Rugby League World Cup 2013: Weekend Fixtures, Schedule and Predictions

Fourteen teams have been whittled down to just eight, as the business end of the Rugby League World Cup gets underway on Friday night.

New Zealand, Australia and England will be expected to advance to the final four, but their quarter-final opposition will be determined to make the passage a challenging one. 

Samoa and Fiji, who lock horns on Sunday, will have their eyes on the final semi-final spot. 

Here’s a look at the four teams that will be left standing come Sunday night. Read on for reasons why. 

Date, K/O	Venue	Team	Team	Prediction
Nov. 15, 8 p.m. GMT	Headingley Carnegie Stadium, Leeds	New Zealand	Scotland	NZ by > 15
Nov. 16, 1 p.m. GMT	Glyndwr University Racecourse Stadium, Wrexham	Australia	USA	Australia by > 30
Nov. 16, 8 p.m. GMT	DW Stadium, Wigan	England	France	England by > 15
Nov. 17, 3 p.m. GMT	Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington	Samoa	Fiji	Samoa by < 10

New Zealand vs. Scotland: Friday, 8 p.m. GMT

Scotland have already reached their pre-tournament goal of advancing through the group stages, courtesy of a battling draw with Italy and wins over Tonga and the USA.

Their undefeated run has been one of the surprises of the competition. They are battle hardened after the group stages but it will take more than guts and courage to get past New Zealand. 

The defending champions cruised through their pool, posting scores of 42, 48 and 56 in their three matches. Sonny Bill Williams and Co. have talent in abundance, and they should continue their free-flowing form against the Scots. 

Australia vs. USA: Saturday, 1 p.m. GMT

The USA have done a fantastic job in reaching the quarter-final in what is their first ever World Cup.

They saw off the Cook Islands and Wales in their opening two games, and despite a 22-8 defeat to Scotland, they squeezed through to the last eight. 

Australia, however, will be the best side they have faced so far, and the result is as close to a dead certainty as you will find in sport. 

The Kangaroos have some of the world’s best players at their disposal, such as Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston, and they are gunning to win back their crown from the Kiwis. 

Against the USA, the Aussies will be far superior in every part of the pitch. Expect them to prove too powerful and too talented for the Stars and Stripes. 

England vs. France: Saturday, 8 p.m. GMT

The hosts got the job done in Group A, finishing second behind Australia with victories over Ireland and Fiji. 

They have gradually showed signs of improvement, but they won’t necessarily need to be at the peak of their powers to win against France. 

The French were on the wrong side of a 48-0 scoreline when they played New Zealand, and they also lost out to Samoa. A lone 9-8 win over Papua New Guinea was enough to see them through, but they are unlikely to threaten England. 

A win would see the hosts set up a mouth-watering clash with New Zealand—if they beat Scotland—in the final four. 

Samoa vs. Fiji: Sunday, 3 p.m. GMT

With the other three semi-finals looking relatively one-sided, the clash between Samoa and Fiji should be the highlight of the weekend. 

Samoa put up a good fight against New Zealand in their opening match, losing 42-24, before going on to beat Papua New Guinea and France with relative ease. 

Fiji, on the other hand, came through Group A with a sole win over Ireland, who failed to register a single point against both England and Australia. 

It’s difficult to judge where Fiji's form is at after their previous three games. In the case of Australia and England, the opposition was just too goo, and against Ireland they were far superior. 

Despite Fiji sitting one spot ahead of Samoa in the world rankings, the majority of bookies have Samoa as odds on favourite for the win.