2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup qualification

2026 Rugby League World Cup qualification
Number of teams7 (from 4 confederations)
Tournaments
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The 2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup qualification will decide the teams that will join the quarter-finalists from the previous World Cup at the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.[1]

Qualification will begin on 22 October 2024 with European qualification tournament.[1]

Background

The allocation of teams for the 2026 World Cup was announced on 7 August 2023. The 2026 edition of the Rugby League World Cup will only feature ten men's teams, down from 16 in 2021. The eight quarter-finalists from the previous World Cup achieved automatic qualification, leaving two spots remaining for the qualification process.[1][2]

The qualification process for the 9th and 10th places will be a two-stage process. The first stage is to establish the representatives from each of the four International Rugby League (IRL) confederations (Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Middle East-Africa) with those representatives advancing to a second and final round of qualification in 2025.

The process announced in August 2023 would have seen qualifying tournaments in all four confederations but subsequent changes by the IRL have changed this. In October 2023 IRL confirmed that only full members of the IRL can take part in the qualifying competition.[3] This left only Cook Islands (Asia-Pacific), Jamaica (Americas) and South Africa (Middle East-Africa) as the only full-member nations for their respective confederations, and therefore will automatically advance to the second round of qualification.

This leaves the European confederation as the only one to stage a confederation tournament to decide their second-round slot allocation.[1][2]

As originally planned, following the conclusion of the European confederation qualification tournament, the 2025 World Series will take place with winners and runners up qualifying for the finals.[1][2][3] In March 2025 the IRL announced that as no viable bids to host the World Series had been received, the World Series would be replaced by two single knockout matches, one for the northern hemisphere and one for the southern hemisphere.[4]

Qualified teams

Team Method of
qualification		 Date of
qualification		 Total
times
qualified		 Last
time
qualified		 Current
consecutive
appearances		 Previous best
performance
 New Zealand 2021 World Cup Group C winners 28 October 2022 17 2021 17 Winners (2008)
 England 2021 World Cup Group A winners 29 October 2022 8[a] 2021 8 Runners-up (1975, 1995, 2017)
 Australia 2021 World Cup Group B winners 29 October 2022 17 2021 17 Winners (12 times)
 Fiji 2021 World Cup Group B runners-up 29 October 2022 7 2021 7 Semi-finals (2008, 2013, 2017)
 Lebanon[b] 2021 World Cup Group C runners-up 30 October 2022 4 2021 3 Quarter-finals (2017, 2021)
 Tonga 2021 World Cup Group D winners 30 October 2022 7 2021 7 Semi-finals (2017)
 Samoa 2021 World Cup Group A runners-up 30 October 2022 7 2021 7 Runners-up (2021)
 Papua New Guinea 2021 World Cup Group D runners-up 31 October 2022 9 2021 9 Quarter-finals (2000, 2017, 2021)
 France Northern Hemisphere play-off winners 25 October 2025 17 2021 17 Runners-up (1954, 1968)
 Cook Islands Southern Hemisphere play-off winners 9 November 2025 4 2021 2 Group Stage (2000, 2013, 2021)

European qualifying

The European confederation qualification tournament took place in October 2024 and was open to all full member nations as of 15 March 2024. The winner of the tournament advanced to the World Series in 2025.[1]

Teams played semi-finals and a final. The semi-finals were based on IRL Rank with highest-ranked playing lowest-ranked and second-highest playing second-lowest. The losing semi-finalists contested a third place playoff; this had no bearing on World Cup qualification, but counted for world ranking points.[7]

