World Cup
From International Interactive Rugby League
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1.1 General Information |
IIRL World Cup
General Information
The IIRL World Cup will take place in October & November 2008.
You will be given your country's squad and will need to pick the best 17 each game to play against your opponent.
Unlike the IIRL Premiership there is no player swapping, no training, no finances - this is country against country and only the best will win!
The draw is the same as Rugby League World Cup and games will be played close to the time of the matches that are happening in real life.
Please note that the rules for the IIRL World Cup are different to those of the IIRL Premiership, and are listed below.
Squads consist of 24 players each.
Joining the competition
Please go to http://forum.playiirl.com/viewtopic.php?p=221236#221236 to sign up for the waiting list in the Rugby League World Cup.
All positions have been filled.
Draw
Group One
The top three teams of this group will take part in the finals series.
Nations
- New Zealand - coached by Dave Paddock (seeded 2nd, current position 1st in Group, 2-1-0)
- Australia - coached by Brent Douglas (seeded 1st, current position 2nd in Group, 2-1-0)
- Papua New Guinea - coached by Dino Vikas (seeded 6th, current position 3rd in Group, 1-2-0)
- England - coached by Mark Wells (seeded 4th, final position - last in Group, 6th place, 1-2-0)
Matches
Round One (Orders due by 24th October @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game One - England 14 defeated Papua New Guinea 4 @ Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
- Game Three - Australia 14 defeated New Zealand 12 @ Sydney Football Stadium
Round Two (Orders due by 31st October @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Seven - New Zealand 18 defeated Papua New Guinea 8 @ Skilled Stadium, Gold Coast
- Game Eight - Australia 17 defeated England 8 @ Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Round Three (no matches)
Round Four (Orders due by 7th November @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Twelve - England 6 lost New Zealand 40 @ Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle
- Game Fourteen - Papua New Guinea 14 defeated Australia 4 @ Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
Group Two
The top team will take part in the finals series, second place will take part in 7th place play-off, third place will take part in a 9th place play-off.
Nations
- Fiji - coached by Richard Rathbourne (seeded 6th, current position - 1st in Group, 3-0-0)
- France - coached by Antonio Alonso (seeded 8th, final position - 2nd in Group, 7th place, 2-1-0)
- Scotland - coached by Daniel Brew (seeded 9th, final position - last in Group, 9th place, 1-2-0)
Matches
Round One (Orders due by 24th October @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Two - Scotland 4 lost France 14 @ Canberra Stadium
Round Two (Orders due by 31st October @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Six - Fiji 20 defeated France 14 @ WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Round Three (Orders due 4th November @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Nine - Scotland 6 lost Fiji 26 @ Bluetongue Stadium, Central Coast
Group Three
The top team will take part in the finals series, second place will take part in 7th place play-off, third place will take part in a 9th place play-off.
Nations
- Tonga - coached by Theo Kamis (seeded 5th, final position - 1st in Group, 5th place, 3-0-0)
- Samoa - coached by Martin "Earthquake" Lester (seeded 4th, final position - 2nd in Group, 8th place, 1-2-0)
- Ireland - coached by Kevin Brock (seeded 10th, final position - last in Group, 10th place, 0-3-0)
Matches
Round One (Orders due by 24th October @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Four - Tonga 28 defeated Ireland 0 @ Parramatta Stadium
Round Two (Orders due by 31st October @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Five - Samoa 12 lost Tonga 26 @ CUA Stadium, Penrith
Round Three (Orders due 4th November @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Ten - Ireland 0 lost Samoa 6 @ Parramatta Stadium
Post-Group Matches
Ranking Stage
7th Placed Play-off (Orders due by 7th November @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Eleven - France 9 defeated Samoa 2 @ Browne Park, Rockhampton
9th Placed Play-off (Orders due by 7th November @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Thirteen - Scotland 10 defeated Ireland 4 @ CUA Stadium, Penrith
Finals
Qualifying Final (Orders due by 7th November @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Fifteen - Fiji 20 defeated Tonga 10 @ Skilled Stadium, Gold Coast
Semi-Finals (Orders due by 14th November @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Sixteen - Australia 24 defeated Papua New Guinea 22 @ Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Game Seventeen - New Zealand 22 lost Fiji 30 @ Sydney Football Stadium
Grand Final (Orders due by 21st November @ 11:59 pm AEST)
- Game Eighteen - Fiji v Australia @ Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Rules
Player Ratings
Each player has 5 skill attributes, a form rating, and a health rating. Form and health will fluctuate during the competition.
The 5 skills are:
Attack (ATK)
Attack is the attribute that defines how easy it is for your team to get near the other team’s tryline, and then how likely it is that you will score a try once you get there.
Generally speaking you backs (1-7) should have higher attack ratings than your forwards but this will depend on the strategies you choose.
Defense (DEF)
Defense has two effects. Firstly it helps decide which team is more likely to be in possession of the ball. Secondly it defines your team’s ability to stop the other team getting good field position or scoring tries against you.
