Australia and New Zealand are next in action a week on Sunday. The Kiwis are at home to Cook Islands, while the Kangaroos host Fiji.

The second match of the tournament kicks-off tomorrow evening and it pits contenders Samoa against France.

Then it’s a Friday double-header with PNG v Lebanon followed by England v Tonga in an effective quarter-final.

Fiji v Cook Islands round things off on Sunday.

New Zealand will be disappointed to lose but their performance level was sufficient to win that match nine times out of ten. They probably would have won tonight if Hughes had not overcooked his kick on the last with five minutes to go.

If this is the final pairing in a month’s time the Kiwis will head to Brisbane with plenty of confidence, especially after the way James Fisher-Harris, Joseph Tapine, Moses Leota and co dominated up front.

Their greater concern coming out of the night will be the fitness of Kalyn Ponga. He is their focal point and game breaker. If he is out for an extended period he cannot be replaced like-for-like, it will require a reshuffle that could unsettle the balance of the side.

The Kangaroos were far from vintage. The forward pack was soundly beaten, Harry Grant was off key, Latrell Mitchell was barely involved, and it required the calf injury to Mitchell Moses and the introduction of the dynamic Tom Dearden to bring some energy to the halves.

The defensive effort was heroic though, keeping New Zealand at bay for long spells. And then they struck clinically when opportunities presented themselves. Two intercept breakaway tries and the Reece Walsh solo stunner cannot be legislated for.

Kalyn Ponga is walking around in a sling. He clearly damaged something when he collided with Cam Munster in the second half. He played on, scored a mind blowing try, but eventually succumbed to the injury shortly before time. Hopefully for him and NEw Zealand he isn’t ruled out of the tournament.

“This should be the final, what a game,” emails Ashley Baxter. “I’ve not watched rugby league for a long time after being brought up on it but moving to Wales my focus became Union. But this game is sensational.”

It still may well be the final, Ashley. What tonight’s result means (other than bragging rights) is the Kiwis will have the more difficult of the semi-finals.

Jack Bostock, with three tries on Test debut, is named the player of the match.

“That’s Test footy,” bemoans James Fisher-Harris, “a few big moments went their way.”

“It was a hell of a battle out there,” remarks the understated Isaah Yeo.

The two exhausted groups of players embrace. They all know they’ve played their part in a classic. They also know it’s only the opening round of a tournament that could well see them meet again in a month’s time to determine the world cup winners.

What a contest. What an opening match. What a victory. That was outstanding from start to finish.

80 mins: Australia run the ball downfield, accepting contact on the last. New Zealand have 45 seconds and 80m to travel.

78 mins: Dearden accepts contact on the last near the 10m line in the right corner. What can New Zealand do? They spend three tackles just getting to the 30m line. McLean shows some spark to take them to halfway. Kini gains 20 more metres – gets up to play the ball – and there’s nobody behind him! Preston leaps on the loose pill and the Kiwis are crestfallen!

77 mins: New Zealand attempt a short kick-off but Trbojevic wins the ball in the air. The Kiwis will only get a couple of sets to snatch something.

75 mins: The Kiwis execute the squeeze until tackle five when Nikora then Nikorima make darts. On the last Hughes makes a massive error – overhitting his kick and allowing Bostock to mark in-foal for a seven tackle set!

74 mins: The Kiwis are not putting their cues in the rack. Gagai snipes dangerously from dummy-half, Nikorima shows quick feet, and the kick on the last is recovered – off green hands! A full set in the red zone for New Zealand.

73 mins: Australia make 30m in four tackles then the game-changing Dearden almost feeds Cotter through the line. New Zealand resist the surge and accept the deep kick.

72 mins: Australia handle the restart set and kick to the newcomer Kini who gets onto the stats sheet. The Kiwis complete the set and hughes kicks deep to Walsh, pinning the Kangaroos on their own line.

70 mins: Ponga finally succumbs to his injury. He’s played his part but the final 10 minutes will take place without him.

68 mins: Ponga winces in pain as he’s dumped by Tino. Leota hammers Munster as he kicks. Mulitalo bulldozes Staggs. There’s little ball-playing to report but this physical phase of the contest remains engrossing.

66 mins: Ponga is proppy, Trbojevic isn’t 100%, this is becoming attritional as both sides try to find a way to carry the ball out of their own halves but to little avail.

64 mins: Both teams exchange sets as fatigue begins to set in. The pitch is cutting up badly. Who has the composure?

62 mins: Sloppy from the Kiwis with the restart set and Australia are immediately on the counterattack. Munster, Dearden, there’s a hole for Walsh – he sprints into it – Hughes grabs the ankles, Gagai comes across, but Walsh wriggles over the line… in what is the most obvious double movement you could design. This match has had everything. So entertaining.

