New World Cup format confirmed for 2026

[Mojo]

6 hours ago, Dunbar said:

I don’t know if it has been mentioned already but for a 10 team competition, I would like to see two groups of 5.  Not least to do away with the Super Group format which is inherently unfair to the lowest ranked nation in the group.

Based on the 2021(2) comp and some assumptions of ranking, it would look like this.

Group 1

Australia

England

Fiji

Tonga

France

 

Group 2

Samoa

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

Lebanon

Italy/Wales

 

Top two in each group into the semi finals (cross group) and then the final.

For me, the benefits are that you are quickly into games that matter.  Each group has at least three teams capable of being into the top 2, if not more.  Loads of competitive games.  Every team is guaranteed 4 games.

Then, no quarter finals so no blow outs.  Straight into two really competitive semi finals and the finals.  Intensity from start to finish.

Terrible idea. Not having a quarter-final makes the game even more of a joke. It's the world cup you need to have quarter finals. Quarter-finals also gives the likes of fiji and png the chance to beat the big teams. Fiji on there day can beat anyone. PNG also on there day can cause a few upsets. Going straight to semi-finals is also disrespectful to those teams and why RU is miles ahead of us on the international stage. This is the first time that we have 5 to 6 international teams that can beat each other on there day.

[frank]

 Better to call the darned thing off. Ten teams in the WC  and six of  of those stacked with NRL players. Some of those selected having never been to the country they represent. Also the risk of alienating some countries who could possible  think of giving the game away.

[Dunbar]

34 minutes ago, Mojo said:

Terrible idea. Not having a quarter-final makes the game even more of a joke. It's the world cup you need to have quarter finals. Quarter-finals also gives the likes of fiji and png the chance to beat the big teams. Fiji on there day can beat anyone. PNG also on there day can cause a few upsets. Going straight to semi-finals is also disrespectful to those teams and why RU is miles ahead of us on the international stage. This is the first time that we have 5 to 6 international teams that can beat each other on there day.

So your preference is that in a 10 team World Cup, after the group stages 8 of them progress to the quater finals?

[pahars]

The Cricket World Cup always drove me mad! Constant switching formats and the number of teams. It went from 9 to 12 to 14 to 16 back to 14 then to 10 and just when I’d got fed up with the whole thing England won and it didn’t matter anymore! 
 

I think I’ve found a solution

[AB90]

20 minutes ago, pahars said:

The Cricket World Cup always drove me mad! Constant switching formats and the number of teams. It went from 9 to 12 to 14 to 16 back to 14 then to 10 and just when I’d got fed up with the whole thing England won and it didn’t matter anymore! 
 

I think I’ve found a solution

That is a good point. The cricket World Cup is only 10 teams and cricket has a much larger world wide footprint than rugby league does.

[Mojo]

42 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

So your preference is that in a 10 team World Cup, after the group stages 8 of them progress to the quater finals?

Yup I would still do it. 10 team tournament makes it ever more sense to do it. A lot more competitive games. The last world cup the Kiwis were lucky to make it to the semi finals after beating fiji. Like I said before we have 5-6 teams who can beat anyone on their day. Why would you cut it down to 4 teams in a semi final?

[Mojo]

1 hour ago, frank said:

 Better to call the darned thing off. Ten teams in the WC  and six of  of those stacked with NRL players. Some of those selected having never been to the country they represent. Also the risk of alienating some countries who could possible  think of giving the game away.

Were you born in 1905? It's a new era now mate, move on with the times wii ya

[Dunbar]

3 minutes ago, Mojo said:

Yup I would still do it. 10 team tournament makes it ever more sense to do it. A lot more competitive games. The last world cup the Kiwis were lucky to make it to the semi finals after beating fiji. Like I said before we have 5-6 teams who can beat anyone on their day. Why would you cut it down to 4 teams in a semi final?

What format would you use to take 8 teams out of 10 in the groups through to the quarters?

The quarter finals would be meaningful but the group stages wouldn't.  How can this create a lot more competitive games?

[Pulga]

I'd like to see it scrapped if they could use the money for actual development.

Do I trust that the money would end up in the right hands? No.

[gingerjon]

6 hours ago, AB90 said:

That is a good point. The cricket World Cup is only 10 teams and cricket has a much larger world wide footprint than rugby league does.

Yup, and it causes significant problems as a result.

But, and this is somewhat relevant, the current set up is the result of a money/power grab by the BCCI that the ICC failed to prevent.

[Archie Gordon]

I really don't like the 4-3-3 group format that we are inevitably getting but the 'super group' mustn't be the 3 best teams plus a sacrificial lamb again. That was so small-time and inviting (and deserving of) ridicule.

Better to have the current champions, a second team ranked 2-4, a third ranked 5-7, and a fourth ranked 8-10. Then just 2 advance from the group of 4.

[Gomersall]

8 hours ago, Mojo said:

Terrible idea. Not having a quarter-final makes the game even more of a joke. It's the world cup you need to have quarter finals. Quarter-finals also gives the likes of fiji and png the chance to beat the big teams. Fiji on there day can beat anyone. PNG also on there day can cause a few upsets. Going straight to semi-finals is also disrespectful to those teams and why RU is miles ahead of us on the international stage. This is the first time that we have 5 to 6 international teams that can beat each other on there day.

So in a 2x5 structure you’re playing 20 games (10 in each league) to eliminate 2 teams! That’s almost as bizarre as having more than 50% of teams in a league eligible for a play off system. Not for me.

