Tonight’s referee is Adam Gee, the man in the middle of the recent NRL grand final. He excelled quietly on that occasion and the big match rewards keep flowing his direction.
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.
Pool A contains Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Cook Islands. The top two from this group qualify for the semi-finals.
The teams in Pool B (England, Samoa, Lebanon) play the teams in Pool C (Tonga, PNG, France) with the top two on a combined group table qualifying for the semi-finals.
The winner of Pool A takes on the runner-up from Pool B&C in Sydney.
The winner of Pool B&C takes on the runner-up from Pool A in Newcastle.
The world cup final is in Brisbane on 15 November.
The group phase will take place over the following three weekends. After tonight, remaining matches will be staged only on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
The fourth weekend will feature the semi-finals, with the final wrapping up proceedings the following Sunday.
10 locations will host matches. Eight of these are in Australia: Sydney (Allianz Arena), Sydney (Commbank Arena), Brisbane, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Townsville, Wollongong, and Perth; while Port Moresby will host two Papua New Guinea matches, and Christchurch will stage one New Zealand fixture.
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