Rugby League World Cup postponed for second time as tournament needs new hosts
The Rugby League World Cup has been postponed for a second time in succession - but the Ashes will return in 2025.
An IRL board meeting in Singapore has agreed to a new calendar to 2030 aimed at capitalising on the growth of the international game.
Amid that, after France’s withdrawal from hosting the 2025 World Cup in May, the tournament has now been put back to 2026 and will take place in the southern hemisphere.
However, organisers have yet to confirm which nation will host. A decision is expected by the end of the year although the men’s, women’s and wheelchairs tournaments will run together.
The 2026 Rugby League World Cup, though, for the first time since 2008 will see the men’s competition reduced from 16 nations to 10.
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And the following Women’s Rugby League World Cup, after RLWC2026, will be held as a stand-alone tournament in 2028 “recognising the rapid development of Women’s Rugby League since RLWC2017" and starting its own four-year cycle.
What will most excite fans is the return of an England v Australia Ashes series in a newly-formatted international calendar set through to 2030 (the tender process for that World Cup is open) which will also see the development of Tri-Nations or Four Nations tournaments in each hemisphere.
The men's, women's and wheelchair tournaments will all run alongside each other (Getty Images for RLWC)England Men’s and Women’s teams travel to Australia in 2025 and the Kiwis and Kangaroos will head north to play England in 2027 and 2028 respectively.
IRL Chair Troy Grant said: “The IRL board has made these decisions to create more compelling content and secure the financial future of the international game.
“The cancellation of France 2025 has given us an opportunity to refresh the structure of the World Cup and associated tournaments as part of a long-term international calendar that all in the game have been desperately seeking.
“The Rugby League World Cup is the pinnacle of our sport and an elite tournament that all nations should aspire to take part in.”
“With 10 men’s teams at the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, there will be greater focus on Regional Championships and qualifying tournaments.
“The growth of Women’s Rugby League has been at such a phenomenal rate that the IRL Board believes they deserve to have their own World Cup staged as a stand-alone tournament from 2028 onwards.
“With the Men’s World Cup cycle moving back a year, there will now be a World Cup every 24 months, but this is not a set-and-forget international calendar and there will be opportunities to capitalise on the future growth we believe these changes will generate.”
Grant added: “It is no secret that the Achilles heel for international rugby league for far too long has been the absence of an International Calendar.
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“The ad hoc nature of tournaments and international matches, and the absence of any clarity for nations, players and fans to plan their seasons, is over.
“The International Calendar respects player workloads and importantly also reduces the impact on professional clubs.
“Our calendar will allow us firstly to secure the future of international rugby league, with quality and consistent matches that are competitive, build on traditional rivalries and showcase the greatest game on earth.
"The Ashes return, with England Men’s and Women’s teams to tour Australia in 2025, while international tours are back, with Tonga heading to England in 2023 in an historic start to the new era.”
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