Rugby League World Cup 2026 dates revealed with bumper clash to open tournament

The dates for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup have been confirmed as well as an incredible tournament opener.

Fans might have noticed that the official logo for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup has been revealed this past week with the ability to register interest for tickets also made available.

Despite that, no official dates were given bar the reminder that we were one year away but it seems that we’re actually within a year of the opening game as that’s now been announced.

The tournament, which will be played in Australia and Papua New Guinea and see each of the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair competitions run at the same time, will be aired on the Seven network in Australia.

They are the exclusive broadcasters and they’ve confirmed that the Rugby League World Cup will lick off on October 15th 2026 with Australia hosting New Zealand at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney.

Rugby League World Cup start date confirmed

It’s ans absolute blockbuster of an opening game and arguably creates more questions than answers in regards the format with the Men’s competition being reduced to a 10-team competition.

It therefore seems that Australia and New Zealand will both be in the same group with the format possibly replicating the 2008 tournament, where a four-team group saw three sides progress whilst the winners of the two three-team groups played to earn a semi-final spot.

What we do know is that Seven will air all 18 Men’s games, all 15 Women’s, and all 20 Wheelchair matches across the tournament.

Details of broadcasters anywhere else around the world is yet to be confirmed with more information set to land as we get closer to the tournament.

As for the final date, it’s expected that the tournament will be played over a month with Sunday 15th November a likely date for the final of at least one competition. In 2022, when all tournaments ran at the same time, the Men’s and Women’s finals were held on the same day with the Wheelchair final played the evening prior.

Nine of the ten teams in the Men’s comp are decided with Cook Islands v South Africa to determine the last spot, whilst Nigeria and Fiji will face off for the final berth in the Women’s eight-team competition. All eight nations for the Wheelchair World Cup have been confirmed.

Serious About Rugby League has launched a brand new podcast which can be watched in full on our YouTube channel here.

October 2026 … One of the world’s biggest sporting events is coming to Seven🔥

Catch all the action as over 50 matches across the men’s, women’s, and wheelchair competitions which will be broadcasted exclusively on Seven 📺 pic.twitter.com/fmm1eQDMGs

— 7Sport (@7Sport) October 22, 2025