| Sports |
English skipper supports our World
Cup protest
Papua New Guinea’s protest about the 2008 rugby league World Cup
draw has drawn support from an unlikely ally - Great Britain rugby
league captain Paul Sculthorpe.
Sculthorpe last Thursday questioned whether rugby league should
bother staging a World Cup at all, AAP reported from London.
Sculthorpe said only Australia, New Zealand and England had a
chance of winning the tournament in Australia next year.
"Should rugby league even bother with a World Cup?" Sculthorpe
wrote in a column for the Liverpool Echo newspaper.
"You have to have your doubts.
"Let's be honest, there are really only three teams with a sniff
of winning the trophy."
Sculthorpe expressed sympathy for Papua New Guinea, who have
threatened to boycott the competition after being drawn in the
same group as the three leading nations.
"No wonder PNG are up in arms about it - talk about drawing the
short straw," he said.
"Rugby league is the national game there and they are looking at
this as a slap in the face."
Great Britain's new coach, Tony Smith, will finalise the squad for
his first game in charge against France in June before deciding to
award the captaincy to Sculthorpe or Jamie Peacock.
Peacock has filled in for Sculthorpe, who has only led the Lions
in one of their nine matches since he took over two years ago
because of a series of knee injuries.
Two weeks PNG Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) chairman Sir Bob
Sinclair said PNG would officially lodge a protest to the
International Rugby League board over its 2008 World Cup draw to
the point of pulling out altogether from the World Cup.
Sir Bob said that PNG as a permanent member of the international
board was not consulted when the draw was done.
“It is like sending the lamb to the slaughter house,” Sir Bob of
the draw which pitted PNG against the super powers of the game -
Australia, New Zealand and England - in Pool A.
Sir Bob said PNG may pull out of the 2008 World Cup, but this
decision would come from the PNG Rugby League Board and all its
stakeholders.
“The fact remains that Papua New Guinea as permanent member was
never consulted and the international rugby league board treated
us with disrespect. “We received no assistance from the super
powers. How do they expect the game to be developed and they show
no respect at all to PNG as member country on the international
board?” Sir Bob said.
 
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