60 mins: If scores are level after 80 minutes we will play Golden Point, so expect some field goal attempts before the night is through.

56 mins: New Zealand don’t just survive – they thrive! Hughes’ kick on the last is a mongrel punt, it carries barely 20m before nosediving out of the sky and bobbling in Tom Trbojevic’s direction. The Manly man slides to gather, fails to do so, and the ball dribbles underneath him. The black chase is on him in a flash, the ball is extracted, thrown wide to Mulitalo on the left wing, and he has the speed to make the left corner!

But hang on … the TMO is getting involved again. Papali’i was offside in the chase, and impacted play. No try! Huge let off for Trbojevic.

55 mins: Australia build inside 30. The left edge is favoured with Mitchell then Walsh engaged. Grant looks sharper as he controls the pace, turning now to his right and Martin – who fails to spot Staggs on his outside. New Zealand survive.

54 mins: Australia are building! Willison loses possesion after the impressive Dearden came in second man. Behind play Ponga is struggling with a painful forearm, presumably caused by Munster’s bonce.

53 mins: Australia pack a scrum 20m out in the middle of an Allianz Stadium that’s starting to cut up. To prove the point Walsh slips on the right edge and the set play comes to nought. The Kangaroos go back to the right and almost find a way through, then they switch to the left, Munster almost breaks the line but he’s stopped unceremoniously by Ponga – but that looked ugly. Australia play on – and Dearden feeds Martin over, but the big Panther is held up on his back! Still the Kangaroos come, Mitchell inserts himself into the fray, there’s a bomb on the last, bodies go up, the ball comes down, and Walsh touches down! Is that a try? Adam Gee doesn’t think so. He adjudges Papali’i marked the ball above his head in-goal, and the TMO confirms. That is magnificent refereeing.

52 mins: Dearden almost makes something happen with a lovely show and go into the line. From the play the ball the kick goes up, Isaako knocks on in the air and Australia have attacking ball for the first time this half. New Zealand call for a captain’s challenge but the TMO takes little time confirming the on-field call.

50 mins: Tom Dearden is Mitch Moses’ replacement, by the way. The Queenslander has plenty of representative experience and he will need to find something to change the balance of power with his side up against it.

48 mins: The try was scored in exactly the space vacated by the sin-binned Staggs. The Broncos centre is now back in the defensive line.

44 mins: Australia go nowhere coming out of defence and with play stretched the Kiwis look set to exploit 13 v 12. There’s a linebreak, space and spee don the left, but McLean hurls an awful Hollywood pass infield that never looks like finding a teammate. The black jerseys get another shot, there’s a set restart, Ponga lines up on the left edge, the ball goes his way on tackle four, but Australia’s defence holds firm. On the last the Kiwis lose composure, it all becomes harum scarum until a harmless kick is mopped up by Trbojevic. It has been desperate and resolute defence from the hosts. It’s needed to be.

42 mins: New Zealand cross halfway by tackle four and try to find room for Mulitalo on the left but there are bodies around to smother. Hughes kicks on the last – it’s allowed to bounce – but it bobbles favourably for Australia. However, behind play Mitch MOses looks done for the night – and possibly the tournament – with a calf injury.

41 mins: The second half is under way. Remember, Australia are down to 12 for the next seven minutes.

The worry before kick-off was the power of the Kiwi pack would deny Australia territory or front-foot ball, and that is exactly how the opening half played out. To compound matters for the Kangaroos key players have struggled, Grant especially, with the men in green looking rusty and disjointed.

If New Zealand don’t see this home they will consider this a massive opportunity lost.

36 mins: The Kiwis don’t just escape they go within inches of scoring themselves! Space opens up on the left for Ponga to dart through with speed and strong hips, he dashes into open field, there’s only Walsh ahead of him, does he turn infield and reset? Does he go for the outside? He chooses the latter! Mano a mano, tête-à-tête No 1 v No 1, this is thrilling! The corner is within touching distance – and Walsh nails the tackle! What a win that is for Australia! And Walsh loves it! Magnificent one on one footy.

35 mins: Is that another ridiculous try? No! On tackle four Australia go through hands to the left, Mitchell finds an outrageous offload, the ball comes infield, Munster plays eyes up, drawing the defensive line his way then jabbing a kick with the outside of his left boot that Staggs looks to have touched down in a three-way race – but he can’t ground cleanly and New Zealand escape.

33 mins: Now Nikora goes in too high on Murray and Australia get an early penalty in their restart set.

30 mins: Another line drop-out! New Zealand go through the gears in attack, set up for a switch to the right, Nikorima intervenes, drops the ball on his boot and dabs it into the upright forcing the retreating Australian defence to concede. How are the Kangaroos still in touch?

