2026 Rugby League World Cup schedule revealed in full incl format, dates, kick-off times, venues
The 2026 Rugby League World Cup schedule has now been officially released in full, with the tournament taking place across Australia and Papua New Guinea between October 15 and November 15.
As was the case back in 2022 during the delayed 2021 edition of the World Cup, the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments will all take place at the same time.
Here is a full list of the fixtures broken down by category with an explanation of how each tournament will work.
Men’s 2026 World Cup
Australia’s James Tedesco (centre) lifts the trophy following the 2021 Rugby League World Cup final at Old Trafford against Samoa
Ten teams are involved in the men’s World Cup, and have been split across three groups – A, B and C.
Group A contains four nations, with B and C home to three nations each.
Group A
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Fiji
- Cook Islands
Group B
Group C
- Tonga
- Papua New Guinea
- France
The teams in Group A will each play three matches against the other teams in their group.
The teams in Group B and C however will each play three matches against the nations in the opposing group.
So, Group B teams take on all three teams in Group C – England are in Group B, so will play Tonga, PNG and France in their three group stage games, as an example.
Group A’s top two teams will progress to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, the top two teams from a combined table of Group B and Group C will progress to the semi-finals.
Fixtures
* All kick-off times stated relate to 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 – Santos National Football Stadium, 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 – Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby (5.25am)
Group B/C: England v France – HBF Park, Perth (7.35am)
Sunday, October 25
Group A: New Zealand v Cook Islands – One NZ Stadium, 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 – Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast (4.45am)
Group A: Australia v Cook Islands – Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville (9.05am)
Sunday, November 1
Group B/C: Lebanon v France – CommBank Stadium, Sydney (6.50am)
Group B/C: Tonga v Samoa – CommBank Stadium, Sydney (9.05am)
Saturday, November 7
Semi-Final 1: TBC v TBC – McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle (9.05am)
Sunday, November 8
Semi-Final 2: TBC v TBC – Allianz Stadium, Sydney (9.05am)
Sunday, November 15
Final: TBC v TBC – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (8.35am)
Women’s 2026 World Cup
Australia lift the 2021 Women’s Rugby League World Cup
Eight nations will compete in the 2026 edition of the Women’s Rugby League World Cup, with their format more traditional.
Split into two groups of four, each nation will play the three teams in their own group. The top two from each group then progress into the semi-finals.
Group A
- Australia
- England
- Samoa
- Wales
Group B
- New Zealand
- Papua New Guinea
- France
- Fiji
Fixtures
* All kick-off times stated relate to GMT/BST
Friday, October 16
Group A: Australia v Samoa – CommBank Stadium, Sydney (10.05am)
Saturday, October 17
Group B: Papua New Guinea v France – Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby (3.15am)
Group A: England v Wales – HBF Park, Perth (7.35am)
Sunday, October 18
Group B: New Zealand v Fiji – McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle (3.50am)
Friday, October 23
Group A: Samoa v Wales – CommBank Stadium, Sydney (7.50am)
Saturday, October 24
Group B: Fiji v Papua New Guinea – Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby (3.15am)
Group A: Australia v England – HBF Park, Perth (10.05am)
Sunday, October 25
Group B: New Zealand v France – One NZ Stadium, Christchurch (2.50am)
Friday, October 30
Group A: England v Samoa – WIN Stadium, Wollongong (6.50am)
Saturday, October 31
Group B: Fiji v France – Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast (2.35am)
Group B: New Zealand v Papua New Guinea – Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast (6.55am)
Sunday, November 1
Group A: Australia v Wales – CommBank Stadium, Sydney (4.45am)
Saturday, November 7
Semi-Final 1: TBC v TBC – McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle (6.55am)
Sunday, November 8
Semi-Final 2: TBC v TBC – Allianz Stadium, Sydney (6.55am)
Sunday, November 15
Final: TBC v TBC – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (5.15am)
Wheelchair 2026 World Cup
England celebrate their 2021 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup triumph
There are also eight nations involved in the Wheelchair World Cup, and they too have been split across two groups of four with each nation set to play the three others in their own group.
The press release distributing fixtures has not made it clear how the semi-finals and finals will shape up, so this article will be updated once clarity has been received on that matter.
For now though, here’s how the groups and the fixtures we know for definite currently look
Group A
- England
- Ireland
- Wales
- USA
Group B
- France
- Australia
- Scotland
- New Zealand
Fixtures
* Please note that all games are taking place at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong
** All kick-off times stated relate to GMT/BST
Friday, October 30
Group A: Ireland v USA (2am)
Group A: England v Wales (4.30am)
Saturday, October 31
Group B: France v Scotland (4am)
Group B: Australia v New Zealand (6.30am)
Tuesday, November 3
Group B: France v New Zealand (12am – Midnight)
Group B: Australia v Scotland (2.30am)
Group A: Ireland v Wales (5am)
Group A: England v USA (7.30am)
Friday, November 6
Group B: Scotland v New Zealand (12am – Midnight)
Group A: Wales v USA (2.30am)
Group A: England v Ireland (6am)
Group B: France v Australia (8.30am)
