Dave Craven: Grabbing headlines from Slammin’ Sam to sold-out Spotland

The only way the World Cup could have enjoyed a better start is if England had actually beaten Australia.

Even that was not too bad; it did get their media whingeing already about Slammin Sam’s ‘thuggish’ behaviour.

Trying to get a player banned for an entire tournament due to a badly-timed slap points at the Aussies going soft.

It all made great headlines, though, and gave the much-anticipated tournament another shot of publicity.

How ironic, then, that Burgess, the aforementioned ‘thug’, was busying himself meeting Prince Charles when all that fuss was being kicked up.

An audience with HRH The Prince of Wales at Clarence House along with representatives of all the other 13 nations was marketing gold dust for RLWC2013 organisers who have to be congratulated on how the tournament is running so far.

World Cup general manager Sally Bolton must be overjoyed.

There was little doubting that her planning and organisation would be meticulous but – just as when a coach sends his side out over the whitewash – the overall success ultimately is out of her hands once the action starts.

She referenced how all the preparation in the world would be rendered pointless if the players themselves did not deliver and how crucial the tournament depended on their talents.

Thankfully, they have and have helped capture the imagination of not only the rugby league public but newcomers too.

I know people who have tuned in to Premier Sports and watched rugby league games for the first time in the last week and been suitably enthralled to tune in again.

And I am not just talking about witnessing the big guns of Australia, New Zealand and England.

Lesser midweek games involving the likes of Tonga, USA, Ireland and Fiji were always going to be the hard sells and potential pitfalls for organisers.

Yet the crowds have flocked to places such as Rochdale, Workington and Bristol – yes, 7,000 in the union stronghold of Bristol – to witness some thrilling and intoxicating football.

Just looking at that trusty barometer of Twitter – love it or loathe it the social media site can capture the mood around an occasion – and never have I seen so much consistently positive mentions about the sport as when checking in after the Fiji v Ireland game at a sold-out Spotland. That was, of course, until the following night when Scotland produced the first real shock of the competition and stunned Tonga up in Workington.

Those who made the long trip up to West Cumbria were rewarded with a treat and it was fitting that such a rich and proud rugby league town should host such a contest.

A crowd of 7,630 was Workington’s biggest in almost 20 years and, apparently, they are all coming back for more with tickets selling fast for Sunday’s crucial game with Italy.

With USA beating the Cook Islands in their first-ever World Cup game, fresh from stunning France in Toulouse in their warm-up, rugby league across ‘the Pond’ is getting some great publicity too with the Tomahawks seeing no reason why they cannot take another scalp against Wales.

Meanwhile, given their meek surrender against England Knights the previous week, some thought Samoa’s game versus New Zealand at a sold-out Warrington might fall way short of what had been anticipated.

But they, too, with their sheer physicality and desire, really rattled the holders and that came just a couple of hours after France nervously edged past Papua New Guinea at Craven Park.

With plenty of media coverage, too, this World Cup has already proved its worthiness and reminded everyone that international football is, indeed, paramount for the sport.