2026 Rugby League World Cup
| 2026 Rugby League World Cup | |
|---|---|
| Number of teams |
|
| Host countries | Australia New Zealand Papua New Guinea |
| Matches played | 52 |
< 2021 | |
The 2026 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2026) is a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league and is a replacement tournament for the 2025 Rugby League World Cup.
Like 2021, the 2026 World Cup will see the men's, women's, and wheelchair world cups simultaneously. However unlike 2021, the men's tournament will feature ten teams only, and the planned expansion of the women's and wheelchair tournament will be delayed keeping team numbers at eight in each.[1][2]
Host selection
Originally due to be staged in the US and Canada in 2025,[3][4] the offer was withdrawn due to financial concerns.[5] In 2022, hosting was awarded to France.[6][7][8] In May 2023, the French organisers pulled out of hosting the games.[9][10]
On 3 August 2023, the 2025 tournaments were cancelled by the sport's governing body with the announcement that a new reduced-size tournament would take place in the southern hemisphere in 2026.[1][2] On 24 July 2024, the IRL announced that Australia would host the 2026 tournament, with a number of games played in Papua New Guinea.[11][12]
The announcement of the draw and pools on 23 November 2025 included the new stadium, Te Kaha, in Christchurch in the list of venues, adding New Zealand as a host country.[13][14][15] Te Kaha is known as One New Zealand Stadium for sponsorship reasons as is due to be opened in April 2026.[14]
The Wollongong Entertainment Centre, which is known as WIN Entertainment Centre for sponsorship reasons, was selected as the venue for all matches in the Wheelchair World Cup, including the finals.[13]
Nations
14 nations have qualified for the three tournaments:
- Australia (M, W, WC)
- Cook Islands (M)
- England (M, W, WC)
- Fiji (M, W)
- France (M, W, WC)
- Ireland (WC)
- Lebanon (M)
- New Zealand (M, W, WC)
- Papua New Guinea (M, W)
- Samoa (M, W)
- Scotland (WC)
- Tonga (M)
- United States (WC)
- Wales (W, WC)
Note: M=Men's tournament, W=Women's tournament, WC=Wheelchair tournament
Competitions
As with 2021, the men's, women's, and wheelchair rugby league world cups will be held simultaneously in equal prominence.
Men
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Cook Islands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Fiji | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | New Zealand (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pos | Pool | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | C | France | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | B | Lebanon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | C | Papua New Guinea (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | C | Tonga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | B | Samoa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 7 November – Newcastle | ||||||
| Pool A runners-up | – | |||||
| 15 November – Brisbane | ||||||
| Pool B & C winner | – | |||||
| First semi-final winner | – | |||||
| 8 November – Sydney | ||||||
| Second semi-final winner | – | |||||
| Pool A winner | – | |||||
| Pool B & C runners-up | – | |||||
Women
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Samoa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Wales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiji | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | France | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | New Zealand (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Papua New Guinea (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 7 November – Newcastle | ||||||
| B1 | – | |||||
| 15 November – Brisbane | ||||||
| A2 | – | |||||
| SF1 Winner | – | |||||
| 8 November – Sydney | ||||||
| SF2 Winner | – | |||||
| A1 | – | |||||
| B2 | – | |||||
Wheelchair
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | United States | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Wales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | France | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Scotland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 9 November – Wollongong | ||||||
| B1 | – | |||||
| 13 November – Wollongong | ||||||
| A2 | – | |||||
| SF1 Winner | – | |||||
| 10 November – Wollongong | ||||||
| SF2 Winner | – | |||||
| A1 | – | |||||
| B2 | – | |||||
Broadcasting
In Australia, Seven Network won rights to the tournament in a $12 million deal.[16] The deal was confirmed on 22 October 2025.[17]
| Region | Broadcaster | Free-to-Air/ Subscription |
Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Seven Network | Free-to-Air | All men's, women's, and wheelchair matches.[16][17] |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Subscription | All men's, women's, and wheelchair matches.[18] |
Scheduling
Collectively, matches have been scheduled at eleven venues in nine cities.[13][19][20][21] The Sydney Football Stadium (Allianz Stadium) in Moore Park and Western Sydney Stadium (CommBank Stadium) in Parramatta are the two venues to be used in Greater Sydney.[13]
The other city to supply two venues is Wollongong, where the adjacent venues Wollongong Entertainment Centre (WIN Entertainment Centre) and Wollongong Showground (WIN Stadium) are to be used. The former is to be used for all wheelchair matches. Immediately following on from the opening pair of wheelchair matches, the latter will host a women's match and then a men's match.[13]
The majority of matches have been scheduled in multiple match game day formats.[13][14][22] There are just three stand-alone matches. All three involve the Australian men's team.