Your forwards should usually have more defence points than your backs.
Strategic Kicking (KICK)
Kicking helps you gain good field position and defines your chances of scoring drop goals. Your top-rated strategic kicker will automatically be chosen for this role but your halves should also be good kickers. This rating also influences how well your team performs in kick-chase plays.
Goal Kicking (GKICK)
Defines the chances of scoring conversion and penalty goals. Your top-rated goalkicker will automatically be chosen.
Temperament (TEMP)
Temperament is a two-edged sword. A high (or disciplined) temperament will make it less likely for penalties to be awarded against you, but a low (or hot-headed) temperament will give you a big defensive bonus. Low temperament will also increase the number of handling errors your team makes.
All skills are rated 1-10 with 10 being the best. Use these skill ratings to pick your best team.
Form and Health
These are percentage values. Form appears as a number in the range 50-150 and Health as 0-10 indicating the approximate number of weeks the player will remain injured. Each week also translates as up to 10% in form reduction. For instance, a player who has an attack rating of 5, a form of 75, and health 5 will have an effective minimum attack of 5 x 0.75 x 0.5 = 1.875.
Winning teams will find that their form tends to increase, while losing teams will find their form getting lower.
Health will fluctuate, but you should rest players with low health to give them a chance to recover from injuries. Putting a player on the interchange bench does NOT rest them. There is only a one in four chance that a bench player's health will improve.
Resting a player will also reset their form to 80% if it is currently below that value.
First Grade and Reserve Grade
Your squad is divided as follows:
Players 1-17 : Your First Grade IIRL Premiership squad
Players 18-24 : Rested players
Rested players will have a guaranteed 1-week reduction in any injury they are carrying. They will also receive a form increase if their current form is less than 100.
Orders
Important
Firstly, some important rules:
- Orders must be received by the deadline listed in the draw above. If none are received your previously submitted orders will be used.
- Warning - teams who do not send orders without prior arrangement are liable to have a 15% penalty (therefore diminishing their playing standard) for that match.
- If you fail to send in your orders for two rounds, all your players will have their form reduced by 10%.
- If you fail to send in your orders for three rounds, you will be sacked as coach and your team put up for adoption.
- If you are going away on holidays you can submit orders in advance. This can include instructions on what to do with injured players - please email IIRL Orders (orders@playiirl.com) if you need to do this.
Picking Your Team
The first thing to do is pick a starting 17 from your squad (the extra 4 players are for your interchange bench). You must list the entire team numbered from 1 to 17.
Picking your team is really the main strategy. Remember that all players in the team are important - poor players will have a significant effect on the team’s performance. However, this could be balanced out by having a few star players in important strategic positions. It is up to you how you design your team.
Note that you are not limited to using your players in their rated positions. Every position has two alternates as per the table below. If a player is picked in an alternate position his form should not be affected too badly - in fact, his form may improve in the new position. If the player is picked outside the alternate positions his form will almost certainly suffer a significant reduction.
Alternative postitions
Fullback - Wing or five-eighth
Wing - Fullback or centre
Centre - Wing or second row
Five-eight - Lock or half
Half - Five-eighth or hooker
Prop - Second row
Hooker - Lock or half
Second row - Prop or centre
Lock - five-eighth or hooker
Choosing a Strategy
There are five types of strategies you choose - attacking strategy, defensive strategy, attacking style, defensive style and interchange strategy. You also have to choose a captain.
Attacking Strategies
After you have listed your team, list your attacking strategy - Balanced, Kicking, Use Threequarters, Use Forwards, Use Dummy-half, Use Halves, Use Hooker, Use Fullback.
- Balanced
Use the entire team for attacking plays.
- Use Threequarters
Spread the ball out along the backline whenever possible
- Use Forwards
Use the props and second-rowers heavily in attack
- Use Halves
The halfback and five-eighth are the chief attacking players
- Use Fullback
Bring the fullback into the backline as an attacking option
- Use Dummy-half
The hooker runs from dummy-half whenever possible
- Kicking
Use strategic kicking regularly
Defensive Strategies
These are intended to counter the seven Attacking Strategies - they are Target Halves, Target Forwards, Target Threequarters, Target Fullback, Target Kicker, Target Dummy Half and Balanced. Each one is intended to reduced the effectiveness of the targeted players, but may leave holes in the defense in other areas.
Attacking Style
Use to define whether you want to play open, risky football, or tight, controlled football. The riskier strategies result in more metres gained and better chances of scoring, but may result in more errors. The less risky strategies are less effective, but completion rates will be higher.
In order form highest risk to lowest risks the options are:
Expansive
Open
Balanced
Controlled
Tight
Defensive Strategies
The defensive strategies control how aggressive your defense is. An in-your-face defensive style will result in a more effective defense, but may result in more penalties against you. The more controlled defensive patterns do the opposite.
