LeagueNews.co | Jess Malloy
The Rugby League World Cup 2026 fixtures have been announced by the NRL and IRL, nearly a year before the tournament begins.
Hosted by Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, the event will feature ten men's teams, eight women's teams, and eight wheelchair teams in a condensed tournament format. This edition was initially planned for 2025 in the USA and later in France, but both countries withdrew from hosting.
The tournament is set to start on Thursday, October 15, shortly after the conclusion of the NRL season. Australia will face New Zealand in the men's opener in Sydney, while the women's tournament will kick off the following evening with Australia playing against Samoa.
Both men's and women's finals will occur in Brisbane on November 15, preceded by semi-finals in Newcastle and Sydney during the weekend before.
The ten men's teams are divided into three groups. Group A consists of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and the Cook Islands, who will compete against each other.
The remaining six teams have been allocated to Groups B and C, competing only against the three teams in their opposing group. Group B includes England, Samoa, and Lebanon, while Group C features Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and France.
The top two teams from Group A will move on to the semi-finals, while the points from Groups B and C will be aggregated, allowing the top two from the combined total to progress further in the competition.