Rugby League News
Kangaroos shake off a slow start to defeat Cook Islands in Townsville
Australia cruise into the semi-finals on top of Pool A
The Kangaroos will be wearing their familiar dark green uniform with gold accents. Plenty of green in the Cook Islands outfit as well, but it is the secondary colour to a majority white base.
Tonight’s referee is NRL veteran Ashley Klein.
Continue reading...Pool B + C: England 34-12 Papua New Guinea
Women’s side crash out after defeat by Samoa
Game over. Two ultimately straightforward victories from three group games would ordinarily be enough to secure qualification in the Rugby League World Cup, but the format means that, barring a rugby league miracle from Tonga on Sunday, England are heading home early.
That format – 10 teams in lopsided groups and England in a unique position of being effectively out after defeat on the opening weekend – has been a point of discussion since that defeat by the Tongans a fortnight ago. But at some stage, the attention has to turn internally and the tough, uncompromising questions have to be asked of English rugby league.
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Continue reading...England need 68-point swing in final group games
McDermott: ‘It’s a difficult situation to negotiate’
The England head coach, Brian McDermott, has urged his side to keep their nerve as they attempt to hold up their end of the bargain on Friday and secure what would be a remarkable qualification for the semi-finals of the Rugby League World Cup.
Defeat by Tonga in their opening group game a fortnight ago appeared to all but consign England to an early exit, owing in no small part to a complex and shortened format, with the tournament reduced to 10 teams. However, the margin of their 82-0 win against France last Saturday means qualification is still possible, albeit unlikely.
Continue reading...Rugby Football League set to ratify elevation imminently
Partnership with NRL not expected now till 2028
London Broncos have agreed to a condition from the existing 14 Super League clubs that they must relinquish any rights to around £1.3m in central distribution funding if they are to enter the competition in 2027, with the Rugby Football League expected to ratify their elevation imminently.
A partnership between Super League and Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL), which would mean the latter taking administrative control of the English game and injecting tens of millions of pounds of much-needed financial support, is now not expected to begin until 2028. Despite that, the expansion of Super League to 15 teams to include London has moved a step closer.
Continue reading...Tom Trbojevic scores hat-trick for Kangaroos at Suncorp Stadium
James Tedesco inspires in otherwise underwhelming Australia outing
Tonight’s referee is NRL veteran Gerard Sutton.
A quick reminder about the 2026 men’s Rugby League World Cup format.
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 three weekends.
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.
Continue reading...Pool B + C: England 82-0 France
Herbie Farnworth and Dom Young grab hat-tricks
England will only really know next weekend whether this record-breaking result means anything, but on an afternoon when not only a win but a convincing victory would keep their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals alive, this was a case of job done for Brian McDermott and his side.
With the shortened and controversial group stage format meaning just one defeat is near-ruinous, even the head coach broke ranks this week and admitted England’s chances of qualification are slim at best after the 30-12 loss to Tonga on the opening weekend. Samoa’s big 64-6 win against Papua New Guinea earlier on Saturday meant the permutations became simple but daunting. Samoa beat France 78-4 last week, giving them a plus-132 points differential; England, now have a plus-64 points differential.
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Continue reading...Big wins and help from Tonga needed to reach semi-finals
‘You’ve got to hit the ground running, which we didn’t do.
Brian McDermott has conceded England’s hopes of reaching the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals may already be over, the head coach blaming the tournament’s format and their opening loss to Tonga.
The World Cup has been reduced to 10 teams, down from 16 four years ago. That is largely due to financial reasons when the hosts, Australia, stepped in after France’s withdrawal. That has led to a unique format, with different levels of jeopardy for different countries based on their group.
Continue reading...Pool B + C: England 12-30 Tonga
England Women thump Wales 70-6
The Rugby League World Cup began with a sense of mission improbable for England, but after one game, it already represents something more like mission impossible.
The talk pre-tournament from Brian McDermott had been about being different. Going against the grain of how the national team has played against the world’s best and falling short; having a creative spark that would be significant in crucial moments. For all the talk of change, the most important thing of all remained the same in Perth on Saturday: the result.
Continue reading...England begin their tournament on Saturday with a must-win fixture in Perth that can inject some optimism into the European game
Two games into the men’s World Cup and the tournament is already overflowing with colour. As if the biggest Test crowd in Sydney for more than 50 years was not enough cause for celebration, Australia and New Zealand served up one of the great international games of modern times, with the Kangaroos edging a thriller on the opening night.
But the stories do not end there. Samoa’s rise as a league powerhouse continued with a record win against France on Friday, with their passionate and united Pasifika fanbase fuelling the energy for a tilt at a second consecutive final. Tonga and Papua New Guinea will continue the theme of national pride and unforgettable noise this weekend.
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Continue reading...Kiwis fullback sustained injury in second half in defeat to Kangaroos
Ponga was a standout in his first Test since a switch of allegiance
Kalyn Ponga will undergo surgery on his broken arm but will remain in camp with New Zealand not giving up on the superstar fullback playing again in the Rugby League World Cup.
Ponga failed to finish his long-awaited Test debut for the Kiwis, departing in the 70th minute of the 24-22 loss after suffering the injury earlier in the second half.
Continue reading...Kangaroos snatch victory from Kiwis in opener at Allianz Stadium
Jack Bostock scores hat-trick of tries on debut for Australia
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.
Continue reading...Australia and New Zealand are main contenders on home soil while pressure is straight on England in new format
The Rugby League World Cup returns with a new format and a new feel this week, but in the men’s event there is a familiar clutch of nations vying for glory. Ten teams will compete in a complex group format, with only four semi-final spots on offer after the quarter-final stage was removed.
Two of those semi-finalists will come from the four-strong Group A while the remaining six nations play in a new inter-group format. The nations in the three-team Group B play the three in Group C and vice versa, with the top two from a combined table of both pools going into the semis.
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