2013 World Cup launched

The 2013 World Cup was officially launched on Tuesday, with the format set to closely follow that used in Australia two years ago.

England to face Australia in group stage once again

The 2013 World Cup was officially launched on Tuesday, with the competition's format set to closely follow that used in Australia two years ago. On that occasion, England, Australia and New Zealand were all placed in the same group and the first two nations will once again face each other during the early stages. All three nations progressed at the expense of minnows Papua New Guinea to the semi-finals in 2008, with the rest of the teams left to battle through from two pools to claim the one remaining knock-out spot. The format attracted initial criticism but achieved its objective of avoiding one-sided matches and was widely regarded as a success, generating a profit of around £2million. This time the competition, which will see matches held in both England and Wales in the autumn of 2013, has been enlarged from 10 teams to 14 and there will be a quarter-final round. Ireland and 2008 semi-finalists Fiji have been drawn alongside England and Australia in Group A, with holders New Zealand paired with PNG, France and Samoa in Group B. Wales, who failed to qualify in 2008, and Cook Islands, who were runners-up to PNG in the 2009 Pacific Cup, were confirmed as two of the additional teams, with the other two to come from qualifying tournaments to be held in Serbia and America next year. Italy, Lebanon, Russia, Serbia, Jamaica, South Africa and the USA are the teams vying for the two remaining places. Three teams from each of the two main groups will progress to the last eight, with only the winners of the other two groups going through.

Success

RFL chairman Richard Lewis said the aim was to make the 14th staging of the World Cup, the best yet. "The last tournament staged in Australia in 2008 was an enormous success," he said. "Our aim is to build on that success and to deliver a profitable tournament that further enhances the international game across the globe and raises the profile of the sport in the UK." Prime Minister David Cameron, who is currently lobbying on behalf of England's bid for the 2018 Football World Cup, also pledged his government's support in a promotional video. "This government is right behind the RFL," said Cameron. "As one of the sports that this country holds closest to its heart, we know what a privilege and honour it is to host this tournament. "I'm fully confident that the RFL will do the United Kingdom proud and I look forward to working closely with them to make sure it is a great success. "The next decade promises to be one of the most exciting in our country's history. There will be the Olympics, the Cricket World Cup, hopefully the Football World Cup and the Rugby League World Cup. "Coming so soon after the Olympics, the RFL have the opportunity to ride on the crest of that wave and host a truly memorable tournament." Group structure for 2013 World Cup: Group A:
England, Australia, Fiji, Ireland (three go through to quarter-finals).
Group B: New Zealand, France, Papua New Guinea, Samoa (three go through to quarter-finals).
Group C: Scotland, Tonga, European qualifier (winners through to quarter-finals).
Group D: Wales, Cook Islands, Atlantic qualifier (winners through to quarter-finals). In Groups C and D, teams play the other nations in their group and also one team from the opposite group as follows: Scotland v Atlantic qualifier, Tonga v Cook Islands, Wales v European qualifier.