2008 Festival of World Cups

The 2008 Festival of World Cups was a series of rugby league world cups held in Australia during 2008. The festival was staged in concurrence with the 2008 Men's Rugby League World Cup also in Australia and coincided with the centenary of rugby league celebrations in Australia.
The festival contained world cups for Student, Police, Women, Defence and Wheelchair teams. The Universities tournament officially started the Festival in July ahead of the remaining competitions in October.
Colin Love, the Rugby League World Cup 2008 Tournament Director and RLIF Chairman, stated "The festival highlights how the World Cup is embracing the Rugby League community and acknowledging its wide-ranging affiliates", adding "It’s a great opportunity to showcase the broad appeal of the game internationally".

Festival schedule

The Festival of World Cups included:

Event	Dates	Areas/Venues	Winner
University	4 July - 19 July 2008	Griffith University and other Brisbane venues; Langlands Park	Australia
Men	25 October - 22 November 2008	Twelve venues across four Australian states; Suncorp Stadium	New Zealand
Police	2 November - 15 November 2008	Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast; Suncorp Stadium	Fiji
Women	2 November - 15 November 2008	Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast; Suncorp Stadium	New Zealand
Defence	5 November - 16 November 2008	Penrith, Townsville; Sydney Football Stadium	Great Britain
Wheelchair	7 November - 17 November 2008	Sydney metropolitan area	England

University

The seventh University Rugby League World Cup was held in July, being the first of the six world cups to be held. The previous tournament was held in 2005 and won by New Zealand. The eight countries that took part were Australia, New Zealand, England, Greece, Scotland, Wales, France and Ireland. Australia defeated England in the final, while Greece won the plate competition.

Men

The thirteenth Rugby League World Cup was held throughout October and November. Ten teams took part. Defending Champions and hosts Australia, New Zealand, England, France and Papua New Guinea all qualified automatically, while Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Ireland and Scotland all qualified through tournaments in 2006 and 2007. The final was held at Suncorp Stadium on 22 November.

Police

The inaugural International Police Rugby League World Cup was held during November alongside the Women's Rugby League World Cup at Stockland Park. The final was held as a curtain raiser to the first semi-final of the men's World Cup at Suncorp Stadium. AMP sponsored the event with organisers hoping would go towards the formation of an International Police Rugby League Federation.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Bye	PF	PA	+/−	Pts
New Zealand	4	4	0	0	1	120	36	+84	10
Fiji	4	3	0	1	1	170	50	+120	8
Australia	4	2	0	2	1	80	76	+4	6
Great Britain	4	1	0	3	1	42	126	-84	4
Papua New Guinea	4	0	0	4	1	40	164	-124	2

Women

The third Women's Rugby League World Cup was held at Stockland Park alongside the Police World Cup. Eight teams took part including defending champions New Zealand. The final was held at Suncorp Stadium on 15 November.

Defence

The inaugural Defence Forces World Cup was held in Sydney with the final played at the Sydney Football Stadium as a curtain raiser to the second Semi Final of the Men's tournament. Five defence forces took part, New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	+/−	Pts
Great Britain	4	4	0	0	196	68	+128	8
Australia	4	3	0	1	110	63	+47	6
New Zealand	4	2	0	2	153	80	+73	4
Cook Islands	4	1	0	3	106	128	-22	2
Papua New Guinea	4	0	0	4	22	248	-226	0

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Wheelchair

Four teams took part in the inaugural Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup which was held at indoor venues in Sydney. The four teams were,, and a Barbarians scratch team which replaced who withdrew shortly before the start of the tournament.

Group stage

;Results
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Finals

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