World Cup to open at Wembley

RUGBY LEAGUE

The game is taking a bold course of action by starting and finishing this year's Centenary World Cup at Wembley.

The tournament director, Maurice Lindsay, yesterday ended speculation that the League was having second thoughts about the wisdom of staging the opening fixture between England and Australia at the stadium on 7 October - three weeks before the final, possibly involving the same two countries.

"We have decided to be bold," said Lindsay, who also announced that the semi-finals of the 10-team tournament will be at the McAlpine Stadium in Huddersfield and at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Group matches, apart from Wales' group in Cardiff and Swansea, will be spread across the rugby league heartland. The Second Division leaders, Keighley, will stage the Fiji-South Africa game, while Gateshead is the one English outpost given a match. The International Stadium there will host the Australia-South Africa fixture.

A subsidiary competition for the code's "emerging nations" - the United States, Russia, Moldova and the Cook Islands - is to be played as a round- robin at Dewsbury, York, Featherstone, Rochdale, Leigh and Salford, with the final as a curtain- raiser at Wembley.

Apart from an impressive list of corporate sponsors - with a gap left for one heavyweight negotiating for naming rights - yesterday's launch also hinted at a series of innovations. Referees could be wired for sound and in-goal judges are likely to be used.

The tournament will mean an earlier start to the domestic season in August. Lindsay also admitted that a month-long shut-down of domestic competition during the World Cup could cause cash-flow problems to clubs. "But the international game has to be given priority," he said.

One clash between club and country has been resolved with the ruling that Dean Sampson should have England's game against Wales counted against his four-match ban and he cantherefore play for Castleford against Leeds tonight.

Salford are seeking clarification over the position of the Australian full-back Scott Wilson, who signed a full-time contract with them before the imposition of the new two-year transfer ban but has still to arrive in Britain.