International **Ireland v Lebanon Spoiler **

[I_LUV_AFL]

World Cup Qualifiers

See the updates on the international forums at www.rleague.com

I'm watching it live so I'll give updates on the rleague.com forums as they come to hand. Come check it out and sign up to talk about the international game.

Currently, Ireland 12 ld Lebanon 4.

Lebanon look to be in trouble.

 

[I_LUV_AFL]

Final Score: Ireland 18 dr Lebanon 18

Ireland go through to the World Cup Finals on tries scored due to the last qualifier also being 18-18.

Lebanon now go to Repecharge Matches and will play the loser of Scotland/Wales match and could meet the strong Samoa in the final of the qualifiers!

World Cup 2008 teams
Australia
England
Fiji
France
Ireland
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Tonga

Teams still competing in qualifiers
USA
Samoa
Lebanon
Wales
Scotland

Teams knocked out of or not in 2008 WC contention
Russia
Japan
Cook Islands
Serbia
Georgia
Holland
Estonia
Latvia
Germany
Italy
Malta
Morroco
Czech Rep
Austria
Ukraine
Norway
Sweden

 

[Jumpin' Jimmy]

World Cup Qualifiers

See the updates on the international forums at www.rleague.com

I'm watching it live so I'll give updates on the rleague.com forums as they come to hand. Come check it out and sign up to talk about the international game.

Currently, Ireland 12 ld Lebanon 4.

Lebanon look to be in trouble.

Lebanon just bombed a certain try

 

[MagpieScouser]

did el mazri play for lebanon

 

[I_LUV_AFL]

did el mazri play for lebanon

No, Canterbury wouldn't allow him too if I remember correctly. Same situation with Robbie Farah with Wests not allowing him to play with them and it looks like it'll cost them a World Cup birth as they now have to play in the Repecharge Finals which includes the extremely strong Samoan side.

 

[Red_and_white]

The Tigers no letting Farah play has for certain cost Lebanon making the World Cup. Samoa will beat them for sure.

 

[I_LUV_AFL]

The Tigers no letting Farah play has for certain cost Lebanon making the World Cup. Samoa will beat them for sure.

The upcoming RLIF meeting promises to be a firey one with Lebanon fuming that they didn't have their best players to choose from. They will lobby the RLIF to have more power and punish the clubs who fail to release their players for international matches.

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

Things are really moving forward for Lebanese RL

The Lebanese Rugby League Committee has released the schedule for the 2007-8 Bank of Beirut Rugby League Championship, which kicks off next Saturday with a double-header in Bhamdoun featuring a tie between the defending champions and perennial victors, LAU.

Last season’s champions-by-decree, Al-Galacticos of Club Libanais, who were awarded the title following a terminal rupture in the season due to the violence at Nahr El Bared, have relocated to the Kesrouan and been renamed Jounieh Rugby League Football Club. They retain their distinctive black and gold colours. Negotiations are currently under way to tie up usage of the Fouad Chehab stadium, which has hosted rugby league only once before, back in 2005 for an NDU v AUB match. Other changes at Al-Galacticos sees Jean Paul Zakhour take over as head coach. The former NDU forward has an abundance of talent at his disposal, including a spine of Espoir hooker Fadi Azzam, lock Youssef El Helou, halves Danny Chemaly and Roy Abla and fullback Pierre Nasr, and it will be interesting to see how the squad progresses over the course of a 16-week championship.

LAU have also experienced a change at the top, with coach Ibrahim Ballout exiting for Belgium to continue his education. His replacement is Remond Safi, who departs AUB after a frustrating three years at the helm. Safi inherits a strong squad whose only seeming flaw is an occasional lapse in discipline. Interestingly, in a bid to address this, Safi has named the enigmatic Mohamed Jamil – the only player to be sent off last season - as captain. Once more the Immortals will serve up a three-course meal of power, then power, followed by more power. Veteran forwards Robin and Rudy Hachache, Nayef Abisaid and Ahmad Hammoud will bolster a strong pack while Safi sifts through a massive LAU squad.

In Safi’s wake at AUB comes rookie coach Mikhael Shammas, a member of the first ever AUB squad back in October 2002. Shammas has another huge squad to handle, but if he can improve the side defensively and eradicate the hurtful losses of concentration that seemed to afflict AUB more than any other side he will be able to harness the attacking threat of arguably the fastest side in the competition.

Balamand are grateful to welcome back two pillars of the side from overseas, with Amin Maassarani and lock Omar Darwich returning from China and Dubai respectively. However, coach Mohamed Habbous has to bear what is possibly the greatest individual player loss felt by any team with hooker Darwich Darwich out for the season following his sickening injury on tour with Liban Espoir when he fractured his knee, tibia and suffered nerve damage in his foot.

Finally USJ enters what will be a surefire test of their character and mental toughness. Yet to register to a win, the squad has some talented players but is burdened by a massive deficiency in experience that led to one self-destruction after another in last season’s friendly matches. Former Balmain junior Faysal Jaber will hope to offer them some guidance as they enter the rough and tumble of championship football for the first time.

The season also sees breaks for two representative fixtures, with the President’s XIII hoping to repeat the heroics of the inaugural team on 2 February, before a UAE XIII takes on the 2008 Bank of Beirut Espoirs in March.

Click here for the full 2007/2008 Bank of Beirut Rugby League Championship

 

[Aucklander]

The upcoming RLIF meeting promises to be a firey one with Lebanon fuming that they didn't have their best players to choose from. They will lobby the RLIF to have more power and punish the clubs who fail to release their players for international matches.

Given how poorly New Zealand is treated, I doubt Lebanon will have much joy.