Farah ‘gutted, but proud’
Robbie Farah believes the future is bright for Lebanon rugby league but to ‘‘get so close’’ to a World Cup semifinal yet miss out was ‘‘pretty shattering’’.
The Cedars skipper was a downcast figure after the 24-22 quarterfinal defeat to Tonga on Saturday, slumping to the AMI Stadium surface in frustration as he was consoled by an opponent.
Farah was still ‘‘gutted’’ at the post-match press wake, although he declared: ‘‘I couldn’t be prouder of the boys’’.
Lebanon - with youth grade players, lower graders, retiring veterans and part-timers in their lineup alongside Farah and a smattering of other NRL regulars - pushed the star-studded Tongans for 80 nervewracking minutes.
Coach Brad Fittler praised his charges, who included builders, electricians and a Sydney cafe owner.
‘‘For a bunch of blokes who had never played together, who are all different standards and at different levels of footy, to do what they did is pretty impressive.
‘‘They [Tonga] had to fight for every centimetre.’’
When it was suggested it was Lebanon’s best international rugby achievement, Farah shrugged and said: ‘‘ We lost, mate’’.
But the former New South Wales State of Origin hooker - a World Cup winner with Australia in 2013 - added: ‘‘We’ve put Lebanon on the map, that’s for sure’’.
‘‘There’s no doubt that everyone who came out to our games and everyone who’s watched at home on TV will be very proud of our team.
‘‘Before this tournament there were a lot of things this team wanted to stand for, and as captain, I couldn’t have asked for any more.
‘‘We displayed all the things that are great about Lebanese culture, working hard and the effort and that passion, I think it was out there for 80 minutes every week.
‘‘There’s a team there for every Lebanese person to be proud of.’’
The match statistics underlined Fittler’s claim that the Cedars, who have qualified automatically for the 2021 World Cup in Britain, pushed Tonga to the wire.
Tonga dominated the the ball in hand category (1818m to 1317), but most other key indicators were relatively even.
There were four tries apiece, possession was only narrowly in Tonga’s favour (51-49 per cent), both sides made eight errors, Tonga completed 81 per cent of their tackle sets to Lebanon’s 78 per cent and the South Sea islanders just edged the offloads, 14-13.
Lebanon had a clear edge in field kicking, 536m to 360m, with Parramatta playmaker Mitchell Moses putting on a clinic.
Moses was the most impressive player on the field, making two great busts and having a hand in a couple of the Cedar’s four tries.
NRL stalwarts Tim Mannah (125m and 40 tackles) and Michael Lichaa (42 tackles) were impressive in the front row, along with Alex Twal, 21, a first grade rookie with Wests Tigers.
Wing Abbas Miski, from the North Sydney Bears in the NSW Cup, scored two tries for Lebanon and led his team in metres (155).
Young fullback Anthony Layoun, 20, looked sharp and created Miski’s first try with a clever kick while centre Adam Doueihi, 19, scored once - and had another disallowed for alleged obstruction - carved off a line break and completed 16 tackles.
Centre James Elias, who plays in the Newcastle district competition for the Western Suburbs Rosellas, also got on the scoresheet.
Three retiring stalwarts also produced telling contributions.
Starting second rower Nick Kassis supplied 34 tackles in 56 minutes and Jamie Clark 21 tackles in 30 minutes.
Prop Ray Moujalli - who had overcome a knee reconstruction to play at his first and last World Cup - also had a productive half-hour with 17 tackles and 71m.
Doueihi said there was a real resolve to send the veteran trio - and injured forward Chris Saab (‘the heart and soul of Lebanon rugby league’’) off on a high note.
They had ‘‘laid the platform’’ for Lebanon for the last 15 years ‘‘to get us to this moment’’.