28 mins: BOSH! Mulitalo irons out Staggs as he tries to offload to Trbojevic on his outside. The outcome is a knock-on and the most bombastic of celebrations from one of rugby league’s shy and retiring types.

27 mins: Leota, Fisher-Harris, Papali’i, Whyte… the Kiwi forwards are dominating this half. Their power is allowing Hughes an opportunity to launch dangerous bombs every set and Australia are struggling up front to hold ground and down back to deal with the aggressive chase.

24 mins: Staggs gets a rare touch as Australia look to their right edge briefly before Moses, seemingly recovered, kicks long downfield. New Zealand are sharp in response. A few big drives from the forwards set up space on the left for Ponga, Nikorima, and finally McLean to exploit. On the last Hughes sends up another bomb, it’s contested in the air, bounces in-goal, and the chasers force a line drop-out. The Kiwis are much the likelier of the two sides, the scoreboard flattered by Bostock’s interception.

22 mins: Australia make no mistake from the restart set and almost find a 40-20 for good measure. Leota leads the Kiwis in the other direction as the first wave of interchanges take effect.

17 mins: The big Kiwi pack is doing exactly what you’d expect, pumping their massive thighs like giant pistons to gain hard fought metres. They benefit from a set restart in their own half to rumble into attacking territory. By the last they’re almost at the 20, everyone waiting for Hughes to bomb – but he runs – drawing defenders, offloading to Nikorima, who dabs a grubber through for McLean to chase and toe ahead. Chaos near the try line, but there’s a knock-on against black in the scramble and Australia escape.

15 mins: Big win for Jack Bostock, stripping Gagai on halfway on tackle five. Australia are straight into attacking mode, setting up on the right, inviting Walsh to hit the line hard and cut in on the angle inside Hughes – Nikora does well to cover. There’s a penalty on the ground to the Kangaroos and they will have a full set inside the red zone. Munster takes control this time and suddenly there’s impetus – but Moses kicks on tackle three and New Zealand can tap the ball behind. It wasn’t a bad kick, but even so it seemed unnecessary. But before the drop-out the TMO has identified a knock-on at dummy-half by Harry Grant. The Storm rake is having a Barry Crocker early on, so uncharacteristic.

13 mins: A set restart for Australia now after a solid carry from Preston. Walsh tries to stand up Nikorima on the right edge but the little five-eighth holds his own. On tackle three some momentum starts to build. Munster goes long to the left, Mitchell taps on to Bostock, but New Zealand have numbers to cover. Again there’s a lack of organisation on the last tackle with Grant kicking this time. The Kangaroos are rusty.

11 mins: Finally some creativity from the Kangaroos on tackle four, keeping the ball alive, looking for some broken field for Mitchell to exploit. It all gets a bit chaotic though and on the last it falls to Preston to gain territory with his boot. Ponga gets straight into his work in response, sidestepping along his 20m line, wrong-footing Munster. With go-forward there’s the first set restart of the night, then Fisher-Harris has room to bustle through the defensive line. The Kiwis are coming – until Munster clotheslines Isaako and New Zealand have a penalty 15m out.

Play comes infield from the right, Tapine is dangerous, the ball goes back to the right for Ponga to dictate, but throughout Australia’s defensive line is robust. On the last Hughes lofts the ball towards the crossbar, it comes to ground off hands, and Mulitalo is first to pounce on it! Is that a try? Adam Gee doesn’t think so, and the TMO agrees, the ball was knocked forward by the Cronulla winger in the air.

9 mins: The mighty Kiwi pack continues to grind, Hughes continues to launch the kick on the last into the night sky, and his chasing compatriots continue to maul whichever Australian finds himself underneath it.

7 mins: There’s a chance the best try of the World Cup has been scored after just five minutes. There surely won’t be a better finish. The Kiwis make no mistakes with their restart set and the kick-chase is menacing. Australia need a settler but the second bone-crunching hit of the night on Preston stops the Kangaroos in their tracks. The home side have no momentum early.

2 mins: Tino Fa’asuamaleaui takes the first hit-up of the competition before handing off responsibility to his forward pack colleagues. No risks taken, a solid kick on the last, and Australia are off and running. As is Kalyn Ponga, who makes good metres returning from fullback. The Kiwis go through hands on tackle four but they also take the conservative route, allowing Hughes to test Walsh with an early bomb.

New Zealand to kick-off. Here we go.

Walsh joins a crescent of Australians on his side’s 40m line. 20m away the Kiwis form a huddle 20m. In the middle of it the mighty James Fisher-Harris revs up his troops for a pre-match haka. What an awesome sight.

Reece Walsh is in tears as Advance Australia Fair reverberates around Moore Park. The occasion is building nicely.

And out they walk, under the floodlights, and into the crucible. The 2026 rugby league world cup is finally here.

