Rugby League World Cup 2017
October 27 - December 2, 2017
The 2017 Rugby League World Cup Final saw Australia defeat England 6 – 0
A key feature on the representative Rugby League schedule, the Rugby League World Cup is an international footy tournament contested by 14 Rugby League teams from around the globe.
2017 Rugby League World Cup
- Champions: Australia
- Top Points Scorer: Cameron Smith (AUS) with 50
- Top Try Scorer: Valentine Holmes (AUS) with 12
- Host Countries: Australia / New Zealand / PNG
- Edition: 15th
- Dates: October 27 – December 2, 2017
- Quarter-Finals: November 17 – November 19, 2017
- Semi-Finals: November 24 – November 25, 2017
- 2017 World Cup Final Result: Australia 6 – 0 England (December 2, 2017)
- Teams: 14
- Matches Played: 28
2017 Rugby League World Cup Results
RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP FINAL
AUSTRALIA 6 – 0 ENGLAND
- When: Saturday December 2, 2017
- Where: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Attendance: 40,033
- Man of the Match: Boyd Cordner
RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
AUSTRALIA 54 – 6 FIJI
- When: Friday November 24, 8:00pm (AEDT)
- Where: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Attendance: 22,073
- Man of the Match: Cameron Smith
TONGA 18 – 20 ENGLAND
- When: Saturday November 25, 4:00pm (AEDT)
- Where: Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
- Attendance: 30,003
- Man of the Match: Gareth Widdop
RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP QUARTERFINALS: RESULTS
AUSTRALIA 46 – 0 SAMOA
- When: Friday November 17, 8:30pm (AEDT)
- Where: Darwin Stadium
- Attendance: 13,473
- Man of the Match: Valentine Holmes (Australia)
TONGA 24 – 22 LEBANON
- When: Saturday November 18, 3:00pm (AEDT)
- Where: Christchurch Stadium
- Attendance: 8,309
- Man of the Match: Mitchell Moses (Lebanon)
NEW ZEALAND 2 – 4 FIJI
- When: Saturday November 18, 5:30pm (AEDT)
- Where: Wellington Regional Stadium
- Attendance: 12,713
- Man of the Match: Kevin Naiqama(Fiji)
ENGLAND 36 – 6 PAPUA NEW GUINEA
- When: Sunday November 19, 4:00pm (AEDT)
- Where: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
- Attendance: 10,563
- Man of the Match: Jermaine McGillvary (England)
Rugby League World Cup Results & Standings: Group Stage
GROUP A
| Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
PF |
PA |
+/- |
Pts |
| AUSTRALIA (Q) |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
104 |
10 |
+94 |
6 |
| ENGLAND (Q) |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
69 |
34 |
+35 |
4 |
| LEBANON (Q) |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
39 |
81 |
-42 |
2 |
| FRANCE (E) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
30 |
117 |
-87 |
0 |
GROUP B
| Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
PF |
PA |
+/- |
Pts |
| TONGA (Q) |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
110 |
44 |
+66 |
6 |
| NEW ZEALAND (Q) |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
134 |
42 |
+92 |
4 |
| SAMOA (Q) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
84 |
84 |
-44 |
1 |
| SCOTLAND (E) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
138 |
138 |
-114 |
1 |
GROUP C
| Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
PF |
PA |
+/- |
Pts |
| PAPUA NEW GUINEA (Q) |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
128 |
12 |
+116 |
6 |
| IRELAND (E) |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
76 |
32 |
+44 |
4 |
| WALES (E) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
18 |
156 |
-138 |
0 |
GROUP D
| Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
PF |
PA |
+/- |
Pts |
| FIJI (Q) |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
168 |
28 |
+140 |
6 |
| ITALY (E) |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
68 |
74 |
-6 |
2 |
| UNITED STATES (E) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
12 |
168 |
-156 |
0 |
2017 Rugby League World Cup Teams
| Country |
Captain |
Coach |
RLIF Rank |
Previous Appearances |
Best World Cup Result |
Qualification |
| Australia |
Cameron Smith |
Mal Meninga |
1 |
14 (All previous years) |
Winners: (1957, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2013) |
Co-hosts |
| England |
Sean O’Loughlin |
Wayne Bennett |
3 |
5 (1975, 1995, 2000, 2008, 2013) |
Runners-up: (1975, 1995) |
2013 Semi Finalists |
| Fiji |
Kevin Naiqama |
Mick Potter |
7 |
4 (1995, 2000, 2008, 2013) |
Semi Finals: (2008, 2013) |
2013 Semi Finalists |
| France |
Théo Fages |
