TheRugby League World Cupis an internationalrugby leaguetournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by theInternational Rugby Leagueand was first held inFrancein1954,which was the first World Cup held for any form ofrugby football.[1]
Upcoming tournament 2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1954 |
| Number of teams | 10 (from 2026 finals) |
| Region | International(IRL) |
| Holders |  Australia(12th title) |
| Most titles | Australia(12 titles) |
| Website | rlwc2021.com |
| Related competition | Women's World Cup Wheelchair World Cup World Cup 9s |
The idea of a rugby league World Cup tournament was first mooted in the 1930s with the French proposal to hold a tournament in 1931, and again in 1951.[2]The tournament's structure, frequency, and size has varied significantly throughout its history.[3]The winners are awarded thePaul Barrière Trophy,named afterPaul Barrière,the French Rugby League President of the 1940s and 1950s. Three nations have won the tournament;Australiatwelve times,Great Britainthree times, andNew Zealandonce. Australia has been in the final of every World Cup, except the first in 1954, when they came third (considered to be a complete upset at the time, with bookmakers having Australia as strong favourites).
The latest World Cup was held inEnglandin 2022 after being delayed by a year due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
History
editPre–1994: Original round robin World Cup
edit1935–1960: Establishment and triennial competitions
edit
The Rugby League World Cup was an initiative of the French who had been campaigning for a competition since 1935. The idea was raised in 1951 byPaul Barrière,the President of theFrench Rugby League.In 1952,Rugby Football LeaguesecretaryBill Fallowfieldpersuaded the Rugby League Council to support the concept.[4]At a meeting inBlackpool,England in 1953, theInternational Boardaccepted Paul Barrière's proposal that France should be the nation to host[4]the first tournament to be officially known as the "Rugby World Cup".[5]In addition to the hosts, the tournament featured teams from Britain, Australia and New Zealand.[6]The1954 Rugby League World Cupwas won by Great Britain who defeated France in Paris on 13 November to claim the title.
Following the success of the maiden World Cup three years later another tournament was held in Australia, marking 50 years of rugby league in the country. Unlike the previous tournament, teams played each other in aleagueformat. It was then decided that the team that finished first in the league would be declared the winner. Australia proved victorious on their home ground.
Another three years would pass until the next World Cup in 1960, this time held in England. It would be the second time Great Britain won the competition. Despite a home nation victory the World Cup suffered from poor crowds due to the live broadcast of games for the first time.
1960–1977: Sporadic competitions
editAfter a disappointing attendances in 1960, the World Cup would not be played for another eight years. The competition had been scheduled to be held in France in 1965, this time with the inclusion of theSouth African team.[7]However, after an unsuccessful tour of Australia, the French withdrew, effectively postponing the tournament until 1968, when Australia and New Zealand hosted and the World Cup final made a return.
The World Cup found more success in the 70s with four tournaments being played. The first, the1972 World Cupwhere the final was contested between Great Britain and Australia ended 10–10, and the title was awarded to Great Britain by virtue of their superior record in the qualifiers. Great Britain were captained by WelshmanClive Sullivanwho was the first black player to captain any British national sports team. The final at theStade de Gerlandin Lyon witnessed what is (as of 2021) the last British team to win the Rugby League World Cup.[8]
This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(November 2018) |
In 1975, the competition underwent a radical overhaul with the tournament being held across multiple confederations. Great Britain was split into England and Wales due to Wales wanting to showcase the high level of talent they had on offer that year (no Scottish or Irish players made the original Great Britain squad). This resulted in the tournament increasing from four teams to five for the first time. There was not a final held to decide the champions of the 1975 tournament and so Australia won by virtue of topping the group standings. As Australia had not beaten England in that tournament afinal challenge matchwas hastily arranged which Australia would win 25–0.
In 1977, Great Britain competed again as a single entity. Although the final between Australia and Great Britain was a closely fought affair, public interest in the tournament waned due to the continuing tinkering with the format and it was not held again until the mid-1980s.
1982–1994: No host nation
editFrom 1985 to 1988, each nation played each other a number of times on a home and away basis with a number of these games also being considered part of various international tours that took place during the years in which these world cups were being played. At the end of that period, Australia met New Zealand atEden Park.The match was a physical encounter, and Australian captainWally Lewisplayed part of the match with a broken arm. The Kangaroos won the competition 25–12 in front of a capacity crowd of nearly 48,000 spectators.
