Rankings to adjust after RLWC, says Wood

PAPUA New Guinea’s impressive unbeaten run into the quarterfinals, Tonga’s historical win over New Zealand and Lebanon’s valiant performance in pool A will see the rugby league world rankings adjust after the World Cup, says RLIF chairman Nigel Wood.
Wood, who attended the PNG Kumuls 64-0 thumping of US last Sunday confirmed that there would be adjustments made.
“The rankings are done every six months after every burst of international matches and I am pretty sure there will be significantly adjusted after the end of this tournament,” Wood said.
Ireland’s fearless effort against the Kumuls in Port Moresby and victories over Wales and Italy could see the Mark Aston-coached side move up the ranks while Wales and US who lost all their matches by big margins are set to drop down the rankings.
Scotland’s big losses to New Zealand and Tonga could see the fourth ranked nation drop as well while Fiji’s unbeaten run in Pool D is set to see the island nation rise up in the ranks as well.
2017 Rugby League World Cup chief executive officer Andrew Hill agreed with Wood referring to this edition of the tournament as distinctive in regard to the rise of the Pacific island countries with vast number of top players from the NRL.
Hill congratulated PNG for co-hosting the tournament along with Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s an incredible proud moment for rugby league in the country and the world, rugby league is incredibly important to PNG,” he said.