This year’s tournaments co-host is without doubt the most successful nation in the history of the Rugby League World Cup.

England will be making only their fourth appearance when the 2008 kicks off in Australia this autumn. Previously known as Great Britain they featured in the first nine tournaments since the World Cup first began in 1954, before first competing under the title of England in 1975, and again in the more recent tournaments (1995 and 2000).

Rugby league was only formally introduced to the Pacific island of Fiji in 1992 and, whilst rugby union is considered to be the national sport, the game has enjoyed considerable growth amongst the islanders in recent years.

Rugby League was first established in France back in 1933, despite the dominate force of rugby union already in the country.

After a disastrous year that has seen them fall to a heavy loss against bitter rivals Australia and suffer an embarrasing whitewash in the test series against Great Britain, the New Zealand players, officials and supporters will be hopings they can get their international ambitions back on track in time for the World Cup.

The 2008 World Cup in Australia will only be Ireland’s second appearance in the tournament, but the history of the game in the country dates back to 1989 when Dublin Blues were formed by Brian Corrigan. The Blues went onto play touring teams from Britain, and in 1995 Ireland formed its first competitive team to play against USA in Washington. The game took place on St Patrick’s day of that year with Ireland coming out on top 24-22.

Rugby league is a relatively new phenomenon in Samoa, with the roots of the game being traced back to the mid 1980's in what is, predominantly, a rugby union stronghold. However, the SRL are hoping to capitalise on a poor showing by their union counterparts an the Rugby World Cup and there is a genuine belief that 2008 could be the year rugby league takes off in Samoa.

The 2008 World Cup in Australia will only be Scotland’s second appearance in the tournament, and they will be hoping to improve on their poor show last time out in 2000.

Tonga may not boast a particuarly impressive record on the international scene but this Pacific island has produced more than it's fair share of top class talent over the years and hopes are high that the Mate Ma'a are ready to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with later this year.