The 2026 Rugby League World Cup is underway in Australia, featuring 10 men's teams across three pools and eight women's teams across two pools. Australia faces New Zealand in the men's opener, with matches scheduled at venues across the country and the final set for Suncorp Stadium on November 15.
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Thursday night at Allianz Stadium is scheduled to host the opening men's fixture of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, with Australia and New Zealand facing off to kick off the tournament.
Both Tonga and Samoa are viewed as teams capable of mounting a run deep into the tournament, with a place in the Suncorp Stadium final within reach. Heading into the women's World Cup, the Jillaroos are widely rated among the leading contenders for the title.
Three pools have been drawn for the men's World Cup, with Pool A bringing together Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and the Cook Islands, Pool B grouping England, Samoa, and Lebanon, and Pool C pairing Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and France.
With four sides in Pool A, every nation faces each of the others once, and the two finishing at the top advance to the semi-finals. Both nations widely anticipated to fill those two spots are Australia and New Zealand.
Pools B and C each draw entries from ten nations at this year's World Cup, down from the sixteen that took part when the tournament last ran. Each side of the Pool B and Pool C divide faces fixture obligations against all three opponents drawn from the opposite grouping. Among England's pool opponents are Tonga, PNG, and France.
Four sides advance to the semi-finals — the pair finishing highest in Pool B and the pair finishing highest in Pool C. With England and Tonga meeting on Saturday, a single defeat could prove enough to remove either side from qualification contention.
Pools B and C are treated as a single combined standings table, with whichever nation finishes at the top drawing the Group A runner-up as their crossover opponent, while the Group A leader meets the side that ranked second across those two pools. Whichever side of the draw finishes atop its pool meets the runner-up from the opposing group in the next round.
The tournament schedule opens with Round 1 fixtures spread across four venues — Australia hosting Samoa at CommBank Stadium (8:05pm), Papua New Guinea meeting France at Santos National Football Stadium (1:15pm), England taking on Wales at HBF Park (5:35pm), and New Zealand facing Fiji at McDonald Jones Stadium (1:50pm).
Round 2 moves play to CommBank Stadium for Samoa v Wales (5:45pm), Santos National Football Stadium for Fiji v Papua New Guinea (1:15pm), HBF Park for Australia v England (8:05pm), and One NZ Stadium for New Zealand v France (2pm). Round 3 then sends England v Samoa to WIN Stadium (5:45pm), Fiji v France and New Zealand v Papua New Guinea both to Cbus Super Stadium (1:20pm and 5:45pm respectively), and Australia v Wales back to CommBank Stadium (3:40pm).
Two semi-finals are scheduled at McDonald Jones Stadium (5:45pm) and Allianz Stadium (5:45pm) with matchups still to be confirmed, leading to a final at Suncorp Stadium (4:10pm) between sides yet to be determined.