2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup

Last updated
2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup
Number of teams8
Host countriesFlag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg Papua New Guinea
Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand
Matches played15
Tournaments
 < 2021
2028 > 

The 2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup will be the seventh staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup, and will be one of three major tournaments part of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.

Contents

The competition was to be held in during October and November 2025, [1] but was moved to 2026 following the withdrawal of France as hosts nation. [2] [3] [4] [5] The competition will run in parallel with the men's and wheelchair tournaments. [6]

Due to the rescheduling, the competition will feature 8 teams only. An expansion was planned to double the number of teams for the original 2025 tournament. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Host selection

The International Rugby League (IRL) originally decided in 2016 to have the tournaments hosted in the United States and Canada. [7] [8] In December 2019 however, the IRL withdrew the hosting rights due to the promoters, Moore Sports International, being unable to guarantee the staging of the tournaments. [9] [10]

After re-opening the bidding to host the tournaments, the IRL awarded the hosting rights to France. [11] [12] [13] On 15 May 2023, the France 2025 organising committee was forced to withdraw from hosting the tournament, due to financial concerns from the new French government elected in May 2022. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

On 3 August 2023 it was confirmed that the tournament would be moved to 2026 and held in the Southern Hemisphere. [2] [3] [4] [5] On 24 July 2024, the IRL announced that Australia would host the 2026 tournament, with a number of games played in Papua New Guinea. [19] [20]

Teams

Qualification

On 3 August 2023, the date the tournament was announced, the only qualified teams for the 2026 tournament were the semi-finalists of the 2021 World Cup. The qualification process for the remaining teams was announced 15 December 2023. [21]

Two teams would qualify directly via the European qualifications group stages on 22 June 2024, [22] and one team would qualify directly via the 2024 Women's Pacific Bowl on 2 November 2024. [23]

The 2025 World Series determined the final team to qualify, with one team from each confederation qualifying for the World Series. [24]

TeamMethod of
qualification		Date of
qualification		Total
times
qualified		Last
time
qualified		Current
consecutive
appearances		Previous best
performance
Flag of England.svg  England 2021 Group A winners5 November 20224 [a] 2021 4Semi-finals (2008, 2013, 2017, 2021)
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 2021 Group A runners-up5 November 20222 2021 2Semi-finals (2021)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 2021 Group B winners6 November 20226 2021 6Winners (2013, 2017, 2021)
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 2021 Group B runners-up6 November 20226 2021 6Winners (2000, 2003, 2008)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Europe Group A winners22 June 20241 [a] —1First appearance
Flag of France.svg  France Europe Group B winners22 June 20245 2021 2Semi-finals (2013)
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa Asia-Pacific winners2 November 20243 2008 1Fifth-place (2003, 2008)
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji World Series winners29 October 20251—1First appearance

Draw

The draw was announced on 23 November 2025. [25]

Group AGroup B
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Flag of England.svg  England
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji
Flag of France.svg  France
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea

Group Stage

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLPFPAPDPtsQualification
1Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia (H)00000000Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of England.svg  England 00000000
3Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 00000000
4Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 00000000
Source: Source
(H) Hosts

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLPFPAPDPtsQualification
1Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 00000000Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of France.svg  France 00000000
3Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand (H)00000000
4Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea (H)00000000
Source: Source
(H) Hosts

Knockout stage

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
7 November – Newcastle
 
 
B1 –
 
15 November – Brisbane
 
A2 –
 
SF1 Winner –
 
8 November – Sydney
 
SF2 Winner –
 
A1 –
 
 
B2 –
 

Semi-finals

7 November 2026
17:55 AEDT (UTC+11:00)
Group B WinnervGroup A Runner Up
Source
8 November 2026
17:55 AEDT (UTC+11:00)
Group A WinnervGroup B Runner Up
Source

Final

15 November 2026
15:15 AEST (UTC+10:00)
First semi-final winnervSecond semi-final winner
Source

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Plus two as Great Britain

References

  1. ↑ "2025 Rugby League World Cup: France promises low carbon event after being named host". SportsPro. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Southern hemisphere to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  3. 1 2 3 "Reduced Rugby League World Cup to take place in 2026". The Guardian. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  4. 1 2 3 "2026 Rugby League World Cup to be hosted in southern hemisphere". The Independent. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  5. 1 2 3 "Rugby League World Cup 2025 to be delayed; full details announced for new look tournament". LoveRugbyLeague. 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  6. ↑ "France 2025: 13 questions answered about the Rugby League World Cup". The Guardian . 19 January 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  7. ↑ "Rugby League World Cup moves to North America in 2025". stuff sport. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "North America to Host 2025 Rugby league World Cup". Canada Rugby League Association. 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  9. ↑ Adrian Proszenko (4 December 2018). "US World Cup hosting plans torpedoed by money trouble". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  10. ↑ Adrian Proszenko (4 December 2018). "US World Cup hosting plans torpedoed by money trouble". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  11. ↑ "France to host 2025 World Cup". National Rugby League. 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  12. ↑ Shaw, Matthew (2022-01-11). "French Prime Minister Jean Castex's pride after securing Rugby League World Cup". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  13. ↑ "France set to host the 2025 Rugby League World Cups". Asia Pacific Rugby League. 2022-01-11. Archived from the original on 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  14. ↑ "France pulls out of hosting Rugby League World Cup". BBC Sport. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "France no longer able to host 2025 Rugby League World Cup". seriousaboutrl.com. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  16. ↑ Bower, Aaron (15 May 2023). "2025 Rugby League World Cup in doubt after France pull out of staging event". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "France withdraw from hosting 2025 Rugby League World Cup over financial concerns". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  18. ↑ "Confirmed: France will not host 2025 Rugby League World Cup". LoveRugbyLeague. 2023-05-15. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  19. ↑ "Australia to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. 2024-07-24. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  20. ↑ "ARLC welcomes Rugby League World Cup 2026 hosting rights". National Rugby League. July 24, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Rugby League World Cup 2026 women's qualifying process announced". Rugby League International Federation. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  22. ↑ "France, Wales women qualify for RLWC2026". Rugby League International Federation. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  23. ↑ "Late surge earns Samoa World Cup spot, promotion shot". National Rugby League. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  24. ↑ "Match Detail". Rugby League International Federation. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  25. ↑ "Rugby League World Cup 2026: England avoid Australia & NZ in men's draw". BBC Sport. 23 November 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
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