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ISSUE 525 (OCT 2026) PICTURED – AVAILABLE FROM 2nd OCT 2026

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The World Cup is upon us – are you excited?
If the answer is yes, sit back and enjoy our preview, so you know your Iros from your To’os in time for the big kick-off.
If the answer is no, then it seems you’re not alone. But hopefully, by the end of our 26 pages of info and interviews, you’ll have caught the bug too.
Having lost two host countries (the USA then France), a year (it was originally scheduled for 2025) and six men’s teams (from 16 in 2022 to 10), there’s been plenty of talk about what the World Cup doesn’t have.
That includes free-to-air TV coverage in the UK, a debate our esteemed columnist Michael O’Hare gets stuck into.
But once these tournaments get underway, focus usually turns to the tries, tackles and contentious video-ref decisions that make our sport great.
England will hope to contribute fully to the story of this World Cup and while the odds may not favour them, George Williams and Vicky Whitfield tell us how they plan to pursue glory.
If they are looking for inspiration, they could do worse than look to Sir Billy Boston, a World Cup winner with Great Britain in 1960. The sport lost one of its true greats last month, and we have reflected on his achievements and legacy.
For those wondering about the absence of England’s brilliant wheelchair team – the World Cup holders, no less – on the front cover and the following pages, fear not. The later start for that tournament means we can give them – and all their rivals – full coverage in next month’s issue.