Men’s Rugby League World Cup 2026: group-by-group preview
Australia and New Zealand are the principal contenders on home soil as the men’s Rugby League World Cup 2026 returns this week, according to a group-by-group preview published on 13 October 2026. The tournament uses a revised format that increases pressure on some nations, with only four semi-final places available following the removal of quarter-finals.
The competition features ten teams in a complex group structure: a four-team Group A will supply two semi-finalists, while the remaining six nations are split into two three-team pools (Groups B and C) that play each other; the top two from the combined table of those pools advance to the semis. The preview points to England facing immediate pressure under new head coach Brian McDermott, and it notes key early fixtures that could define the opening round.
Group A is anchored by Australia and New Zealand. Australia, coached by Kevin Walters with Isaah Yeo as captain and listed as winners 12 times previously, enter without Nathan Cleary due to injury and carried moments of vulnerability from last year’s Ashes; the preview still projects them as finalists (Prediction: Runners-up). New Zealand, coached by Stacey Jones and captained by James Fisher-Harris with a previous best of winners in 2008, are praised for a strong forward pack and attacking options including Kalyn Ponga and Jahrome Hughes and are tipped as tournament winners (Prediction: Winners).
The other two Group A nations are the Cook Islands and Fiji. The Cook Islands, led by coach Karmichael Hunt and captains KL Iro and Marata Niukore, have only reached group stages previously (2000, 2013, 2022) and the preview says they have never made the knockouts; KL Iro and Valentine Holmes are singled out as players to watch (Prediction: 4th in group). Fiji, coached by Mick Potter with Api Koroisau as captain and a best of semi-finals in 2008, 2013 and 2017, are viewed as capable of causing upsets, likely to beat the Cook Islands but needing a major scalp to progress (Prediction: 3rd in group).
England and Lebanon are highlighted among the six nations in the inter-group pools. England, under Brian McDermott with George Williams as captain and previous best finishes as runners-up (1975, 1995, 2017), are warned that a defeat to Tonga on Saturday could be fatal and that matches versus Papua New Guinea and France are more winnable; McDermott has promised his vision for England will look different to his predecessors and the preview predicts a semi-finals finish (Prediction: Semi-finals). Lebanon, coached by Michael Cheika and captained by Jacob Kiraz with a previous best of quarter-finals in 2017, bring identifiable talent including the Canterbury Bulldogs’ Jacob Kiraz but are forecast to be eliminated in the group stage (Prediction: Eliminated in group stage).
Samoa, Tonga, France and Papua New Guinea complete the preview’s group-by-group assessment. Samoa, coached by Ben Gardiner and captained by Jarome Luai with a best of runners-up in 2022, are noted for reaching the 2022 final and are expected to reach the semi-finals again, with a decisive final group game against Tonga (Prediction: Semi-finals). Tonga, led by Kristian Woolf and captain Addin Fonua-Blake with a best of semi-finals in 2017, face early tests against England and Samoa and are described as featuring Isaiya Katoa among their stars (Prediction: Eliminated in group stage). France, coached by Laurent Frayssinous and captained by Ben Garcia with runners-up finishes in 1954 and 1968 as their best, are said to possess Super League talent including Arthur Mourgue but are predicted not to progress (Prediction: Eliminated in group stage). Papua New Guinea, under Jason Demetriou with Rhyse Martin as captain and previous best quarter-finals in 2000 and 2017, will play Lebanon and Samoa in Port Moresby and are described as needing to beat one or both of Samoa and England to have a chance of qualifying (Prediction: Eliminated in group stage).
Australia open the tournament against New Zealand on Thursday and England face Tonga on Saturday; with the quarter-finals removed the competition advances directly to just four semi-final places, so early results in these highlighted fixtures will have immediate bearing on which teams can reach the last four.