2026 Men’s Rugby League World Cup Draw: Fixtures, Dates, Full Schedule, Kick-off times, Format, Groups, Teams, Venues.

The full schedule for the 2026 Men’s Rugby League World Cup has been officially released, with the tournament set to run from October 15 to November 15, 2026 across Australia and Papua New Guinea. As with the 2022 event, the men’s competition will run simultaneously with the women's and wheelchair tournaments.

The 2026 edition features 10 national teams, divided into three groups—one group of four and two groups of three.

What is the Format of 2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup?

Group A teams play three games each against the nations within their group.
Groups B and C play cross-pool, meaning each Group B team faces all Group C teams and vice versa.
Semi-final qualification:
- Top two from Group A
- Top two from a combined Group B/C table

The Men’s World Cup Final will be played at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, on Sunday, November 15.

2026 Rugby League World Cup Draw: Pools, Groups, full qualified teams list

Group A: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji Cook Islands

Group B: England Samoa Lebanon

Group C: Tonga Papua New Guinea France

2026 Rugby League World Cup Fixtures: Full Schedule, Dates, Start-Times, Venues.

All Times GMT/BST

Thursday, October 15

Group A: Australia v New Zealand – Allianz Stadium, Sydney (10.05am)

Friday, October 16

Group B/C: Samoa v France – CommBank Stadium, Sydney (7.45am)

Saturday, October 17

Group B/C: Papua New Guinea v Lebanon – Port Moresby (5.25am)
Group B/C: England v Tonga – HBF Park, Perth (10.05am)

Sunday, October 18

Group A: Fiji v Cook Islands – McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle (6.05am)

Friday, October 23

Group B/C: Tonga v Lebanon – CommBank Stadium, Newcastle (10.05am)

Saturday, October 24

Group B/C: Papua New Guinea v Samoa – Port Moresby (5.25am)
Group B/C: England v France – Perth (7.35am)

Sunday, October 25

Group A: New Zealand v Cook Islands – Christchurch (5.05am)
Group A: Australia v Fiji – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (9.05am)

Friday, October 30

Group B/C: England v Papua New Guinea – WIN Stadium, Wollongong (9.05am)

Saturday, October 31

Group A: New Zealand v Fiji – Gold Coast (4.45am)
Group A: Australia v Cook Islands – Townsville (9.05am)

Sunday, November 1

Group B/C: Lebanon v France – Sydney (6.50am)
Group B/C: Tonga v Samoa – Sydney (9.05am)

Semi-Finals

Saturday, November 7

Semi-Final 1 – Newcastle (9.05am)

Sunday, November 8

Semi-Final 2 – Sydney (9.05am)

When is the 2026 Rugby League World Cup Final?

Sunday, November 15

Final – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (8.35am)

The event will feature 10 men's, eight women's and eight wheelchair teams.

The eight men's quarter finalists from the previous World Cup - held in England in 2022 - will automatically qualify for the 2026 tournament, as will the four women's and wheelchair semi-finalists.

IRL chairman Troy Grant said the organisation has received two separate bids to host the new tournament, presumed to be from Australia and New Zealand, which will be backed by government guarantees.

The IRL also confirmed that a standalone women's World Cup will be staged in 2028, with the next men's World Cup after 2026 to be held in 2030.

________

WordsCharactersReading time