In order from most aggressive to most controlled the options are:
Aggressive
Balanced
Disciplined
Important note
The strategies will not always have the effect you are expecting. For instance, an aggressive defense may not result in more penalties.
There are a number of reasons for this:
- The strategies and/or player ratings of the other team may be nullifying your strategies
- Your own team may not be suited to the type of strategy your are choosing
- Random elements which are different in every game.
The simulator is now quite complex. It can be difficult to predict, although good teams and coaches will always have the advantage.
General Strategies
Captain
You should also choose a captain. By default your halfback will be the captain, but you can choose any player in your orders. The captain's temperament will affect the way the team plays.
Interchange Strategy
Controls how you use your interchange players. The interchange system simulates the 12 interchanges allowed in the current NRL competition.
- Conservative
Interchanges are used sparingly so that there will be fresh players at the end of the match. A good strategy to use if your bench players are weak.
- Balanced
Interchange used regularly throughout the game
- Aggressive
Use you bench players as much as possible but your team may tire towards the end of the game. Use when you have strong bench players.
Sample Orders
Orders must list, in this order:
Team Name
Starting 17
Captain
Attack Strategy
Attack Style
Defensive Strategy
Defensive Style
Interchange Strategy
Rested Players
So, a set of orders might look like this:
White Pointers
1 Mr Fullback
2 Ms Leftwing
3 Mr Centre
4 Mrs Centre
5 Miss Rightwing
6 Sir Fiveeighth
7 Commander Halfback
8 Senor Prop
9 Herr Hooker
10 Mr Otherprop
11 Dr Secondrow
12 Father Secondrow
13 Chief Lock
14 Interchange 1
15 Interchange 2
16 Interchange 3
17 Interchange 4
Captain Mr Centre
Use Threequarters
Open
Target Kicker
Balanced
Conservative
Send your orders to IIRL Orders - (orders@playiirl.com) with "IIRL World Cup Orders - YourNation" as the subject.
Please note: Players 18-24 are automatically rested one week! They do not need to be listed in your email as rested players.
Other Rules
Important Note
It is essential that you join the IIRL egroup at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/iirl. All IIRL results and important information (including rule changes) are published through this mailing list. All IIRL egroup messages are archived at the above address. Abuse of the egroup will not be tolerated. This includes spamming, any non-IIRL related postings, and abusive/offensive language.
Two Important Rules
- Have fun - it's only a game.
- Always have respect for the IIRL board members - we're not paid to do this you know.
Misuse of Egroups
Misuse of the IIRL E-Group, all corresponding messageboards and related e-groups:
- If a team owner/coach behaves in a way in which the Board finds contrary to that of the spirit of IIRL, the Board can, after giving at least one warning before the first instance:
- First time - withdraw posting rights to the any such e-group/messageboard for a week
- Second time - withdraw posting rights to the above for a month and fine the coach a sum to be decided by the Board.
- Third time - lose coaching rights to your club for one month
- Lose your team (including any teams in affiliated competitions) and not be allowed to re-enter the competition (or any affiliated competitions) until the start of the next IIRL season, or six months, whichever is longer.
Misquoting
(ADDED 26 JUNE 2002) Mis-quoting Rule:
- Any articles posted on IIRL e-groups and messageboards, etc are not to contain any quotes from players or coaches not associated with that club or organisation without approval from the organisation or club.
Copyright
(ADDED IN LATE 2002)
- The appropriation and use of IIRL materials (rules, graphics, player ratings. etc) in non-IIRL affiliated competitions will be considered to be a breach of copyright. Any coach guilty of this will face the threat of expulsion from the IIRL. Use of publicly released versions of the sim (but not the player database) is permitted."
Abuse
ADDED 11/06/03
- Offensive language. Words such as f***, c***, sh**, d***head. $50000 fine (Note: if you write them with asterisks as shown they will not be considered offensive).
- Personal abuse of another coach. $100000 fine.
- Using the egroup to promote non-IIRL or non-RL activities. $25000 fine.
- For first offences the offender will be placed on a good behaviour bond. The fine will apply for 3 rounds. If no further offences are committed the fine will be refunded.
Hotmail Usage
ADDED 20/07/06
- There have been continually been problems with Hotmail users receiving games from the simulator so Hotmail addresses will no longer be able to be used as the contact email for receiving games. Please email IIRL Orders so that we can update the membership for the IIRL Egroup and can update RLSim with the correct email address.
- If you require an email address Gmail or Yahoo are a good alternative and there have not been any issues with these particular providers.
- In short - Hotmail/Windows Live addresses will no longer be allowed in the IIRL until further notice.
Sundry
Team Changes
- Changes to team names, locations, mascots, etc must be approved by the IIRL President and/or the IIRL Board.
- The IIRL Board must be told if you choose to leave the competition and whether you are appointing a coach or not. If you are leaving for a short period of time however, please email Gek
Website information
- The majority of the website, team pages, chat server and IIRL Community website are managed by Earthquake (eq@playiirl.com). If there are any problems with those sections, please email him.