This format was repeated from 1989 to 1992 (with games once again also being part of tours) and Australia won again, defeating Great Britain 10–6 atWembley Stadiumin front of 73,361 people. This crowd remained aRugby League World Cup record(and a record for any rugby league international match) until beaten by the 74,468 crowd which attended the 2013 World Cup final atOld Trafford.[9]The fifth nation to compete in these two tournaments was Papua New Guinea, where rugby league is the national, and most popular, sport.
1995–present: The modern World Cup
edit1995: Birth of the modern World Cup
editIn1995,the competition was held in England and Wales. It was again restructured, returning to the traditional "host / co-host" format, and intended (like in 1954) to be a triennial competition. The tournament expanded to ten teams with Fiji, Samoa, South Africa, and Tonga making their world cup deputes. Great Britain had also split permanently into England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, although only England and Wales qualified. Unlike previous tournaments where the top two teams in the table played in the final, a knockout stage was added, with quarter and semi-finals. Due to theSuper League war,players aligned with the Super League competition were not selected by the ARL to represent Australia, which meant the absence of many star players. The tournament, which was also held to celebrate the centenary of the sport, saw over 250,000 people attending the group stages and over 66,000 people attending the final, in which Australia defeated England 16–8.
2000: Super League delay, financial issues, and hiatus
editIntended for 1998, the next World Cup was delayed for two years due to theSuper League warand the subsequent re-structuring of rugby league's international governing bodies meant that the proposed 1998 World Cup was postponed.[10]
In2000,the World Cup was held in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, and expanded the field further, with sixteen teams entering. This tournament included aNew Zealand Maorirepresentative team, the only time this team has taken part, as well as debuts for the Cook Islands, Ireland, Russia, and Scotland. Australia won the tournament by beating New Zealand 40–12 in the final atOld Trafford,Manchester.In the same year, the firstWomen's Rugby League World Cupwas held, with New Zealand defeating Great Britain in the final.
Numerous issues, including poor organization and blown-out scorelines, meant that this tournament was seen as highly unsuccessful with an average attendance just half that of the previous tournament. Due to these problems the competition was put on indefinite hiatus and replaced with theRugby League Tri-Nations.
2008: Re-establishment and regular competitions
edit
After the failure of the 2000 World Cup, no plans were made for another tournament until2008with the competition reverting to a 10-team format. The tournament also moved from every three to every four years inline with most other major international sports competitions. Australia hosted the tournament and New Zealand were crowned champions for the first time by beating the host nation atLang Park,Brisbane.The tournament was once again seen as a success with a 91% average attendance increase on the previous competition. New Zealand became only the third team to win the world cup and the first other than Australia since 1972.
2013: Olympic delay and tournament growth
edit
2013saw England and Wales host the tournament and expanded to 14 teams. The tournament, originally scheduled for 2012, was moved very early in its organisation to 2013 due to the United Kingdom hosting the2012 Summer Olympics.[11]The competition was considered the most successful competition since 1995 in terms of attendances, exposure and financial output. The tournament saw Italy and the United States play in their first world cup. Australia took the title again after defeating New Zealand in the final by a score of 34–2. The final attendance became the record international rugby league attendance at 74,468.[12]
2017: Continued growth
edit2017 Rugby League World Cuptaking place in Australia, New Zealand and for the first time in Papua New Guinea. While Australia would claim the title once again and for an eleventh time, the tournament was considered highly successful in terms of competitiveness. The tournament would see Tonga beat New Zealand in the group stages with a score of 28–22 to top the group, the first time a team from outside the top 3 had beaten a top 3 nation in over two decades. New Zealand went on to play Fiji in the quarter-finals and lost once again with a score of just 4–2, knocking New Zealand out in the quarter-finals, the first time a tier 1 nation had exited the tournament at this early stage. Tonga played England in the semi-finals and while conceding 20 unanswered points, they would score 3 tries in just the last seven minutes to pull the score back to 20–18, eventually losing by this close margin. The final was contested between Australia and England atLang Park,Brisbaneand Australia won by just 6–0, the lowest score in world cup final history.[13]
