United States make history by booking spot for 2013 Rugby League World Cup
The United States has qualified for the first time for the Rugby League World Cup after their convincing 40-4 win against Jamaica in the Atlantic Zone qualifier in Philadelphia.
They were part of Group D for the event which has been scheduled to be held in 2013 in England and Wales.
The US has gripped the lead from the very beginning of the match with 6-4 at half-time of the match. During the first-half of the clash, US was already dominant and the situation had similarly stretched into the second-half of the game, until they bagged
their win, to claim their berth for Rugby League World Cup for the very first time.
While talking about his side’s comfortable win, skipper Apple Pope said: "It is fantastic to achieve the opportunity to represent the USA in the World Cup. Jamaica deserve enormous credit but a massive thanks has to be paid to our coach Matty Elliott who
instilled an ethic around working hard for success which all the boys committed themselves to and it has paid off."
The second-half of the game had the name of Pope’s guys written all over it with a total of 36 points in the second half that remained unanswered, which eventually led to their win against Jamaica to confirm their position for World Cup ahead.
The hosts featured players like Castleford utility Ryan McGoldrick, who had returned after a one match ban, with the first forty minutes of the clash loaded with full action.
However, the initial quarter of the game remained scoreless with Corey Hanson of Jamaica breaking the ice during the 26th minute of the game. Just four minutes before the wrap-up of the first half the hosts responded with Stephen Howard gearing
into action to score the try which was then booted by Joseph Paulo to make the score of 6-4 half way through the game.
Towards the concluding minutes of the clash, three more tries were scored by the Americans, all thanks to Miles, Danny Howard and prop Mark Offerdahl. This was closely followed by Paulo’s booting two extras.
While talking about his side’s brilliant performance, Offerdahl said, “Playing for a spot in the World Cup was a huge motivator. We concentrated on what we could do best and it paid off."
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