Bracket

Semi-finals Final
      
8  France 74
20  Ukraine 8
8  France 48
17  Wales 6
11  Serbia 0
17  Wales 48

Semi-finals

22 October 2024
17:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Serbia  0–48  Wales
1st: 0–30
2nd: 0–18
Report
 Tries: Fozard, Kear, Walker, Evans, Connor Davies, Butt, Worthington, Coope-Franklin
Goals: Fozard (7/7), Kear (1/1)
Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne
Attendance: 1,257[8]
Referee: Geoffrey Poumes (France)
Team details
SerbiaPositionWales
NameNumberNumberName
Nikola Cotic1
FB
1Billy Walkley
Rajko Trifunovic2
WG
2Joe Coope-Franklin
Nick O'Meley3
CE
3Mike Butt
David Nofoaluma4
CE
4Will Evans
Andrej Mora5
WG
5Rhys Williams
Jesse Soric6
SO
6Elliot Kear
Vojislav Dedic7
SH
7Josh Ralph
Jake O'Meley8
PR
8Huw Worthington
Sasha Popovic9
HK
9Matty Fozard
Milos Calic10
PF
10Ben Evans
Stefan Arsic11
SR
11Connor Davies
Nikola Djuric12
SR
12Max Clarke
Enis Bibic13
LF
13Sam Bowring
Dzavid Jasari14
IN
14Curtis Davies
Ilija Cotric15
IN
15Matt Ross
Djordje Krnjeta16
IN
16Anthony Walker
Marko Jankovic17
IN
17Ashton Robinson
Aleksandar Pavlovic18
RES
18Fin Yates
Darren Fisher
Coach
Mark Moxon


22 October 2024
19:30 CEST (UTC+02:00)
France  74–8  Ukraine
Tries: Vailhe, Budde, Pedrero (3), Vailhen, Pelissier (2), Zenon, Goffin, Jouffret, Aispuro Bichett (2), Martin
Goals: Albert (6/10), Aispuro Bichett (3/4)
 1st: 48–0
2nd: 26–8
Report
 Tries: Skorbach, Polata
Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne
Attendance: 1,257[9]
Referee: Stephane Vincent (France)
Team details
FrancePositionUkraine
NameNumberNumberName
Louis Jouffret1
FB
1Yevhhen Davydov
Nittim Pedrero2
WG
2Tigris Polata
Guilerno Aispuro Bichett3
CE
3Mykhailo Troian
Tanguy Zenon4
CE
4Jonah Ngaronoa
Clement Martin5
WG
5Danylo Vedler
Lucas Albert6
SO
6Oleksandr Skorbach
Thomas Lacans7
SH
7Daniel Janissen
Clement Boyer8
PR
8Oleksandr Syvokoz
Nolan Lopez-Buttignol9
HK
9Dmytro Semerenko
Florien Vailhen10
PF
10Volodymyr Karpenko
Jayson Goffin11
SR
11Yevhenii Trusov
Hnaloan Budden12
SR
12Tom Mencinksy
Mickael Goudemand13
LF
13Victor Tereszko
Eloi Pelissier14
IN
14Yaroslav Davydov
Tiaki Chan15
IN
15Vitalii Puchkov
Hugo Salabio16
IN
16Yevhen Checheta
Justin Sangare17
IN
17Valentyn Korchak
Laurent Frayssinous
Coach
Dan Beardshaw

Final

26 October 2024
14:30 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Wales  6–48  France
Tries: Williams
Goals: Fozard (1/1)
 1st: 6–20
2nd: 0–28
Report
 Tries: Romano, Rouge (2), Franco, Pelissier, Sangare, Fages, Belmas, Chan
Goals: Rouge (6/9)
Stade Municipal, Saint-Estève
Attendance: 2,150[10]
Referee: Aaron Moore (England)
Team details
WalesPositionFrance
NameNumberNumberName
Billy Walkley1
FB
1Cesar Rouge
Joe Coope-Franklin2
WG
2Hakim Miloudi
Mike Butt3
CE
3Arthur Romano
Will Evans4
CE
4Mathieu Laguerre
Rhys Williams5
WG
5Romain Franco
Elliot Kear6
SO
6Ugo Tison
Josh Ralph7
SH
7Theo Fages
Huw Worthington8
PR
8Lambert Belmas
Matthew Fozard9
HK
9Alrix Da Costa
Ben Evans10
PF
10Tiaki Chan
Connor Davies11
SR
11Maxime Stefani
Matt Ross12
SR
12Mathieu Cozza
Sam Bowring13
LF
13Mickael Goudemand
Curtis Davies14
IN
14Eloi Pelissier
Anthony Walker15
IN
15Justin Sangare
Ashton Robinson16
IN
16Clement Boyer
Sam Grice17
IN
17Anthony Marion
Mark Moxon
Coach
Laurent Frayssinous