| Date | Early Afternoon | Mid Afternoon | Late Afternoon | Evening/Night | Venue | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct | — | — | — | Australia | M | NZ | Sydney | ||||||
| 16 Oct | — | — | Samoa | M | France | Australia | W | Samoa | Parramatta | ||||
| 17 Oct | PNG | W | France | PNG | M | Lebanon | — | — | Port Moresby | ||||
| 17 Oct | — | — | England | W | Wales | England | M | Tonga | Perth | ||||
| 18 Oct | — | NZ | W | Fiji | Fiji | M | Cook Is. | — | Newcastle | ||||
| 23 Oct | — | — | Samoa | W | Wales | Tonga | M | Lebanon | Parramatta | ||||
| 24 Oct | PNG | W | Fiji | PNG | M | Samoa | — | — | Port Moresby | ||||
| 24 Oct | — | — | England | M | France | Australia | W | England | Perth | ||||
| 25 Oct | — | — | NZ | W | France | NZ | M | Cook Is. | Christchurch | ||||
| 25 Oct | — | — | — | Australia | M | Fiji | Brisbane | ||||||
| 30 Oct | Ireland | WC | USA | England | WC | Wales | England | W | Samoa | England | M | PNG | Wollongong |
| 31 Oct | — | Fiji | W | France | NZ | M | Fiji | NZ | W | PNG | Gold Coast | ||
| 31 Oct | — | — | France | WC | Scotland | Australia | WC | NZ | Wollongong | ||||
| 31 Oct | — | — | — | Australia | M | Cook Is. | Townsville | ||||||
| 1 Nov | — | Australia | W | Wales | Lebanon | M | France | Tonga | M | Samoa | Parramatta | ||
| 3 Nov | France | WC | NZ | Australia | WC | Scotland | Ireland | WC | Wales | England | WC | USA | Wollongong |
| 6 Nov | Scotland | WC | NZ | Wales | WC | USA | England | WC | Ireland | Australia | WC | France | Wollongong |
| 7 Nov | — | — | Pool B 1st | W | 2nd Pool A | Pool B+C 1st | M | 2nd Pool A | Newcastle | ||||
| 8 Nov | — | — | Pool A 1st | W | 2nd Pool B | Pool A 1st | M | 2nd Pool B+C | Sydney | ||||
| 9 Nov | Pool B 3rd | WC | 4th Pool A | Pool A 3rd | WC | 4th Pool B | — | — | Wollongong | ||||
| 10 Nov | — | — | Pool B 1st | WC | 2nd Pool A | Pool A 1st | WC | 2nd Pool B | Wollongong | ||||
| 12 Nov | 7th place | WC | Play-off | 5th place | WC | Play-off | — | — | Wollongong | ||||
| 13 Nov | — | — | 3rd place | WC | Play-off | the | WC | Final | Wollongong | ||||
| 15 Nov | — | — | the | W | Final | the | M | Final | Brisbane | ||||
Notes:
- M=Men's tournament, W=Women's tournament, WC=Wheelchair tournament
- For the purpose of displaying this table in one line per row acronyms have been used: NZ=New Zealand, PNG=Papua New Guinea, USA=United States of America.
- The four timeslots are based on the start time on the east coast of Australia. For example, the men's game in Perth between England and Tonga has a start time of 5:05pm locally (AWST; UTC+08:00); 7:05pm (AEST; UTC+10:00) in Queensland and 8:05pm (AEDT; UTC+11:00) in New South Wales. The game is listed in the Evening/Night timeslot rather than the late afternoon timeslot.
- In addition to Perth (AWST; UTC+08:00), the other venue away from the east coast of Australia is Chirstchurch NZDST; UTC+13:00)
- Port Moresby (PNGST; UTC+10:00) shares a time zone with Queensland (AEST; UTC+10:00). During the tournament, the time in New South Wales (AEDT; UTC+11:00) and the rest of the east coast will be advanced one hour due to daylight saving time.
