The laws used for this year’s Rugby League World Cup have been confirmed, as well as an announcement on how the disciplinary procedures will work.
Rugby league is one of very few elite professional sports where there are different rules dependent on the competition, which, given the fact that there are only two elite competitions, is even more bizarre.
Both the NRL and Super League, whilst adhering to the same principles of the sport, have minor differences and it’s been confirmed, as expected, that the 2026 Rugby League World Cup will follow NRL and NRLW rules.
Whilst expected, it’s still a slight inconvenience for England, who will have a large percentage of their squad coming from Super League, where certain rules are slightly different.
One positive is that newly-appointed head coach Brian McDermott works in the NRL and he has hinted that some of his coaching staff could also be hired from that competition.
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Rugby League World Cup rules confirmed
A statement from International Rugby League confirmed that the 2026 NRL and NRL rules would be used, a decision that allows the technology already used in those competitions to ‘seamlessly integrate’ into the competition environment.
That means the Video Review and Captain’s Challenge will work under those NRL rules whilst the disciplinary process will also remain the same as used in the NRL, whereby it is much quicker and is dealt with on a game-by-game basis as opposed to on a set day all at once.
One interesting rule is that golden point will be used in every game of both the men and women’s competitions meaning there will be no 80-minute draws.
The wheelchair tournament, held at the same time, will be played under the recently updated IRL laws whilst it was also confirmed that officials of the three tournaments are working with governing bodies to ensure ‘clear comprehension of the rules’.
England will start their tournament in Perth with a game against Tonga but the competition will kick off on October 15th when Australia host New Zealand, with the final of the men’s and women’s comps a month later.