Inter-confederation play-offs

The 2025 World Series was initially intended be the inter-confederation qualification tournament for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.[1] The winner and the runners-up were to qualify for the World Cup.[2]

In September 2024, South Africa (who will participate in the tournament) submitted a proposal to host the World Series, in attempt to strengthen their bids to host the 2028 Women's World Cup and 2030 Men's World Cup.[11]

On 18 March 2025, the International Rugby League announced no viable bid to host the World Series had been made and as such two playoff matches would be held in its place. The Northern Hemisphere playoff will see France host Jamaica as a one-off match, and the Southern Hemisphere playoff will see the Cook Islands host South Africa as a curtain raiser to the men's and women's 2025 Pacific Cup final double header.[12]

France had planned a warm up fixture against Australia ahead of their qualifier (which Australia also wanted as a warm up fixture ahead of the 2025 Ashes series).[13] However, this was vetoed by Australia's Rugby League Players Association and was replaced by two joint training sessions in London.[14]

The Cook Islands participated in the 2025 Pacific Bowl ahead of their playoff,[15][16] whereas South Africa played a warm-up fixture against Niue on 4 November.[17]

Matches

25 October 2025
15:30 CEST (UTC+02:00)
France  36–0  Jamaica
Tries: 7
Griffier rugby ball 8', 78'
Yaha rugby ball 28', 54'
Séguier rugby ball 15'
Bousquet rugby ball 46'
Darrélatour rugby ball 72'
Goals: 4
Mourgue (4/7)
 1st: 16–0
2nd: 20–0
Report
Stadium Municipal d'Albi, Albi
Attendance: 6,200[18]
Referee: Aaron Moore (England)[19]
Team details
FrancePositionJamaica
NameNumberNumberName
Arthur Mourgue1
FB
1Ben Jones-Bishop
Léo Darrélatour2
WG
2Jack Rampton
Arthur Romano3
CE
3Jimmy Morgan
Enzo Griffier4
CE
4Christopher Ball
Fouad Yaha5
WG
5Jamin Williams
César Rougé6
SO
6James Woodburn-Hall
Théo Fages7
SH
7Kieran Rush
Jordan Dezaria8
PR
8Delaine Gittens-Bedward
Alrix Da Costa9
HK
9Ashton Golding (c)
Romain Navarette10
PF
10Dec Tomlinson
Louis Grossemy11
SR
11AJ Wallace
Paul Séguier12
SR
12Keenen Tomlinson
Benjamin Garcia (c)13
LF
13Keenan Ramsden
Anthony Marion14
IN
15Jordan Andrade
Julian Bousquet15
IN
16Leo Evans
Justin Sangaré16
IN
17Isaac Coleman
Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet17
IN
19Harlen Smith
Ugo Tison (not used)18
RES
18Joshua Hudson-Lett (not used)
Laurent Frayssinous
Coach
Jy-mel Coleman

