The Rugby League World Cup 2026

The winter footy leagues might be done for the year, but the footy is far from over… The 2026 Rugby League World Cup kicks off today here in Australia, co-hosted with New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. It's a tournament with a long but patchy history, a stolen trophy, and a format that's unlike any other world championship. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we'll take a look at:

• How the Rugby League World Cup came to be

• Why this one almost didn't happen

• And which teams and players to keep an eye on

🙋🏻 This newsletter was written by Jonathan Liondis

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Squiz the Shortcut

Good news for rugby league fans…
It’s been a lonely 11 days without rugby league since the NRL and NRLW Grand Finals, so if you were feeling a bit lost without the footy, this’ll cheer you up. There's a whole Rugby League World Cup about to start. And it's a unique one, because it runs its men's, women's and wheelchair tournaments at the same time, as one integrated event.

Is that unusual?
Yep… It’s not something you see at the soccer, rugby union or cricket World Cups. But the history of this tournament is a bit of a wild ride, and it starts with the split between rugby league and rugby union back in 1895. 

What happened?
Like many disputes, it was mainly over money. Union wanted to stay strictly amateur, while the clubs in the north of England that broke away to form rugby league wanted to compensate their working-class players for missing work.

Remind me about the difference between the 2 codes…
Rugby League is played with 13 players a side instead of union's 15. The key rule is the 6-tackle limit - a team gets 6 tackles to move the ball up the field before possession goes to the other side. Union has rucks, mauls and lineouts, so there are more contests for the ball, while league mostly does away with those, which makes it faster and more structured.

Where are rugby league’s heartlands?
They’re pretty concentrated - NSW and Queensland, the north of England, New Zealand, PNG, the Pacific Islands and the south of France. And that helps explain why the World Cup took so long to get going - it’s tricky to run a world cup when your game isn’t played in much of the world…

Who got the ball rolling?
The push came from the French in the early 1950s, led by an administrator called Paul Barrière, which is why the trophy is named after him. The first tournament was held in France in 1954, and from there it was a bit sporadic, with one in 1957, another in 1960, then nothing until 1968, when Australia won on home soil. And this is where the story of the stolen trophy comes in…

Go on…
The next World Cup was in the UK in 1970, and the Aussies put the trophy on display in their hotel - where it promptly got stolen. It wasn't seen again for 20 years, until it turned up in 1990 in a pile of rubbish in a ditch near a rugby club. Its return was described as being like finding the Holy Grail.

So, a big deal then?
For sure… But the tournament still went on while it was missing through the 70s, 80s and 90s - until the event that shaped modern rugby league threw everything out of whack - the Super League War. 

What was that about?
It was a massive mid-90s battle for control of the game, with Kerry Packer backing the established Australian Rugby League, and Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation backing a breakaway competition called Super League. It was messy - two rival competitions, players being signed by both sides, and legal battles.

How did that affect the World Cup?
It threw the plans for the 1998 World Cup into chaos, pushing it back to 2000. That tournament was a milestone because it was the first Women's Rugby League World Cup, but the men's tournament was a bit of a dud. It was poorly organised, there were some seriously lopsided scorelines, and it basically torpedoed the competition until 2008. 

What happened in 2008?
The Men’s World Cup returned, and the first Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup was held. From that point on, the World Cup finally became a regular, successful event.

When was the last one?
That was the 2021 tournament, which was pushed back a year because of COVID - and it was a real turning point. It was the first time the women's and wheelchair tournaments got equal billing with the men's, with all 3 run at the same time. 

Who won?
Australia beat Samoa in the men's final, and the Jillaroos beat New Zealand to make it 3 women's titles in a row, after the Kiwi Ferns had won the first 3. And in the wheelchair final, England beat France to end a period of French dominance… 

Is Australia always the team to beat?
In the men’s, yes… it’s by far the most successful nation in World Cup history. But that’s also a source of constant criticism - with dominant favourites and a small number of countries involved, some critics question why the tournament needs to exist. 

What do supporters say?
They say the tournament needs to exist to help grow the game internationally, and that’s led to criticism going the other way for this particular comp - the field of countries used to be 16 teams, but it’s just 10 this year, which has annoyed some of the smaller nations who say it’s not doing enough to grow the game. On top of that, this World Cup wasn’t originally going to be held in Australia - or even in 2026.

