RLWC 2026 Draw, Venue & Crowds

[Timmah]

Sell outs - W1 AUS vs NZ (45k), W1 PNG vs lebanese (15k+), W2 TON vs lebanese (29k), W2 PNG vs SAM (15k+), W3 lebanese vs FRA/TON vs SAM (29k), SF1 (29k), FINAL (52k)

High - W1 SAM vs FRA (20k+), W2 NZ vs CIS (20k+ only because its the only game in NZ), W2 AUS vs FIJ (30-40k), SF2 (35-45k),

Mid - W1 ENG vs TON (15k+), W2 ENG vs FRA (15k+), W3 NZ vs FIJ (15-25k - will surprise people), W3 AUS vs CIS (15-20k)

Low - W1 FIJ vs CIS (10-15k), W3 ENG vs PNG (10-15k)


Change-

Week 1 - FIJ vs CIS & SAM vs FRA to a Suncorp Double Header - sell out

Week 2 - NZ vs CIS - they're going to need to promote the hell out of this one

Week 3 - ENG vs PNG in the Gong - I don't get the logic there

- LEBANON vs FRA, TON vs SAM - move it to Home Bush. You can get 50-60k for the double header

Total attendance - 400k to 430k - which is around what 14-16 team tournaments bring in - could be bigger with stadium/double header tweaks

Average attendance - 20-25k - which will be highest in the last 55 years, back when it was only 4 teams involved

I think NZ's double header in CHCH will be fine, should sell the new ground out (30k capacity from memory)

RE: Week 3, I reckon RLWC wanted Vic Gov to come to the party to host ENG v PNG in Melbourne, and it fell over - so they went with Wollongong instead.

 

[undertaker]

Well spotted undertaker! This format sill worries me can definitely still see the possibility England, Samoa & Lebanon sweeping their games meaning an undefeated team would miss out on the semi finals

I just woke up after falling into a deep sleep shortly after typing out all the fixtures!

Yes, I've also pointed out this flaw of having all group B/C matches as inter-group. It would be an embarassment if one team misses out on the finals with a 100% win-loss ratio. This is exactly what happened during the 1997 World Club Challenge, where Penrith missed out on the quarter-finals with a 6-0 record.

 

[mccarthyj367]

I just woke up after falling into a deep sleep shortly after typing out all the fixtures!

Yes, I've also pointed out this flaw of having all group B/C matches as inter-group. It would be an embarassment if one team misses out on the finals with a 100% win-loss ratio. This is exactly what happened during the 1997 World Club Challenge, where Penrith missed out on the quarter-finals with a 6-0 record.

The top performing two teams across both pools qualify for the semis, not simply the individual winners of pool B and pool C.

So two teams in Pool B could qualify, as could two teams in Pool C. Or it could be one from each pool B and C depending on results.

 

[undertaker]

Okay, where do we start:

Maybe crowd and vibe reaction. Shout out to undertake for posting the fixture list!

15/10 Australia vs New Zealand (Allianz Stadium)
45,000. Will be rad and should sell out.

16/10 Samoa vs France (CommBank Stadium)
20,000+ and France will get destroyed.

17/10 PNG vs Lebanon (Port Moresby)
15,000. Sell out, depending on who turns out for Lebanon - who knows?

17/10 England vs Tonga (HBF Park)
15.000. Why play Tonga in Perth? Whats the size of the Tonga community over there? I get why England are going to be based out of there, and it helps as a launch for the Bears in 2027 but still - Tonga seems like not the best fit.


18/10 Fiji vs Cook Islands (Newcastle)
Alarm bells. Has under 10,000 potential. Understand the logic that Newy will turn out for footy, but this is probably one of the harder sells.

23/10 Tonga vs Lebanon (CommBank Stadium)
Sell out. Now this one will be cool. Will be noisy and colourful.