2021: Further growth despite COVID-19 impact
edit
England were chosen to host the2021 tournamentwhich was postponed to 2022 due to Australia and New Zealand withdrawing due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[14][15][16][17]with organisers expressing a desire to see a total of one million fans attend games. This tournament saw the number of teams increased to 16 once again, with Greece and Jamaica debuting in the competition.[18]In 2021, thewomen'sandwheelchaircompetitions were given equal prominence with the men's tournament, as a result all three competition were run simultaneously for the first time.[19][20]Australia again won the competition, beating final debutants Samoa 30–10.[21][22]The 2021 tournament was the most watched rugby league world cup in history,[23]and was regarded as a sporting, commercial, and social success by the IRL.[24]
2025/26: Hosting issues
editA proposal was put forward in 2016 to hold the 2025 Rugby League World Cup in the United States and Canada,[25][26][27]but in December 2018 plans for the tournament to be held in North America were scrapped due to financial concerns.[28]
On 11 January 2022, it was announced France would host the tournament in 2025,[29][30][31][32]however on 15 May 2023 France pulled out of hosting the tournament after a newly elected French government withdrew financial support.[33][34][35][36][37]A day later, New Zealand announced they were considering a bid, but would possibly require a delay to 2026.[38]
On 3 August, the IRL announced that the tournament would be postponed to 2026 and held in the southern hemisphere with only 10 teams taking part.[39][40][41][42][43]It was later confirmed on 24 July 2024 that Australia would host the tournament with a number of games co-hosted by Papua New Guinea.[44][45][46][47]
2030
editWith the announcement of the 2025 World Cup being moved to 2026 came confirmation that the following competition would be held in 2030. In the announcementInternational Rugby Leagueconfirmed that the tournament would be held once again as a stand alone competition with the women's and wheelchair tournaments held separately in2028and2029respectfully, all on a four-year cycle.[39][43]
Trophy
editThe World Cup trophy was commissioned by FrenchFédération Française de Rugby à XIIIpresidentPaul Barrièreat a cost of eight million francs, and then donated to theInternational Rugby League Boardto be used for the inaugural competition in 1954.[48]This trophy was used and presented to the winning nation for the first four tournaments, before being stolen in 1970. After its recovery, the trophy was reinstated for the 2000 tournament.
Format
editQualification
editQualifying rounds were first introduced for the2000 World Cup.Hosts and teams reaching the knockout rounds of the previous tournament automatically qualify for the next. The remaining spots are achieved through regional qualification tournaments, split between the fourInternational Rugby Leagueconfederation Asia-Pacific, Americas, Europe, and Middle East-Africa. Because of a changing number of teams making the finals and entering the qualifiers, and the unpredictability of the geographic spread of teams automatically qualifying, the format of the qualification tournament has changed with each edition of the tournament.
Finals
editThe Rugby League World Cup has followed a varied range of formats throughout its history as the number of teams participating has increased.
The current format has been in use since the 2021 tournament, in addition to the 2000 tournament. This format features 16 teams split into four groups of four playing a single round robin. Each team is awarded two points for a win and one point for a draw. The top two teams from each group qualify for the knockout stage.
The eight teams in the quarter-finals play each other with the four winners progressing to the semi-finals before the World Cup final. If the teams are level after 80 minutes extra time will be played and if the two teams are still level after extra time, agolden pointwill be played.
This will be temporary altered for the 2026 tournament due to its late rescheduling, the exact format to be used remains unknown.
Hosts
editDue to the early World Cups being contested between Australia, England, France and New Zealand and the fact rugby league is most popular in these regions they have regularly hosted the World Cup between themselves. World Cups in1985–88and1989–92were all jointly hosted by the four founding nations.
New Zealand has never solely hosted a World Cup but they have co-hosted with Australia on three occasions with 2017 also jointly co-hosted with Papua New Guinea. England have co-hosted once with Wales in 2013 although the 2000 World Cup was played across the UK as well as some games in Ireland and France.
France hosted the first World Cup in 1954 and again in 1972 as well as hosting games at the 2000 and 2013 World Cups.
