaly v USAFiji v Wales
Montevideo6:00 AM1:00 AM3:30 AM6:00 AM3:00 AM3:00 AM5:00 AM
Santiago6:00 AM1:00 AM3:30 AM6:00 AM3:00 AM3:00 AM5:00 AM
Toronto5:00 AMMidnight2:30 AM5:00 AM2:00 AM2:00 AM4:00 AM
Calgary3:00 AM10:00 PM12:30 AM3:00 AMMidnightMidnight2:00 AM
Vancouver2:00 AM9:00 PM11:30 PM2:00 AM11:00 PM11:00 PM1:00 AM
Manila5:00 PMNoon2:30 PM5:00 PM2:00 PM2:00 PM4:00 PM
Beijing5:00 PMNoon2:30 PM5:00 PM2:00 PM2:00 PM4:00 PM
Jakarta4:00 PM11:00 AM1:30 PM4:00 PM1:00 PM1:00 PM3:00 PM
Bangkok4:00 PM11:00 AM1:30 PM4:00 PM1:00 PM1:00 PM3:00 PM
Mumbai3:00 PM10:00 AM12:30 PM3:00 PMNoonNoon2:00 PM
Almaty3:00 PM10:00 AM12:30 PM3:00 PMNoonNoon2:00 PM