Rugby League World Cup 2026: England avoid Australia & NZ in men's draw
England have avoided favourites Australia and New Zealand in the men's draw for the group stages of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, which will be run alongside the women's and wheelchair competitions.Shaun Wane's side will play Tonga, France and Papua New Guinea in their opening matches of the tournament, which will take place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 15 October and 15 November.Twelve-time winners Australia, who won the recent Ashes series 3-0 in England, have been drawn in the same group as close rivals New Zealand, along with Fiji and the Cook Islands. A total of 10 teams - Samoa and Lebanon are the other two sides - will take part in the men's competition, which was due to be held this year in France before the hosts pulled out from staging it over financial issues. The tournament structure sees Group A teams playing matches against each other while Group B teams, of which England is one, playing those in Group C and vice versa.The top two from Group A will go into the semi-finals, alongside the top two from a combined table of Group B and Group C sides.Meanwhile, England and Wales have been drawn together alongside Australia and Samoa in Group A of the women's World Cup, while New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, France and Fiji are in Group B. All six women's titles have been won by either Australia or New Zealand.England, Ireland, the United States and Wales are in Group A of the wheelchair tournament, with Australia, France, New Zealand and Scotland in Group B.
