Rugby League World Cup 2021
October 23 - November 27, 2021
The next Rugby League World Cup is scheduled for 2021 in England
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.
2021 Rugby League World Cup
- Rugby World Cup Edition: 16th
- Host Nation: England
- Dates: October 23 – November 27, 2021
- Number of Teams: 16
- Scheduled Matches to Play: 31
Rugby League World Cup Draw
| Pool |
Group A |
Group B |
Group C |
Group D |
| Seeded |
 England |
 Australia |
 New Zealand |
 Tonga |
| Pot 1 |
 Samoa |
 Fiji |
 Lebanon |
 Papua New Guinea |
| Pot 2 |
 France |
 Scotland |
 Jamaica |
 Wales |
| Pot 3 |
 Greece |
 Italy |
 Ireland |
 Cook Islands |
2021 Rugby League World Cup Teams
| Team (Region) |
Qualification Method |
Previous Apperances |
Previous Best Result |
World Ranking |
| Jamaica (Americas) |
Americas Winner |
0 |
Debut |
20 |
| Australia (Asia-Pacific) |
Automatic |
15 |
Champions (1957, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1985-88, 1989-92, 1995, 2000, 2013, 2017) |
2 |
| Cook Islands (Asia-Pacific) |
Repechage Play-Off |
2 |
Group Stages (2000, 2013) |
23 |
| Fiji (Asia-Pacific) |
Automatic |
5 |
Semi-finals (2008, 2013, 2017) |
5 |
| Tonga (Asia-Pacific) |
Automatic |
5 |
Semi-finals (2017) |
4 |
| New Zealand (Asia-Pacific) |
Automatic |
15 |
Champions (2008) |
1 |
| Papua New Guinea (Asia-Pacific) |
Automatic |
7 |
Quarter-finals (2000, 2017) |
6 |
| Samoa (Asia-Pacific) |
Automatic |
5 |
Quarter-finals (2000, 2013, 2017) |
7 |
| England (Europe) |
Hosts |
6 |
Runners-Up (1975, 1995, 2017) |
3 |
| France (Europe) |
European Winners |
15 |
Runners-Up (1954, 1968) |
8 |
| Wales (Europe) |
European Runners-Up |
5 |
Semi-finals (1995, 2000) |
14 |
| Scotland (Europe) |
Europe Play-Off 1 |
4 |
Quarter-finals (2013) |
9 |
| Ireland (Europe) |
Europe Play-Off 2 |
4 |
Quarter-finals (2000, 2008) |
12 |
| Greece (Europe) |
Europe Play-Off 3 |
0 |
Debut |
11 |
| Italy (Europe) |
Europe Play-Off 4 |
2 |
Group Stages (2013, 2017) |
13 |
| Lebanon (Middle-East Africa) |
Automatic |
2 |
Quarter-finals (2017) |
10 |
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 |