Despite the World Cup mainly being hosted by England, Australia, France and New Zealand, countries such asUAE,South Africaand the United States andCanadahave applied to host the tournament in the past.
| Confederation | Total | Hosts |
|---|---|---|
| Asia-Pacific | 6 | 1957:Australia 1968: Australia, New Zealand1975: Australia,New Zealand*1977: Australia,New Zealand2008: Australia2017: Australia,New Zealand, Papua New Guinea2026: Australia
|
| Europe | 9 | 1954: France1960:  Great Britain1970: Great Britain1972: France,1975: France,Great Britain*1995:  England, Wales2000: England,France, Ireland, Scotland,Wales2013: England,Wales2021: England
|
| Middle East-Africa | 0 | |
| Americas | 0 |
- Co-hosted between confederation
NB:AsGreat Britainwas theIRLnation until 1995, the United Kingdom is used to refer to host nations before this time regardless of the number ofhome nationswhich actually hosted the tournament.
Stadiums
editIn total, 81 stadiums have hosted world cup games over the 14 tournaments.Headingley StadiuminLeedshas hosted the tournament the most times, having had games in eight world cups withCentral Park,WiganandLang Park,Brisbanehaving hosted six tournaments. 52 stadiums have hosted matches in just one tournament. The most stadiums used in a tournament was in 2000 when 26 stadiums were used; the stadium capacity was the highest ever at 704,400. However, the occupancy was also the lowest ever at just 37.46%.
The largest stadium in terms of capacity ever used wasWembley Stadium,Londonwith a seating capacity of 90,000; the stadium was used in the 2013 tournament as the venue for the semi-final double-header. The smallest stadium ever used was also in 2013 whenThe Gnoll,Neath,with a capacity of 5,000 hosted a game betweenWalesandCook Islands.Despite this, it was not the lowest attended game; this was in the 2000 World Cup when just 1,497 attended the game betweenWalesandLebanonatStradey Park,Llanelli.
The cities with the most stadiums used areSydneyand London with 4 each.HullandAucklandare the cities with the next highest number with 3 each.
| Rank | Country | Stadiums |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | England
|
33 |
| 2 | Australia
|
21 |
| 3 | France
|
13 |
| 4 | Wales
|
7 |
| 5 | New Zealand
|
6 |
| 6 | Ireland
|
3 |
| 7 | Papua New Guinea
|
2 |
| Scotland
|
2 |
Results
edit
Notes;
- ^Despite the 1972 Final ending in a draw, Great Britain were awarded the World Cup having finished top in the group stage.
- ^Despite a game being played after the final Group game, this was not a Final as Australia had already been crowned Champions.
- ^the 1975 World Cup was expanded to 5 teams as England and Wales entered instead of Great Britain. No Scottish or Irish players made the original Great Britain squad.
- ^Until 1995 the world cup was a round robin system with the top two playing in the final. From 1995 the world cup changed to a groups and knockout format.
- ^Despite England and Wales were sole designated hosts, some matches were played in Ireland and France
- ^Postponed to 2022 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic
- ^Intended for 2025, but postponed due to the withdrawal of France as hosts nation.
- ^Australia are the host nation but some games will be played in Papua New Guinea
Summary
editIn total, 21 teams have competed at the World Cup. Of these, only three have won the World Cup, with Australia being by far the most successful with 12 titles. Great Britain has won three titles, however since 1995 have competed separately as England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. New Zealand became only the third team to win the World Cup in 2008. England, France and Samoa are the only teams to have played in the final and not won. Wales' best result was third under the old format and have made the semi-finals twice while Fiji have appeared in three while Tonga have made the semi-finals just once. Papua New Guinea achieved fourth place under the old format and have made it to three quarter-finals. Four other teams; Ireland, Lebanon, Scotland and the USA have all made the quarter-finals bringing the total amount of teams to reach the knockout stage to 14.
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third / Fourth / Semi-finals | Top four total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia
|
12(1957, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2013, 2017, 2021) | 3(1960, 1972, 2008) | 1(1954) | 16 |
| Great Britain[a]
|
3(1954, 1960, 1972) | 4(1957, 1970, 1977, 1992) | 2(1968, 1988) | 9 |
| New Zealand
|
1(2008) | 3(1985–88, 2000, 2013) | 11(1954, 1957, 1960, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1992, 1995, 2021) | 15 |
| England
|
3(1975, 1995, 2017) | 4(2000, 2008, 2013, 2021) | 7 | |
| France
|
2(1954, 1968) | 6(1957, 1960, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1992) | 8 | |
 Samoa
|
1(2021) |
1 | ||
| Wales
|
3(1975, 1995, 2000) |
3 | ||
 Fiji
|
3(2008, 2013, 2017) |
3 | ||
| Papua New Guinea
|
1(1988) |
1 | ||
 Tonga
|
1(2017) |
1 |
Records
editAttendance
editMatch attendance
editTop 10 match attendances.