FAurélien Cologni |
6 |
14 (All previous years) |
Runners-up: (1954, 1968) |
2013 Quarter Finalists |
| Ireland |
Liam Finn |
Mark Aston |
8 |
3 (2000, 2008, 2013) |
Quarter Finals: (2000, 2008) |
European qualifying group 2 winner |
| Italy |
Mark Minichiello |
Cameron Ciraldo |
12 |
1 (2013) |
Group Stage: (2013) |
European qualifying play-off winner |
| Lebanon |
Robbie Farah |
Brad Fittler |
18 |
1 (2000) |
Group Stage: (2000) |
Middle East-Africa play-off winner |
| New Zealand |
Adam Blair |
David Kidwell |
2 |
14 (All previous years)) |
Winners: (2008) |
Co-hosts |
| Papua New Guinea |
David Mead |
Michael Marum |
16 |
6 (1985–88, 1989–92, 1995, 2000, 2008, 2013) |
Quarter Finals: (2000) |
Co-hosts |
| Samoa |
Frank Pritchard |
Matt Parish |
5 |
4 (1995, 2000, 2008, 2013) |
Quarter Finals: (2000, 2013) |
2013 Quarter Finalists |
| Scotland |
Danny Brough |
Steve McCormack |
4 |
3 (2000, 2008, 2013) |
Quarter Finals: (2013) |
2013 Quarter Finalists |
| Tonga |
Sika Manu |
Kristian Woolf |
11 |
4 (1995, 2000, 2008, 2013) |
Group Stage: (1995, 2000, 2008, 2013) |
Asia-Pacific play-off winner |
| United States |
Mark Offerdahl |
Brian McDermott |
10 |
1 (2013) |
Quarter Finals: (2013) |
Americas qualifying group winner |
| Wales |
Craig Kopczak |
John Kear |
9 |
4 (1975, 1995, 2000, 2013) |
Semi Finals: (1995, 2000) |
European qualifying group 1 winner |
Including the 2017 Rugby League World Cup there have been 15 tournaments since 1954 and Australia have dominated the results with 11 title wins, most recently in 2013 and 2017.
The only other winning nations to win the Rugby League World Cup competition are Great Britain (3) and New Zealand (1).
Australia are the most successful team in the Rugby League World Cup competition. Photo Credit: ABC.
Betting on the Rugby League World Cup is a popular spring – summer option for footy fans missing the regular NRL season action that finishes up with the NRL Grand Final in early October.
The previous Rugby League World Tournaments took place in the years: 1954, 1957, 1960, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1985-1988, 1995, 2000, 2008, 2013 and 2017.
The upcoming Rugby League World Cup dates are set for 2021 and 2025.
The only teams to have played in all Rugby League World Cups to date are Australia, France and New Zealand.
In 1995 the Rugby League World Cup format was expanded and follows a similar system to other World Cup sporting competitions including the Football World Cup and Rugby Union World Cup.
Rugby League World Cup Finals
The final Rugby League World Cup tournament system has been in place since 2013 with the 14 teams divided into four groups. The Rugby League World Cup Final Tournament follows the qualifying stage of the competition, with the hose team the only one assured of a spot in the finals.
The first stage of the finals is the group stage and from that a total of eight teams make it through to the knockout Rugby League World Cup knockout quarter finals.
The four quarter-final winners face off in the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals to earn a spot in the World Cup Final.
Rugby League World Cup Host Nations
| Year |
Host/s |
| 1954 |
France |
| 1957 |
Australia |
| 1960 |
United Kingdom |
| 1968 |
Australia / New Zealand |
| 1970 |
United Kingdom |
| 1972 |
France |
| 1975 |
International |
| 1977 |
Australia / New Zealand |
| 1985-88 |
International |
| 1989-92 |
International |
| 1995 |
Untied Kingdom |
| 2000 |
United Kingdom / Ireland / France |
| 2008 |
Australia |
| 2013 |
United Kingdom / Ireland / France |
| 2017 |
Australia / New Zealand / PNG |
| 2021 |
England |
| 2025 |
Canada / United States |
Past Rugby League World Cup Winners
| Year |
Winner |
Score |
Runner-Up |
| 1954 |
Great Britain |
16-12 |
France |
| 1957 |
Australia |
Table Leader |
Great Britain |
| 1960 |
Great Britain |
Table Leader |
Australia |
| 1968 |
Australia |
20-2 |
France |
| 1970 |
Australia |
12-7 |
Great Britain |
| 1972 |
Great Britain |
10-10 |
Australia |
| 1975 |
Australia |
25-0 |
England |
| 1977 |
Australia |
13-12 |
Great Britain |
| 1985-88 |
Australia |
25-12 |
New Zealand |
| 1989-92 |
Australia |
10-6 |
Great Britain |
| 1995 |
Australia |
16-8 |
England |
| 2000 |
Australia |
40-12 |
New Zealand |
| 2008 |
New Zealand |
34-20 |
Australia |
| 2013 |
Australia |
34-2 |
New Zealand |
| 2017 |
Australia |
6-0 |
England |
| 2021 |
TBD |
TBD |
TBD |
| 2025 |
TBD |
TBD |
TBD |