Australia v New Zealand: men’s Rugby League World Cup - live
The 2026 men’s Rugby League World Cup will feature ten teams divided into three pools, with matches hosted across Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand. The tournament concludes with a final in Brisbane on November 15.
Why it matters
This event is a major international sporting competition that significantly impacts the sports economy and tourism in the host nations.
The 2026 men’s RLWC features ten teams. Eight of these qualified via their performances at the last world cup, back in 2022. That is: Australia, New Zealand, England, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, PNG, and Lebanon. The first seven countries in that list also happen to be the top seven on the IRL rankings; Lebanon are a lowly 23rd.
The remaining qualifiers, France and Cook Islands, won regional playoffs. Cook Islands are ranked eighth in the world, by the way, France recently held that position but have slipped to 11th. In other words, the cream of the crop will be on display.
The tournament will be played under NRL rules, including six players on the interchange bench with up to four to be used.
The ten teams have been distributed into three pools.
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