Rugby League World Cup 2026: Fixtures and Kick-off Times
The Rugby League World Cup starts on Thursday, Oct. 15 with Australia v New Zealand at Allianz Stadium in Sydney. Kick-off is at 8:05 pm Sydney time, which is 09:05 UTC and 10:05 am in London, International Rugby League's fixture list shows. The men's tournament has 10 teams and 18 matches in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, ending with the final at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday, Nov. 15 (08:35 UTC).
The women's and wheelchair World Cups run alongside it, as three tournaments in one, Wikipedia notes. The women's opener on Friday, Oct. 16 is Australia v Samoa at CommBank Stadium at 8:05 pm Sydney time, after the men's Samoa v France match, the IRL lists.
Men's fixtures and kick-off times
| Match | UTC | Sydney | London |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu. Oct. 15 | |||
| Australia v New Zealand Allianz Stadium, Sydney | 09:05 | 8:05pm | 10:05am |
| Fri. Oct. 16 | |||
| Samoa v France CommBank Stadium, Sydney | 06:45 | 5:45pm | 7:45am |
| Sat. Oct. 17 | |||
| Papua New Guinea v Lebanon National Football Stadium, Port Moresby | 04:25 | 3:25pm | 5:25am |
| England v Tonga HBF Park, Perth | 09:05 | 8:05pm | 10:05am |
| Sun. Oct. 18 | |||
| Fiji v Cook Islands McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 05:05 | 4:05pm | 6:05am |
| Fri. Oct. 23 | |||
| Tonga v Lebanon CommBank Stadium, Sydney | 09:05 | 8:05pm | 10:05am |
| Sat. Oct. 24 | |||
| Papua New Guinea v Samoa National Football Stadium, Port Moresby | 04:25 | 3:25pm | 5:25am |
| England v France HBF Park, Perth | 06:35 | 5:35pm | 7:35am |
| Sun. Oct. 25 | |||
| New Zealand v Cook Islands One NZ Stadium, Christchurch | 05:05 | 4:05pm | 5:05am |
| Australia v Fiji Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | 09:05 | 8:05pm | 9:05am |
| Fri. Oct. 30 | |||
| England v Papua New Guinea WIN Stadium, Wollongong | 09:05 | 8:05pm | 9:05am |
| Sat. Oct. 31 | |||
| New Zealand v Fiji Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast | 04:45 | 3:45pm | 4:45am |
| Australia v Cook Islands Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville | 09:05 | 8:05pm | 9:05am |
| Sun. Nov. 1 | |||
| Lebanon v France CommBank Stadium, Sydney | 06:50 | 5:50pm | 6:50am |
| Tonga v Samoa CommBank Stadium, Sydney | 09:05 | 8:05pm | 9:05am |
| Sat. Nov. 7 | |||
| Semi-final: Pool A runners-up v Pool B and C winner McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle | 09:05 | 8:05pm | 9:05am |
| Sun. Nov. 8 | |||
| Semi-final: Pool A winner v Pool B and C runners-up Allianz Stadium, Sydney | 09:05 | 8:05pm | 9:05am |
| Sun. Nov. 15 | |||
| Final Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | 08:35 | 7:35pm | 8:35am |
Times are the local kick-offs listed by International Rugby League and Wikipedia, converted to UTC, Sydney (AEDT, UTC+11) and London (British Summer Time until Oct. 25, then GMT). Dates are Sydney's. The IRL's match page for the final still showed 20:05 on Oct. 6, while Wikipedia lists 18:35 Brisbane time, so the final's time is the one to check again. Other places: Brisbane and Port Moresby are one hour behind Sydney, Perth three hours behind, and New Zealand two hours ahead. The semi-final lines show who plays whom; the teams are decided by the pool results.
The pools and how the knockout stage works
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | England | Tonga |
| New Zealand | Samoa | Papua New Guinea |
| Fiji | Lebanon | France |
| Cook Islands |
Pool A teams play each other. Pools B and C each have three teams, which play the three teams in the other pool, so every side plays three matches, Wikipedia explains. The top two in Pool A go to the semi-finals, along with the top two teams from Pools B and C. The Pool A winner plays on Sunday, Nov. 8 in Sydney, and the Pool A runner-up plays on Saturday, Nov. 7 in Newcastle.
Where to watch the Rugby League World Cup
| Where | How to watch |
|---|---|
| Australia | Seven and 7plus Sport, live, free and exclusive, with all 18 men's matches (TV Central) |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport, subscription (Wikipedia) |
| UK and Ireland | Premier Sports, which shows all 18 men's matches live, plus England's women's and wheelchair games and the semi-finals and finals of both (rugby-league.com) |
| Canada, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and elsewhere in Asia | Premier Sports Americas in Canada and Premier Sports Asia in 25 places across Asia, all men's matches live (Wikipedia's table) |
| The Pacific and Timor-Leste | Radio: ABC Radio Australia carries every game live on FM, and ABC Pacific has the content online (ABC) |
International Rugby League said in August it would announce more broadcasters. We found no broadcaster for the United States, France or Papua New Guinea in the sources we checked, so check your local listings.
Tickets
Tickets are sold on the tournament's official site, rlwc2026.com.
Kick-off times are as published on Oct. 6, 2026 and can change. Check the official site before each match.