Here come the two sets of players out of the dressing rooms and into the Allianz Stadium tunnel. Isaah Yeo and James Fisher-Harris at the front of two lines of warriors.

A reminder, in case it was needed: Australia will be wearing green with gold accents, New Zealand are top to toe in black with flashes of white.

Conditions in Sydney are pretty dismal. The temperature is around 15C, there’s been drizzle in the air all day, and there’s a southeasterly breeze to contend with.

Tonight’s referee is Adam Gee, the man in the middle of the recent NRL grand final. He excelled quietly on that occasion and the big match rewards keep flowing his direction.

2026 Rugby League World Cup Format

Participants:

• The 2026 men’s RLWC features ten teams. Eight of these qualified via their performances at the last world cup, back in 2022. That is: Australia, New Zealand, England, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, PNG, and Lebanon. The first seven countries in that list also happen to be the top seven on the IRL rankings; Lebanon are a lowly 23rd.

• The remaining qualifiers, France and Cook Islands, won regional playoffs. Cook Islands are ranked eighth in the world, by the way, France recently held that position but have slipped to 11th. In other words, the cream of the crop will be on display.

Rules:

• The tournament will be played under NRL rules, including six players on the interchange bench with up to four to be used.

Group phase:

• The ten teams have been distributed into three pools.

• Pool A contains Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Cook Islands. The top two from this group qualify for the semi-finals.

• The teams in Pool B (England, Samoa, Lebanon) play the teams in Pool C (Tonga, PNG, France) with the top two on a combined group table qualifying for the semi-finals.

Knockouts:

• The winner of Pool A takes on the runner-up from Pool B&C in Sydney.

• The winner of Pool B&C takes on the runner-up from Pool A in Newcastle.

• The world cup final is in Brisbane on 15 November.

Schedule:

• The group phase will take place over the following three weekends. After tonight, remaining matches will be staged only on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

• The fourth weekend will feature the semi-finals, with the final wrapping up proceedings the following Sunday.

Venues:

• 10 locations will host matches. Eight of these are in Australia: Sydney (Allianz Arena), Sydney (Commbank Arena), Brisbane, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Townsville, Wollongong, and Perth; while Port Moresby will host two Papua New Guinea matches, and Christchurch will stage one New Zealand fixture.

There are mouthwatering match-ups all over the park. In the backs we’ve got Storm playmakers Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes going head-to-head, Queensland fullbacks Reece Walsh and Kalyn Ponga facing off, and fierce rivals Latrell Mitchell and Dane Gagai coming together once more in the centres.

Further forward the battle promises to be brutal. The New Zealand pack is among the most intimidating ever listed and will put the all-Maroon front row under immense pressure.

Team News

Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters has the most enviable array of talent at his disposal. What makes his side newsworthy is never the players selected, but those missing out.

The most notable of those is fullback James Tedesco, with Reece Walsh selected in the No 1 jersey despite a modest season with the Broncos and Tedesco excelling during State of Origin then winning the Clive Churchill Medal in the NRL grand final. It has been suggested the Rooster is carrying a niggle and will have the opportunity to stake his claim later in the pool phase.

Nathan Cleary’s gruesome injury opened the door for a new halfback partner for Cameron Munster with Mitchell Moses winning the race. Tom Dearden will wear the No 14 jersey while Sam Walker misses out entirely.

Isaah Yeo captains the side after delaying surgery to feature int he tournament.

How strong are the Kiwis? Strong enough to start Erin Clark and Naufahu Whyte on the pine, despite each having strong claims to being the NRL player of the season in their respective positions. However, a middle three of James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota, and Joseph Tapine is up there with the most intimidating trio of big men in the sport.

Newcastle Knights and Queensland star Kalyn Ponga starts at fullback and he is the pick of many experts to be named the player of the tournament.

As Jack Snape reports, it is the growth of historical “tier two nations” that has transformed the RLWC into something deserving of the name.

The passionate support for these increasingly competitive “tier two” nations provides the lifeblood for this 10-team tournament, supported by loosening eligibility laws that have helped spread around the depth of the NRL. Sell-outs are expected for the match between Tonga and Samoa, the Port Moresby contests and the only match in New Zealand – in Christchurch on 25 October – even if tickets remain available for all of the hosts’ fixtures.

Reassuringly for tournament organisers, tonight’s match is a sell-out, so Allianz Stadium should be in full voice.

Tonight’s protagonists begin the tournament as favourites but Tonga and Samoa are packed with NRL talent and England have no shortage of quality. This is potentially the most open rugby league world cup in history.

The Kiwis face the difficult task of the defending champions first up – but they look like a side who could grow into the tournament. Stacey Jones has arguably the best forward pack of the whole field, and with the likes of Kalyn Ponga and Jahrome Hughes causing chaos behind their middle unit, there is an argument that New Zealand could be favourites.