Rugby League World Cup 2026: fixtures and results
The World Cup is under way in Australia, New Zealand and PNG, with the Kangaroos and Jillaroos both unbeaten and the finals at Suncorp Stadium on 15 November.
The Rugby League World Cup is being played right now, and most of it is on Australian soil. The tournament opened in Sydney on 15 October 2026 and finishes with both finals at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday 15 November. This guide covers where things stand on 23 October 2026, with the men's and women's draws, the remaining Kangaroos and Jillaroos games, and how to watch at home.
Hosts, dates and venues
France was meant to stage the World Cup in 2025 but withdrew as host. The event moved to the southern hemisphere a year later, with Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea sharing hosting. The men's, women's and wheelchair tournaments all run in the same window, from 15 October to 15 November.
Eight Australian grounds are in use: Suncorp Stadium (Brisbane), Allianz Stadium (Sydney), CommBank Stadium (Parramatta), McDonald Jones Stadium (Newcastle), Cbus Super Stadium (Gold Coast), HBF Park (Perth), Queensland Country Bank Stadium (Townsville) and WIN Stadium (Wollongong). New Zealand's games are at the new Te Kaha stadium in Christchurch, and Papua New Guinea hosts at the national football stadium in Port Moresby.
The men's tournament
Ten nations are in the men's event, split in an unusual way. Pool A has four teams: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Cook Islands. They play each other once and the top two go through to the semi-finals.
The other six are in Pools B and C, which work as one combined table. England, Lebanon and Samoa make up Pool B, while France, Papua New Guinea and Tonga form Pool C. Each Pool B side plays each Pool C side, and the two best records across the six teams advance.
The semi-finals cross over. The Pool A winner meets the second-placed B/C team, and the Pool A runner-up meets the B/C leader. So if the Kangaroos top their pool, they avoid whoever finishes first out of England, Samoa, Tonga and the rest until the final.
Results so far
- Australia 24, New Zealand 22 (15 October, Allianz Stadium)
- Samoa 78, France 4 (16 October, CommBank Stadium)
- Papua New Guinea 42, Lebanon 18 (17 October, Port Moresby)
- Tonga 30, England 12 (17 October, HBF Park)
- Fiji 40, Cook Islands 12 (18 October, McDonald Jones Stadium)
The opener drew a record crowd of 41,255. Dolphins winger Jack Bostock scored three tries on his Test debut, the last of them a leaping finish about four minutes from full time that put Australia in front for good. New Zealand fullback Kalyn Ponga scored twice in his first game for the Kiwis but left the field late with a suspected broken arm. Tonga's win over England in Perth was the upset of the first week and has made the B/C race harder to call.
Kangaroos fixtures
Kevin Walters coaches the Kangaroos. After the win over New Zealand, they face Fiji, who started with a big win over the Cook Islands, so Sunday night is a serious test. All times below are AEDT.
| Date | Match | Venue | Time (AEDT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 15 October | Australia 24 d New Zealand 22 | Allianz Stadium, Sydney | Played |
| Sunday 25 October | Australia v Fiji | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | 8.05pm |
| Saturday 31 October | Australia v Cook Islands | Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville | 8.05pm |
| Saturday 7 November | Semi-final 1: Pool A runner-up v B/C winner | McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 8.05pm |
| Sunday 8 November | Semi-final 2: Pool A winner v B/C runner-up | Allianz Stadium, Sydney | 8.05pm |
| Sunday 15 November | Men's final | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | 7.35pm |
Elsewhere in Pool A, New Zealand play the Cook Islands in Christchurch on 25 October and Fiji on the Gold Coast on 31 October. A Kiwi loss to Fiji would put the second semi-final spot from Pool A in real doubt.
The women's tournament
Eight teams play in the women's World Cup, and games run for 70 minutes, the same as the NRLW. Group A is Australia, England, Samoa and Wales. Group B is New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and France. The top two in each group reach the semi-finals.
The Jillaroos are chasing a fourth straight women's title under coach Jess Skinner. They opened with a 40-0 win over Samoa at CommBank Stadium on 16 October, leading 28-0 at half-time. Debutant Jocelyn Kelleher, who chose Australia over England after a big season with the Roosters, kicked six goals and was named player of the match.
In the other opening games, England beat Wales 70-6, Papua New Guinea beat France 58-4 and New Zealand edged Fiji 18-12.
Jillaroos fixtures
- Saturday 24 October: Australia v England, HBF Park, Perth, 8.05pm AEDT
- Sunday 1 November: Australia v Wales, CommBank Stadium, Parramatta, 3.45pm AEDT
- Semi-finals: Saturday 7 November at McDonald Jones Stadium and Sunday 8 November at Allianz Stadium, both 5.55pm AEDT. The Group A winner plays in the Sunday game.
- Women's final: Sunday 15 November, Suncorp Stadium, 4.15pm AEDT
Saturday's game in Perth against England will very likely decide who wins Group A, and with it which semi-final each team plays.
Final day in Brisbane
Both finals are at Suncorp Stadium on 15 November as a double-header, with the women's final in the afternoon and the men's final at night. Queensland doesn't use daylight saving, so local kick-off times there are an hour earlier than the AEDT times listed here.
How to watch and listen in Australia
Seven holds the Australian rights, and every match is on free-to-air TV, with streams on 7plus at no cost. SEN radio is calling 12 matches live, including both men's semi-finals and the final. Tickets for the remaining games are sold through the official tournament site.
If you want the domestic background on the Kangaroos and Jillaroos squads, our State of Origin explainer and NRL finals guide cover the competitions most of these players came from, and the Australian sports calendar shows what comes after the World Cup.
Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.