Edited August 6, 2023 by Gomersall

[HawkMan]

There are various ways a 10 team format could proceed. It's not set in stone that in a group every team has to play each other. Cricket has one group of 10, all playing each other, but that only works because a team can play a game every other day. We could have in RLWC , one group of 10, each play four games. The fixtures worked out by ranking,  top 5 ranked teams play two games against others in top 5 and two against bottom 5 ranked and vice versa. You end up with league table of 10 playing 4 games. Bottom 5 eliminated,  top 5 progress.

Then 4th plays 5th in Quarter Final Eliminator,  then semis and final.

Am I being  serious? I'll save  everybody the trouble and put the emoji up myself.

[Dunbar]

4 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

So in a 2x5 structure you’re playing 20 games (10 in each league) to eliminate 2 teams! That’s almost as bizarre as having more than 50% of teams in a league eligible for a play off system. Not for me.

He just hasn't thought it through.  You cannot have any kind of group structure to take 10 to 8 in any meaningful way.

As you say, two groups of 5 would mean 20 games to eliminate two teams and if you went with 4, 3, 3 then there would be at least one group where you wouldn't eliminate any teams.  It just doesn't work to try and manufacture 8 quarter finalists from a 10 team competition.

[GeordieSaint]

2 x leagues of 5 is the only rational option followed by a SF and Final. 6 games to win the WC.

[Dunbar]

10 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

2 x leagues of 5 is the only rational option followed by a SF and Final. 6 games to win the WC.

I agree it is the only rational option.

Which is why it won't happen.

[Pulga]

On 05/08/2023 at 08:13, mrfranco said:

To me it suggests a compromise: NRL wanted 8 and the RFL/Europeans wanted more, saying "we've already told 8 teams they're in, we need more", so NRL said "yeah, Ok, two more then. We had 10 in 2008, we can do that again".  That's how I imagine it went, anyway...

I think there could be truth behind this but I think the NRL wanted 10 and waved the Lions Tour carrot in their face if they went along with it.

[Griff]

22 hours ago, The Partisan said:

Apologies if this has been covered earlier in the thread but the reducing of the number of teams in a "world" titled tournament has also been evident in the Rugby Union code.

The Under 20's comp (previously played as 19's or 21s) recently played in South Africa was a twelve team tournament. 

It began in 2008 as a 16 team tournament reducing to 12 a few years later for this annual event. 

It is known as the World Championship these days. 

Played alongside it or just after is an 8 team World Trophy...held this year in Kenya....a  nearby neighbour of South Africa. This tournament commenced af the completion of the Championship.  

It is basically the second tier and has a qualifying process as well. 

Promotion and Relegation exists between the two comps. 

 

Perhaps this is an option for Rugby League to look at.

20 countries still get to play in a " World" event. 

 

In 2026 the 10 team World Cup tournament could be held in Oz / NZ ....with a 6 team World Regional Champions Trophy played alongside it in PNG / Noumea.  

Then grow it from there. Maximum of 12 in the Championship...Maximum of 8 in the Trophy. Played concurrently (like the Womens was for 2021 RLWC). 

Venues to be geographically nearby to allow a double header finals day or two seperate finals accessible to fans attending both tournaments.

So 2030 it is England / Wales with the trophy in France. 

Fast forward to 2054 ... It is a Centenary World Championship event in France ....with a Trophy tournament in the Netherlands.   (Maybe a third tier shield in Serbia to celebrate their centenary in RL )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had an Emerging Nations World Cup in 1995. Cooks beat Ireland in the final at Bury.

[HawkMan]

Stand alone Women’s WC from 2028, has what's happening in Oz now influenced thinking about Women’s sport. Any lessons to learn from the NZ AUS 2023 tournament ?

Edited August 6, 2023 by HawkMan

[Pulga]

20 minutes ago, Griff said:

We had an Emerging Nations World Cup in 1995. Cooks beat Ireland in the final at Bury.

And 2018. Malta won.

[The Partisan]

19 minutes ago, Griff said:

We had an Emerging Nations World Cup in 1995. Cooks beat Ireland in the final at Bury.

Yes I remember it well. 

Are you suggesting we bring it back ? 

Have all the participants of '95 now emerged ? 

Morocco and Moldavia in particular. 

 

[The Partisan]

12 minutes ago, Pulga said:

And 2018. Malta won.

Indeed they did. 

Poor weather impacted on the tournament from memory. 

Any upates on the progress of all the participants ?

Obviously Greece featured in last years 2021 RLWC.

 

 

[Gomersall]

1 hour ago, Griff said:

We had an Emerging Nations World Cup in 1995. Cooks beat Ireland in the final at Bury.

And in 2000. I went to New Craven Park to see Morocco v Japan.

[N2022]

A group of 4, two groups of 3?

Top team in group of 4 goes straight to Semi Final. 

Bottom team in each group eliminated.

The other 6 play Quarter Finals.

Bit convoluted, with downside of fans maybe being unsure of pathway to final tickets-wise but that is the case in.many tournaments. Crucially it means more group games have something at stake.

[Damien]

31 minutes ago, N2022 said:

A group of 4, two groups of 3?

Top team in group of 4 goes straight to Semi Final. 

Bottom team in each group eliminated.

The other 6 play Quarter Finals.

Bit convoluted, with downside of fans maybe being unsure of pathway to final tickets-wise but that is the case in.many tournaments. Crucially it means more group games have something at stake.

That would make for an incredibly boring group stage.