Stadiums
Eleven venues have been selected.[13][19][20][21]
| Stadium | Location | Games | Game Days | Capacity | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Original Name | Sponsored Name | City | Region | Women | Men | Total | ||
| Papua New Guinea (1) | |||||||||
| 1 | PNG Football Stadium | Santos National Football Stadium | Port Moresby | NCD | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 14,800 |
| New Zealand (1) | |||||||||
| 2 | Te Kaha | One New Zealand Stadium | Christchurch | Canterbury | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 30,000 |
| Australia (9) | |||||||||
| 3 | Perth Rectangular Stadium | HBF Park | Perth | WA | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 20,500 |
| 4 | Lang Park | Suncorp Stadium | Brisbane | QLD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 52,500 |
| 5 | North Queensland Stadium | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | Townsville | QLD | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 25,455 |
| 6 | Robina Stadium | Cbus Super Stadium | Robina, Gold Coast | QLD | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 27,690 |
| 7 | Newcastle International Sports Centre | McDonald Jones Stadium | Newcastle | NSW | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 33,000 |
| 8 | Sydney Football Stadium | Allianz Stadium | Sydney | NSW | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 42,500 |
| 9 | Western Sydney Stadium | CommBank Stadium | Parramatta, Sydney | NSW | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 30,000 |
| 10 | Wollongong Showground | WIN Stadium | Wollongong | NSW | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 23,750 |
| 11 | Wollongong Entertainment Centre | WIN Entertainment Centre | Wollongong | NSW | Wheelchair | 20 | 8 | 6,000 | |
Legacy
With the announcement of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, International Rugby League also announced a long awaited international rugby league calendar dating from 2023 to 2030, citing the cancellations of the 2025 tournament as "the perfect opportunity" to refresh the international game. The calendar confirmed the already arranged 2023 Tonga tour of England, and also announced a 2025 Kangaroo tour of England and France (which will include the revival of The Ashes), 2027 Kiwi tour of England, 2028 Kangaroo tour of England, and a 2029 tour between England and an unconfirmed Pacific Nation.[1] The announcement also stated a 2024 Samoa tour of England would be likely (as this was already being discussed by the two nations). This was confirmed in June 2024.[23][24] The calendar also announced that the Women's Rugby League World Cup would be a stand alone event starting in 2028. In addition, there would be a renewed focus on regional tournaments to aid in developing lesser rugby league nations.[1] A later announcement confirmed the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup would also be a stand alone event starting in 2029.[25] In 2025, The Guardian credited the success of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup as being key to this change.[26]
References
- ^ a b c d "Southern hemisphere to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. August 3, 2023.
- ^ a b "Reduced Rugby League World Cup to take place in 2026". The Guardian. 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup moves to North America in 2025". stuff sport. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "North America to Host 2025 Rugby league World Cup". Canada Rugby League Association. 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ Adrian Proszenko (4 December 2018). "US World Cup hosting plans torpedoed by money trouble". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ "France to host 2025 World Cup". National Rugby League. 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ Shaw, Matthew (2022-01-11). "French Prime Minister Jean Castex's pride after securing Rugby League World Cup". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ "France set to host the 2025 Rugby League World Cups". Asia Pacific Rugby League. 2022-01-11. Archived from the original on 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ "France pulls out of hosting Rugby League World Cup". BBC Sport. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
- ^ Bower, Aaron (15 May 2023). "2025 Rugby League World Cup in doubt after France pull out of staging event". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
- ^ "Australia to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. 2024-07-24. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
- ^ "ARLC welcomes Rugby League World Cup 2026 hosting rights". National Rugby League. July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g "World Cup Draw - Women - Matches". rlwc2026.com. RLWC26. 23 Nov 2025. Retrieved 23 Nov 2025.
- ^ a b c Walter, Brad (23 Nov 2025). "Bucket list: Proud Kiwis pumped for Christchurch double-header". NRL. Retrieved 24 Nov 2025.
- ^ "Women's Rugby League World Cup - Round 2 - New Zealand v France". NRL. 23 Nov 2025. Retrieved 23 Nov 2025.
- ^ a b Chammas, Michael (24 September 2025). "Channel Seven splashes $12 million for Rugby League World Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Rugby League World Cup arrives on Seven and 7plus Sport". 7NEWS. 22 October 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ Lingeswaran, Susan (27 November 2025). "Sky NZ lands Rugby League World Cup 2026 rights". Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Draw - Rugby League World Cup - 2026". NRL. 23 Nov 2025. Retrieved 24 Nov 2025.
- ^ a b "Draw - Women's Rugby League World Cup - 2026". NRL. 23 Nov 2025. Retrieved 24 Nov 2025.
- ^ a b "Draw - Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup - 2026". NRL. 23 Nov 2025. Retrieved 24 Nov 2025.
- ^ Walter, Brad (23 Nov 2025). "World stage beckons as Jillaroos go prime time". NRL. Retrieved 23 Nov 2025.
- ^ "England to play Samoa in autumn Test Series". rugby-league.com.
- ^ "England's men to host Samoa in two-Test series in October and November". BBC Sport. June 13, 2024.
- ^ "International Rugby League Board confirms details for World Series, World Cups". Rugby League International Federation. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
- ^ Bower, Aaron (23 October 2025). "'Long overdue': England players finally follow in footsteps of giants". Retrieved 29 November 2025 – via The Guardian.