| Rank | Attendance | Stadium | Year | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 74,468 | Old Trafford | 2013 | Final |
| 2 | 73,631 | Wembley Stadium (1923) | 1989–92 | Final |
| 3 | 67,575 | Wembley Stadium | 2013 | Semi-final double header |
| 4 | 67,502 | Old Trafford | 2021 | Final |
| 5 | 66,540 | Wembley Stadium (1923) | 1995 | Final |
| 6 | 62,256 | Sydney Cricket Ground | 1968 | Group stage |
| 7 | 58,655 | Sydney Cricket Ground | 1957 | Group stage |
| 8 | 54,290 | Sydney Cricket Ground | 1968 | Final |
| 9 | 50,599 | Lang Park | 2008 | Final |
| 10 | 50,077 | Sydney Cricket Ground | 1957 | Group stage |
See also
edit
Notes
editReferences
editInline
edit- ^Folkard, 2003:337
- ^Richard William Cox; Wray Vamplew; Grant Jarvie (2000).Encyclopedia of British Sport.UK: ABC-CLIO. p. 426.ISBN9781851093441.
- ^McCann, Liam (2006).Rugby: Facts, Figures and Fun.UK: AAPPL Artists' and Photographers' Press. p. 80.ISBN9781904332541.
- ^abWaddingham, Steve (2008-06-14)."Why this trophy for winning the rugby league World Cup?".The Courier-Mail.Brisbane. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-09-26.Retrieved10 January2010.
- ^SPARC, 2009:28
- ^AAP (1953-01-19)."World Cup Suggestion".The Sydney Morning Herald.Australia. p. 7.Retrieved2009-12-25.
- ^AAP; Reuter (1962-08-15)."League Cup Year Fixed".The Sydney Morning Herald.Auckland. p. 18. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-01-03.Retrieved2009-10-06.
- ^"When Great Britain won the World Cup".BBC.Retrieved9 October2020.
- ^AAP (1 December 2013)."Record rugby league crowd for World Cup final".stuff.co.nz.Retrieved1 December2013.
- ^John Coffey; Bernie Wood (2008).100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908-2008.Huia Publishers. p. 302.ISBN9781869693312.
- ^"RLWC2013 venues".2013 rugby league world cup official website.Rugby League International Federation Ltd. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011.Retrieved3 September2011.
- ^Lucas, Dan (2013-11-30)."Rugby League World Cup final: New Zealand v Australia – as it happened".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^"Australia 6 England 0".BBC Sport.2 December 2017.Retrieved13 December2017.
- ^Walter, Brad (5 August 2021)."2021 World Cup officially postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic".nrl.com.Retrieved5 August2021.
- ^Heppenstall, Ross (2023-06-02)."Australia and New Zealand withdraw from Rugby League World Cup".The Times.ISSN0140-0460.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^"Australia and NZ pull out of World Cup".BBC Sport.2021-07-22.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^"Australia and New Zealand withdraw from Rugby League World Cup due to coronavirus concerns".Sky Sports.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^"Rugby League World Cup to feature 16 teams in 2021".Sky Sports. 2 February 2016.Retrieved11 September2016.
- ^Darbyshire, Drew (21 October 2019)."Women and wheelchair players to receive equal pay to men at 2021 World Cup".Love Rugby League.Retrieved2 May2021.
- ^Ed, Dixon (2 July 2020)."2021 Rugby League World Cup and IRL team up on broadcast production - SportsPro Media".www.sportspromedia.com.Retrieved2 May2021.
- ^"Rugby League World Cup 2021".www.rlwc2021.com.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^Sutcliffe, Steve (19 November 2022)."Australia 30-10 Samoa: Kangaroos claim third consecutive World Cup with hard-fought victory".BBC Sport.Retrieved19 November2022.
- ^"RLWC 2021 Becomes Most Watched Rugby League".8 November 2022.
- ^"Rugby League World Cup 2021 delivers on its promise to be biggest, best and most inclusive in rugby league history".