24/10 PNG vs Samoa (Port Moresby)
Sell out. Samoa should do it easy, but good having PNG play a big opponent at home.

24/10 England vs France (HBF Park)
This got just shy of 15,000 in 2017 RLWC. Ditto again.

25/10 New Zealand vs Cook Islands (One NZ Stadium)
NZ get a home game! Test for the NZRL to promote and get a crowd here. That's a big stadium for a game they'll win by 50.

25/10 Australia vs Fiji (Suncorp)
Alarm bells. The only standalone game with no Women's fixture attached. 20,000+ if lucky. This one should have been in Newy.

30/10 England vs PNG (Wollongong)
Weird venue. Not sure why the Gong? Better suited up in QLD. Maybe 15,000.

31/10 New Zealand vs Fiji (Gold Coast)
Don't mind this and makes sense due to size of communities in SE Qld. 15,000.

31/10 Australia vs Cook Islands (Townsville)
Ditto the above.

1/11 Lebanon vs France, Tonga vs Samoa (CommBank Stadium)
This one perhaps shows the conservative nature of this 2026 RLWC tournament. Organisers not confident enough in Lebanon essentially bringing a crowd to a standalone against France; and putting it with the one fixture we know will have the largest 'hype'. A sell out.

7/11 First semi-final (Newcastle)
Cool, who knows. NZ and ENG? 20,000.

8/11 Second semi-final (Allianz Stadium)
This would have Australia and Samoa? 30,000+

15/11 Final (Suncorp)
If Samoa/Tonga make it - a sell out. Maybe if NZ do. Otherwise the crowd will be smaller than the recent Samoa v Tonga match.

No worries. I was just about to sleep, then stumbled upon that link and frantically typed up what I saw, before falling asleep pretty much after I finished typing!

Good to read your thoughts on the matches. I can't say I disagree with any of what you wrote. Some positives re: venue allocation, but some surprises, most notably short-selling the Tonga vs Samoa match by having it at CommBank Stadium, and also scheduling that Christchurch match out of left field (after the tournament was only supposedly hosted by Australia and PNG), let alone against a minnow at a 30k capacity stadium.

Unless Fiji can pull off an upset against New Zealand (which they did in 2017, and nearly did in 2022), Australia and New Zealand will comfortably advance through to the semi-finals from Group A. Who advances through from the combined Group B/C is most likely going to be 2 from England/Samoa/Tonga/Lebanon. France and PNG are out of the equation as far as I'm concerned.

 

[stratocaster]

I think NZ's double header in CHCH will be fine, should sell the new ground out (30k capacity from memory)

RE: Week 3, I reckon RLWC wanted Vic Gov to come to the party to host ENG v PNG in Melbourne, and it fell over - so they went with Wollongong instead.

Is it a double header in CHCH? From that list it's just the NZ vs Cook Islands game. What's the second one?

ENG vs PNG in Melbourne makes more sense than Wollongong so you're probably right.

 

[undertaker]

The top performing two teams across both pools qualify for the semis, not simply the individual winners of pool B and pool C.

So two teams in Pool B could qualify, as could two teams in Pool C. Or it could be one from each pool B and C depending on results.

Yes, I'm aware of that.

What I was saying is there's still a possibility of England/Samoa/Lebanon each winning their 3 games against the group consisting of Tonga/France/PNG, yet one team would miss out on for-and-against.

 

[undertaker]

Also why play it in a 30k stadium? This was one game you could have taken to Accor to make push for 60k+

100% agree that this is a major blunder, showing short-sightedness from the RLWC organisers.

At Accor, the match had the potential to be the highest-drawing crowd of the tournament.

 

[stratocaster]

100% agree that this is a major blunder, showing short-sightedness from the RLWC organisers.

At Accor, the match had the potential to be the highest-drawing crowd of the tournament.

Given it's a year out hopefully they could move it to Accor. It could be a 50-60k double header.

 

[mccarthyj367]

Yes, I'm aware of that.