Please explain…
It was meant to be the 2025 World Cup, and it was originally going to be hosted by the US and Canada. When those plans fell through, France won the hosting rights in 2022… Until 2023, when the French government decided it didn't want to foot the bill, and the organisers were forced to withdraw.

So how did it end up here in Oz?
It was pushed back to 2026, Australia won the hosting rights, and games are also being played in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. That's a big deal for PNG, because rugby league is the national sport there and the passion for it is hard to overstate. It's also set to get its own NRL team in 2028, so World Cup games on home soil are a huge moment for local fans.

Who’s playing in the opener?
The Australian men's team, the Kangaroos, are taking on the New Zealand Kiwis. That's a big opener, because they're the 2 favourites in the men's tournament, which is smaller this year, with 10 teams instead of 16 - so there's a slightly unusual format.

How does it work?
Stick with us on this one. Australia and New Zealand are in a 4-team Group A with Fiji and the Cook Islands, and those 4 all play each other. The other 6 are split into two groups of 3 - Group B is England, Lebanon and Samoa, and Group C is France, PNG and Tonga. But here's the twist - the Group B teams don't play each other. They each play every team in Group C, and the top 2 from that combined table go through to the semi-finals to take on the top 2 from Group A.

How about the women’s tournament?
It’s more straightforward, with 8 teams split across 2 groups. The Jillaroos and the New Zealand Kiwi Ferns are the favourites in the women's tournament, which kicks off tomorrow, on 16 October, with Australia against Samoa.

And the wheelchair event?
If you've never watched wheelchair rugby league, it's worth a look. It's 5 players a side, played indoors on a futsal or handball court, and instead of a full tackle, you pull one of the tags off a player's shoulders. 

Is it the same as wheelchair rugby union?
No… In the same way that rugby union is different to rugby league, wheelchair rugby (which you might have seen called Murderball) is different to wheelchair rugby league. It's also mixed gender, and open to players who don't have a disability, with a points system to keep the teams balanced. It’ll begin a bit later than the other tournaments - on the 30th of October. 

Which players should I keep an eye on?
We’ll start with Kalyn Ponga. He's the captain and fullback of the Newcastle Knights, so he's coming off a loss in the NRL Grand Final. He played for the Kangaroos as a junior, but he's switched his allegiance and will be playing for the Kiwis this time, which makes tonight's opener pretty interesting.

Is that kind of switch common?
It’s a big part of international rugby league. Players can represent a nation through where they were born, their family heritage or residency, so a lot of NRL players are eligible for more than one country. The turning point was before the 2017 World Cup, when Jason Taumalolo turned down New Zealand to play for Tonga. A wave of stars followed him, and Tonga went on to beat Australia in a Test in 2019. Which helps explain why the Pacific nations are so competitive now. 

Tell me a bit more about that…
Samoa were the losing finalists at the last World Cup, and they've got a stacked team, including Panthers premiership winners Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton and Brian To'o. They play the second game of the men's tournament on Friday, against France. 

What about the women’s players making waves?
We’ll start with the Jillaroos, who are going for their fourth World Cup win in a row - and with the Roosters dominating the NRLW this year, they’re pretty well-represented in the Aussie side. Keep an eye on Tarryn Aiken, the halfback who was the player of the match in the NRLW Grand Final, and in a scary thought for opposition sides, she’ll be playing in the same team as Tamika Upton, the Brisbane Bronco who won the Dally M for best player in the league this year…

Who’s their biggest threat?
That’s (you guessed it) New Zealand, which has lost the last 3 World Cup finals to Australia. Co-captain Raecene McGregor is worth watching - she was the runner-up to Upton in this year’s Dally M count.

Anyone to listen out for in the wheelchair tournament?
Our new Wheelaroos captain, Bayley McKenna, who’s a jet… He’s set scoring records and won player of the match in last year’s Ashes Test against England. Australia isn’t expected to win the wheelchair tournament - England and France are once again the favourites - but McKenna is considered to be one of the standout players. 

Very importantly, where can I watch it all?
You can catch all the games on 7plus. It’s promising to be a brisk tournament - 53 games happening in about a month - and a lot of fun to watch…

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