- ^Fletcher, Paul (20 November 2016)."Rugby League World Cup: North America set to host 2025 tournament".BBC Sport.Retrieved21 November2016.
- ^"Rugby League World Cup moves to North America in 2025".stuff sport. 20 November 2016.Retrieved21 November2016.
- ^"North America to Host 2025 Rugby league World Cup".Canada Rugby League Association.2016-12-01.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^Adrian Proszenko (2018-12-04)."US World Cup hosting plans torpedoed by money trouble".Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved2018-12-28.
- ^XIII, FFR (2022-01-07)."La France organisera la Coupe du Monde de Rugby à XIII en 2025".Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII(in French).Retrieved2022-10-15.
- ^"France to host 2025 World Cup".National Rugby League.8 January 2022.Retrieved8 January2022.
- ^"French Prime Minister Jean Castex's pride after securing Rugby League World Cup".YorkshireLive.2022-01-11.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^"France set to host the 2025 Rugby League World Cups".Asia Pacific Rugby League.2022-01-11. Archived fromthe originalon 2022-01-27.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^"France pulls out of hosting Rugby League World Cup".BBC Sport.Retrieved2023-05-15.
- ^"France no longer able to host 2025 Rugby League World Cup".seriousaboutrl.com.Retrieved15 May2023.
- ^Bower, Aaron (15 May 2023)."2025 Rugby League World Cup in doubt after France pull out of staging event".The Guardian.Retrieved15 May2023.
- ^"France withdraw from hosting 2025 Rugby League World Cup over financial concerns".Sky Sports.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^"Confirmed: France will not host 2025 Rugby League World Cup".LoveRugbyLeague.2023-05-15.Retrieved2023-06-02.
- ^Hytner, Mike (2023-05-16)."New Zealand makes bid to co-host 2025 Rugby League World Cup with Australia after France pulls out".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved2023-05-16.
- ^ab"Southern hemisphere to host 2026 World Cup".BBC Sport.August 3, 2023.
- ^"Reduced Rugby League World Cup to take place in 2026".The Guardian.3 August 2023.
- ^"2026 Rugby League World Cup to be hosted in southern hemisphere".The Independent.August 3, 2023.
- ^"Rugby League World Cup 2025 to be delayed; full details announced for new look tournament".LoveRugbyLeague.August 3, 2023.
- ^ab"Rugby League World Cup: Southern hemisphere to host tournament in 2026 after France withdrawal".
- ^"Australia to host 2026 World Cup".BBC Sport.2024-07-24.Retrieved2024-07-24.
- ^"ARLC welcomes Rugby League World Cup 2026 hosting rights".24 July 2024.
- ^"Australia confirmed as host for three Rugby League World Cups in 2026".
- ^"Why Australia is staging 2026 World Cup with Papua New Guinea involvement revealed".24 July 2024.
- ^RLIF."Past Winners: 1954".Rugby League International Federation. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-10-12.Retrieved2008-10-25.
- ^"Papua New Guinea to co-host Rugby League World Cup in 2017".Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Australian Associated Press.8 October 2015.Retrieved8 October2015.
General
edit- Folkard, Claire (2003).Guinness World Records 2003.Bantam Books.ISBN9780553586367.
- McCann, Liam (2006).Rugby: Facts, Figures and Fun.AAPPL.ISBN9781904332541.
- Independent Review Committee (February 2009)."Rugby League - Contributing to New Zealand's Future"(PDF).New Zealand:SPARC.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2010-05-22.Retrieved13 December2009.
- Rleague.com (February 23, 2010)."20 TEAMS TO VIE FOR WORLD CUP GLORY IN 2013".[International Rugby League]. Archived fromthe originalon March 5, 2010.RetrievedFebruary 23,2010.
External links
edit
- Official Rugby League World Cup Website
- Rugby League International Federation
- BBC website,History (1954–2000) retrieved 2 May 2006
- "RLIF Meeting",2008 World Cup European Rugby League Federation, retrieved May 8, 2006
- "Kiwi hangover after the hype",2013 World Cup retrieved 8 May 2006
- Rugby League World Cup at napit.co.uk
Further reading
edit- Andrews, Malcolm & Butcher, Tim (2009).The Rugby League World Cup.League Publications.ISBN9781901347203.