What I was saying is there's still a possibility of England/Samoa/Lebanon each winning their 3 games against the group consisting of Tonga/France/PNG, yet one team would miss out on for-and-against.

I get what you are saying but Tonga will beat Lebanon by 30 points. PNG will also beat Lebanon easily.

 

[undertaker]

Looks like that hospitality page from the RLWC website got taken down again.

Don't know if there's going to be changes made to the draw once it's re-uploaded

 

[paulmac]

No, that's not how it works.

The top 2 teams from pools B and C will qualify.

Essentially the teams across those 2 pools with the best records.

Really, England vs Tonga, Samoa vs Tonga will decide the two semi finalists.

It is how it works. Teams in Pool B play the teams in Pool C, not the teams in their own group. Therefore there is the possibility that all 3 teams in Pool B could win their games but one misses out, even though NZ or Aus will lose game and still progress.
It is a terrible, terrible format.
That and having 4 teams from the one continent in the same pool doesn’t happen in any serious World Cup. We have a long way to go.

 

[Last Week]

It is how it works. Teams in Pool B play the teams in Pool C, not the teams in their own group. Therefore there is the possibility that all 3 teams in Pool B could win their games but one misses out, even though NZ or Aus will lose game and still progress.
It is a terrible, terrible format.
That and having 4 teams from the one continent in the same pool doesn’t happen in any serious World Cup. We have a long way to go.

So your problem is for and against determining rankings? Is that right?

If teams played their own pool, what would you suggest happen in this scenario?

England beat Lebanon by 20.
Samoa beat Lebanon by 2.
England draw with Samoa.

Would you have an issue with Samoa qualifying with a worse for and against?

 

[adamkungl]

Guys Lebanon isnt gonna sweep shit, I've got more chance of winning powerball than they do of winning 3 games

 

[Willy2452]

It is how it works. Teams in Pool B play the teams in Pool C, not the teams in their own group. Therefore there is the possibility that all 3 teams in Pool B could win their games but one misses out, even though NZ or Aus will lose game and still progress.
It is a terrible, terrible format.
That and having 4 teams from the one continent in the same pool doesn’t happen in any serious World Cup. We have a long way to go.

Also, I just noticed that Pool A is the 4 teams with a Union Jack on their flag. The other 2 pools have no Union Jack.

 

[adamkungl]

There's no really good format for less than 16 teams without some flaws, but I think this one is towards least-bad despite some outlandish edge cases. It's way way better than 2008, stop being drama queens

 

[Last Week]

 

[undertaker]

England v PNG should be in Port Moresby. PNG is a co-host of the tournament, why send them to Wollongong to play in front of 10K when they instead they could play in front of 20K+ at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.

Agree with the sentiment that Lebanon v France could have been a standalone game, it definitely an easier match to market than what Newcastle got in Fiji v Cook Islands.

If the venues are final and are going to remain the way they are, but late changes to the fixtures are allowed before tickets go on sale to the general public, these are the swaps I'd do ASAP:

- Tonga vs Samoa should be moved from CommBank Stadium to Suncorp Stadium (hence, Lebanon vs France becomes a stand-alone fixture at CommBank Stadium)
- Australia vs Fiji should be moved from Suncorp Stadium to Newcastle
- Fiji vs Cook Islands should be moved from Newcastle to Wollongong.
- England vs PNG should be moved from Wollongong to Port Moresby.

Also, I'd swap between the New Zealand vs Cook Islands and New Zealand vs Fiji fixtures, so that New Zealand vs Fiji is in Christchurch instead of the Gold Coast.

 

[League Unlimited News]

Pools announced for RLWC26

With the draw for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup released and anticipation building, we take a look at the structure of the pools for the Men's, Women's and Wheelchair tournaments.

www.rlwc2026.com

 

[League Unlimited News]

Women's

 

[League Unlimited News]

Wheelchair