BY JOHN DAVIDSON
England, New Zealand and Australia have emerged as the winners of the 2026 men’s Rugby League World Cup draw.
The traditional ‘big three’, who are currently ranked in the top three in the International Rugby League (IRL) world rankings, have been given the most favourable draws for next year’s 10-team tournament.
Despite originally being announced as a World Cup to be held only in Australia and Papua New Guinea, New Zealand has been given a home match against the Cook Islands.
The Kiwis will play the Kukis in Christchurch in their second Group A game. They will also play Fiji on the Gold Coast, an area where there is a large Kiwi population.
Considering the current conflict between the RFL and the IRL, England have been given two consecutive matches in one location, meaning a reduction in travel, with their first two group matches both in Perth. The Western Australian capital has a large population of people with English heritage, which will ensure England has a majority of home support for its group games against Tonga and France.
The Tongan diaspora is based around Brisbane and Sydney, meaning England is likely to have the most support in Perth.
England then travels to the east coast to Wollongong to face Papua New Guinea in its final group game.
Facing the Kumuls in Wollongong, and not in Port Moresby, is a definite advantage. Papua New Guinea, which upset Great Britain on home soil in 2019, will host its first two group games at home against Lebanon and Samoa.
The Cedars will play two of its three group games in western Sydney, where there is a large population with Lebanese heritage.
The Kangaroos face New Zealand first up in Sydney, before heading to Brisbane to play Fiji and staying in Queensland to take on the Cook Islands in Townsville.
Unlike the 2017 World Cup, which included games in Melbourne, Darwin, Canberra, Auckland, Hamilton, Cairns and Townsville, this tournament has been streamlined with games in fewer cities.
The 2026 World Cup will take place in nine cities, with Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium hosting a group game and the final, Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium staging a group game and a semi-final, Perth’s HBF Park hosting two England group games, Port Moresby’s Santos National Football Stadium staging two Kumuls group games, Sydney’s CommBank Stadium hosting four group games and Allianz Stadium staging a group game and a semi-final.
The likes of Wollongong’s WIN Stadium, Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Gold Coast’s Cbus Super Stadium and Christchurch’s One NZ Stadium will all host just one men’s game each.
Perth is a smart choice with the NRL launching the Bears in the city in 2027. Rugby league strongholds Newcastle, Wollongong and Townsville have also been rewarded with matches.
The IRL has also sought to boost the women’s World Cup by staging several double-headers with the men’s tournament.
The finals and semi-finals will be doubleheaders with both men’s and women’s fixtures, while their will also be doubleheaders in Port Moresby for the Papua New Guinea men and women twice, in Perth for the England men and women twice, in Christchurch and the Gold Coast for the New Zealand men and women, and also in Wollongong for the England men and women.
Tickets range from the cheapest of AUS$19 (£9.31) for adults and AUS$9 (£4.41) for children, and the highest of AUS$119 (£58.32) and AUS$109 (£53.41) in the group stages.
While for the final in Brisbane they range in price from the cheapest of AUS$39 (£19.11) for adults and AUS$29 (£14.21) for children, and the highest of $AUS159 (£77.92) and AUS$149 (£73.02).