Rugby League World Cup 2013: Semifinal Fixtures and Storylines

With all four semifinal participants now decided, the penultimate phase of this year's Rugby League World Cup has taken shape with no huge surprises in the lineup.

England and New Zealand were always expected to make it to this stage of the competition and have held up their side of the bargain, but this weekend will see one of the sport's giants exit near the last hurdle.

For New Zealand, it would mean not being able to defend their World Cup in the fashion they'll be hoping for, while England will be aghast at the idea of submitting in front of a home crowd.

Meanwhile, Australia and Fiji make up the other Wembley semifinal, with the Kangaroos entering as firm favourites.

Ahead of Old Trafford's crescendo in a fortnight's time, there are several key storylines to watch out for in the upcoming fixtures.

England and New Zealand—2008 Replay

Having fought their way out of Group A, but only with second-place credentials, England have the task of seeing off reigning title holders New Zealand in the last four.

Steve McNamara's side faced off against the Kiwis at this stage of the last tournament and were ultimately shown the Brisbane exit with a 32-22 defeat.

This time, it's England who'll be able to boast a more favourable crowd support, but it's a matter of how much their squads have evolved that will really tell the tale.

The New Zealanders have been an attacking machine so far in the tournament and, while England have registered some big points of their own, they'll need to pull a tremendous team effort out of the bag to end the champion's defence at this stage.

Sam Tomkins—Friend or Foe?

The semi-final tie is a particularly poignant draw for Sam Tomkins, the England full-back who'll soon be boarding the plane south of the equator, where he'll join up with the New Zealand Warriors for his club rugby.

The official Rugby League World Cup account confirmed the news back in September:

The coming Wembley encounter promises to pit Tomkins against several of his future teammates including Manu Vatuvei, Shaun Johnson, Simon Mannering, Thomas Leuluai and more.

With that in mind, it's a good opportunity for the 2012 Man of Steel to get an inside look of what to expect in his coming NRL trials, but it certainly won't be affecting his eagerness to come out on top.

Sam's brother Joel took on New Zealand's union counterparts at the weekend and was unsuccessful in England's loss, so the league-based star will be hoping to salvage some Tomkins pride against Stephen Kearney's side.

Newcastle Knights Meet on Field of Battle

While club loyalties will mean little to any professional when they're playing in the colours of the national team, it's nevertheless a mixed bag of emotions for Darius Boyd and Akuila Uate this weekend.

Again, replaying their respective 2008 Rugby World Cup semifinal, Australia and Fiji meet this coming weekend with Boyd and Uate some of the most prominent attacking figures in their respective teams.

Boyd, being the utility man he is, isn't a definite for any position yet, but there's a very good chance the Newcastle Knight will line up opposite fellow Knights attacker Uate.

Kevin Naiqama is another Newcastle-based ally for the 26-year-old to keep his eye on, and coach Tim Sheens will be hoping for as much insider knowledge as possible from his star.

All three Knights have been in good attacking shape thus far in the tournament and have all managed to cross the whitewash, but Boyd stands as the most likely to come out with bragging rights come Sunday.