Although the 2026 Rugby League World Cups will be a hard-sell in France for various reasons, Super League now brings all sorts of possibilities with two French clubs, plus a high-profile game in Paris to look forward to.
IN 2026, on this side of the channel, there will be a big elephant in the room.
A major international competition, involving teams of five continents, with many newcomers and very small countries taking part in it for the first time in their history. A mammoth event organised by three big nations. Excitement is already here. It has been here since the draw actually. A draw you could watch live on your TV set and whose rules were easy to understand.
That competition is … the men’s football World Cup, to be held this summer in North America. Oh sorry, you thought I was referring to that regional competition we’ll have this autumn in Oceania?
Actually, the problem is that even if our World Cups will be played after that giant event, it will be more complicated than usual to raise the interest of the French public in such a context. Moreover, the least we can say is that the three Rugby League World Cups are not at all designed for countries like France.
The men’s team technically has no chance of reaching the semi-finals. Unfortunately, at least in France, men’s teams are still the flagship of the sport they are affiliated with. And only a spectacular effort could persuade the TV channels to change their habits and televise a game.
Our women’s team may do a terrific job, and they do have a chance against Fiji and Papua New Guinea but in case of victory, the “double-glass ceiling” in France (rugby league/women) may prevent them for receiving the spotlight they deserve.
Our best chance lies with the wheelchair team, which has a real prospect of winning their tournament. If they succeed, we may finally attract some attention, unless rugby union and its round ball wheelchair game parasites the event.
As you can imagine, nothing is easy in France, and unfortunately these 2026 World Cups, which are perfectly suited to the Oceanian market, will be difficult to sell to the self-centred French mainstream media. And, as usual we may have to wait until the last moment to be sure that the events will be televised at all.
France is yet the gateway to Continental Europe so, in terms of expansion, the organisation of the 2026 tournaments will be like shooting in the dark. The inverse of the model that football, union and many other sports have been following.
Now don’t get me wrong. In terms of sport, it will be a tremendous opportunity for our three teams to have the top-quality international calendar they deserve. At least this year.
But 2026, far from the French media spotlight, may bring answers to some intriguing questions.
Firstly, can a French national sports federation reconquer France from outside Paris or Greater Paris? On 20th December last year, the French Rugby League Federation inaugurated their new headquarters in Toulouse.
Previously, it was no secret, that the capital of French rugby league had been Carcassonne. After a previous move from Paris which sounded like a retreat, almost as a defeat. Yes, there has been decentralisation in France, but Paris still remains the place where you’ll find the Presidency of the Republic, the government, and the heads of many French national mainstream media. Leaving Paris was therefore a strong negative symbol. Most French federations have their offices there except a few like the National Ski Federation, whose headquarters are based close to the Alps.
Maintaining a head office in Paris had become too costly, yet the move from Carcassonne to Toulouse – soon the third largest-city in France – is bolder than what you might think. Toulouse is one of the capitals of rugby (both codes) in France. A city where rugby union rules; thus, the former move, which looks like a mere retreat, is now replaced with a more strategic decision.
Rugby à XIII lost one capital, the capital of France, but gained another, the “capital of Rugby” as the Mayor of Toulouse himself called it during the inauguration.
But you can’t completely skip Paris, which brings me to my second question; in today’s France, can French rugby league fill a stadium outside its traditional heartlands? The challenge has been taken up by the Catalans Dragons.
Good news – not only will the public be able to attend an exciting game between the Dragons and the Cherry and Whites of Wigan, in Paris, but it has been confirmed that this June fixture will be also a double-header with the Super XIII Grand Final played as curtain raiser. At the time of writing, the Perpignan club had announced 6,000 tickets sold (2,000 on the first day of sales).
A full stadium, or at least a well-filled one, will, beyond the economic aspects, have a strong psychological impact. For the French general public, the concepts of “social proof” and the “bandwagon effect” are far from empty buzzwords!
Given that Stade Jean Bouin has a capacity of around a 20,000, if you count the Wigan fans, the Catalans supporters, the fans of the two Super XIII finalists and you don’t forget the Greater Paris Treizistes (I will always stress that there IS still a rugby league presence there, with several clubs, which didn’t disappear with the demise of PSG XIII), plus a handful of well-chosen invitations, filling the stadium is entirely achievable.
In 2026, we may have an answer to a third interesting question.
Can Super League sustain two French clubs? And in particular Toulouse, which tend to be singled out for criticism by some the English clubs – or, I dare say, of certain media or clubs which tend to regard the Dragons and Toulouse as persona non grata in an originally British competition.
Toulouse already shows some encouraging signs, having taken a well-taught lesson from their 2022 relegation.
Finally, there is one last one question that was tragically raised in December last year. Who will carry on the terrific work of Steve Brady (aka “Catalan media”) who has sadly passed away?
I never met Steve in person but I exchanged a lot of communications with him as I was one of his enthusiastic readers. Steve combined many qualities; he was a genuine Treiziste and a professional journalist, a sports journalist always on the field. He lived in France close to the area of Perpignan, which gave him a unique perspective on our rugby. He knew our strengths and weaknesses, sometimes played humorously with the clichés about France but never against us.
Steve was a Wiganer but supported a French club, and not just any club, Palau-del-Vidre (aka the Palau Broncos). He was not only enthusiastic about our rugby but also a constant advocate for the Dragons of course, but also for Toulouse Olympique.
French Rugby League will miss him.
And I know what he would probably have said to me on social media after reading my columns and my pessimistic views about the upcoming World Cups.
“Pierre, mon pote, didn’t you have your croissant and your espresso this morning?”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 517 (February 2026)