9 November 2025
11:25 AEDT (UTC+11:00)
Cook Islands  58–6  South Africa
Tries: 11
Niukore rugby ball 39', 66'
Cowley rugby ball 57', 77'
Ulberg rugby ball 9'
Moale rugby ball 23'
Marsters rugby ball 36'
Iro rugby ball 51'
Piakura rugby ball 56'
Teague rugby ball 74'
Ngatikaura rugby ball 80'
Goals: 7
Marsters rugby goalposts icon 24', 40', 55' (3/6)
Ioka rugby goalposts icon 63', 76', 78' (3/4)
Iro rugby goalposts icon 80' (1/1)
 1st: 20–6
2nd: 38–0
Report
 Tries: 1
De Vlieg rugby ball 18'
Goals: 1
Beukes rugby goalposts icon 19' (1/1)
Sin bin:
Perry yellow card 30' to 40'
Western Sydney Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 3,245
Referee: Wyatt Raymond (Australia)
Team details
Cook IslandsPositionSouth Africa
NameNumberNumberName
Esom Ioka1
FB
1Luke De Vlieg
Paul Ulberg2
WG
2Niel Beukes
KL Iro (c)3
CE
3Callum McMenemy
Reubenn Rennie4
CE
4Brynn Du Rand
Teapo Stoltman5
WG
5Brady McMillan
Cassius Cowley6
SO
6Coby Thomas
Esan Marsters7
SH
7Kamren Cryer (c)
Makahesi Makatoa8
PR
8Shane Mackenzie
Mason Teague9
HK
9Kobe Martin
Davvy Moale10
PF
10Jason Smith
Brendan Piakura11
SR
11Ethan Sweet
Marata Niukore (c)12
SR
12Keegan Turner
Pride Petterson-Robati13
LF
13Aden Perry
Rua Ngatikaura14
IN
14Reilly Canning
Reuben Porter15
IN
15Joshua Hill
Justin Makirere16
IN
16Ashley Bull
Rhys Dakin17
IN
17Marcelle Corneelsen
Amare Milford (not used)20
RES
18Kalum Gulliver-Brown (not used)
Karmichael Hunt
Coach
Darryl Fisher

Notes

  1. ↑ Competed as part of Great Britain in nine previous tournaments, finishing as champions on three occasions (1954, 1960, 1972).
  2. ↑ On 14 March 2024, Lebanon had their membership downgraded from full to affiliate member, however as Lebanon had already qualified for the World Cup, their tournament status is unaffected.[5][6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Rugby League World Cup qualification and World Series format revealed amid eligibility shakeup – The Roar". October 7, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Rugby League World Cup qualification: Revamped tournament settles on new process". Sporting News. 8 October 2023. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  3. 1 2 "International Rugby League Board confirms details for World Series, World Cups". Rugby League International Federation. 7 October 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  4. ↑ "France, Jamaica and South Africa Final RLWC Qualifying Schedule Confirmed". europeanrugbyleague.com. ERL. 18 March 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  5. ↑ "International Rugby League Membership: Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Scotland reclassified". Rugby League International Federation. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  6. ↑ "Scotland & Ireland see 2026 Rugby League World Cup qualification hopes ended". Love Rugby League. March 15, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Men's European World Cup qualifying details confirmed". europeanrugbyleague.com. ERLF. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "Senior International Matches 2024 - Game 1 - Serbia 0 lost to Wales 48".
  9. ↑ "Senior International Matches 2024 - Game 1 - France 74 def. Ukraine 8".
  10. ↑ "Senior International Matches 2024 - Game 1 - France 48 def. Wales 6".
  11. ↑ "'Eager to seize this chance': South Africa begins road to RLWC2026". RLIF. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  12. ↑ "RLWC2026 men's qualifying play-offs announced". RLIF. 18 March 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  13. ↑ "Ashes dates 'revealed' as Australia warm-up game in France on agenda". Love Rugby League. 18 March 2025.
  14. ↑ "Ashes countdown—Kangaroos to clash with France for first time since 2017 | Sporting News Australia". www.sportingnews.com. 11 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  15. ↑ "Pacific Championships draw announced". International Rugby League. 6 Aug 2025. Retrieved 6 Aug 2025.
  16. ↑ "2025 Pacific Championships draw announced". NRL. 6 Aug 2025. Retrieved 6 Aug 2025.
  17. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GMCPGrYCq/
  18. ↑ Bower, Aaron (26 October 2025). "International rugby league sets HUGE all-time attendance record". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  19. ↑ Ousty, Raphaël (18 October 2025). "Les arbitres pour France – Jamaïque désignés". Treize Mondial (in French). Retrieved 19 October 2025.
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