when 25 players heaped in to a fight four minutes from the finish of Fiji's obliteration of Wales on Sunday night, the PA commentator all of a sudden Rugby League World Cup 2017 chose to give Tom Jones' tune Delilah a turn. The group snickered and everybody appreciated the perversity of the Catch 22. It had been a hour since Wales had scored their exclusive attempt of the amusement and whoever was controlling the Tannoy had obviously turned out to be sick of sitting tight for another opportunity to give the prominent Welsh song of praise another go. Meanwhile he had played the Fijian melody 14 times as they went crazy.

Befuddles have cursed the gathering stage with not very many close diversions. Of the five matches I found in Queensland, four were avalanches. There were different explanations behind them everything except the general story is that Australia and New Zealand are as yet delivering the best players, and the a greater amount of them you have, the better your odds of contending. Dismal however evident.

Beside Australia, New Zealand, England and France, nobody else is creating proficient rugby class players in any significant number. Ridges, with around 10 homegrown individuals in their squad, might be next on that rundown. The USA would be a long way from base.

USA mentor Brian McDermott made a fascinating point Rugby League World Cup following their obstinate yet barbarous 46-0 lesson from Italy. "It's not hard for the American young men. They adore it. Tedesco makes a separate the privilege and Dave Ulch was pursuing and half missed him yet he got off the deck and was associated with constraining the blunder. What an affair.  The extreme yards are for these men [indicating skipper Mark Offerdahl] who've experienced childhood in Australia and are appropriate rugby group players. They have desires. Junior Vaivai and Bureta Fairamo have desire to accomplish something. They are the ones to feel for."

Ulch, who plays for Tampa Mayhem in USARL, was unmistakably having a great time. "It was a great deal of fun," he let me know, smiling comprehensively. "You play at the time. It's anything but difficult to overlook who's on the opposite side and simply concentrate on doing your activity. A short time later you understand, ah that is the reason they were so great. That was the most abnormal amount diversion I've ever played, my first taste of big time class – and I need to taste some more. Watch Rugby League World Cup 2017 Live Stream  It's sort of addictive. I have a scratch pad and record all that we have done after each instructional meeting and I will take that