2021 Rugby League World Cup
| 2021 Rugby League World Cup | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Host country |  England |
| Matches played | 31 |
< 2017 2025 > | |
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup will be the sixteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and will be held in England from 15 October 2022 to 19 November 2022.[1] It was originally going to be held between 23 October 2021 and 27 November 2021, however the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent withdrawals of Australia and New Zealand caused the tournament to be postponed.[2] The tournament will be competed for by 16 teams, an increase of two from the last two tournaments.[3]
For the first time the Rugby League World Cup will be run in parity with the Women's and Wheelchair tournaments with all participants being paid the same, while all 61 matches across three tournaments will be broadcast live.[4][5]
Host selection[]
There were initially three bids for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup but the United Arab Emirates bid[6] had to be cancelled due to the arrest of Sol Mokdad at the behest of UAE rugby union officials.[7]
England, and the United States and Canada were the two remaining bidders of the event. The English RFL received UK government support - £15 million to enhance the tournament and up to a further £10 million into the game's infrastructure - for the event to be staged in the country. The RFL mentioned they wanted the event to be the most attended in history with over 1,000,000 people attending the grounds over the tournament's days. They were also planning to use 12 venues for the event which included non-purpose and rugby league-purpose stadiums.[8]
The United States and Canada bid was initially a sole United States bid from an Australian sports marketing agency, Moore Sports International (MSI). Jason Moore of MSI stated that rugby league has a strong following in several US markets and that fans new to rugby league and "who have a hunger for gladiatorial-style sports are going to fall in love with this extraordinary game".[9] Eight to ten cities, featuring venues from either the NFL or MLS, were planned for the event, offering Rugby League International Federation the opportunity to stage the tournament outside of Europe and Australasia for the first time.[10] Canada Rugby League later announced they wanted to be a part of the United States bid stating that the cities of Vancouver and Toronto could also potentially host matches.[11]
On 27 October 2016, the RLIF announced that England had won hosting rights for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.[12]
The World Cup draw was held on 16 January 2020,[13] hosted by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, at Buckingham Palace.[14]
Qualification[]
The eight quarter-finalists of the previous tournament in 2017 earned automatic qualification to the 2021 tournament. As such, the allocations were confirmed as 6 teams from Europe (excluding hosts), 6 from Asia-Pacific, 1 from Middle East-Africa, 1 from the Americas, and 1 from an intercontinental play-off.[15] Qualification began on 16 June 2018, and concluded on 16 November 2019.
Qualified teams[]
| Region | Team | Qualification method |
Previous apps |
Previous best result | World ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas |  Jamaica
|
Americas winner | 0 | Debut | 20 |
| Asia-Pacific |  Australia
|
Automatic | 15 | Champions (11 times) | 2 |
 Cook Islands
|
Repechage play-off | 2 | Group stages (2000, 2013) | 23 | |
 Fiji
|
Automatic | 5 | Semi-finals (2008, 2013, 2017) | 5 | |
 Tonga
|
Automatic | 5 | Semi-finals (2017) | 4 | |
 New Zealand
|
Automatic | 15 | Champions (2008) | 1 | |
 Papua New Guinea
|
Automatic | 7 | Quarter-finals (2000, 2017) | 6 | |
 Samoa
|
Automatic | 5 | Quarter-finals (2000, 2013, 2017) | 7 | |
| Europe | England[a]
|
Hosts | 6 | Runners-up (1975, 1995, 2017) | 3 |
 France
|
European winners | 15 | Runners-up (1954, 1968) | 8 | |
 Wales[a]
|
European runners-up | 5 | Semi-finals (1995, 2000) | 14 | |
 Scotland[a]
|
Europe play-off 1 | 4 | Quarter-finals (2013) | 9 | |
 Ireland[a]
|
Europe play-off 2 | 4 | Quarter-finals (2000, 2008) | 12 | |
 Greece
|
Europe play-off 3 | 0 | Debut | 11 | |
 Italy
|
Europe play-off 4 | 2 | Group stages (2013, 2017) | 13 | |
| Middle East-Africa |  Lebanon
|
Automatic | 2 | Quarter-finals (2017) | 10 |
- ^ a b c d Competed as part of
Great Britain in nine previous tournaments, finishing as champions on three occasions (1954, 1960, 1972). The squads largely consisted of English players, but also featured Welsh players in every tournament. Scotland (1954, 1968, 1977, 1989–92) and Ireland (1957) were represented by native-born players in some tournaments.
Match officials[]
There will be eight main referees. The ARL Commission and RFL have confirmed their referees and the two remaining spots will be decided in the near future. No more than three referees can be from one country.[16][17] Henry Perenara was going to be a referee in the World Cup but withdrew from refereeing in both the World Cup and the NRL.[18]
Referees:
- Grant Atkins (
Australia) - Robert Hicks (
England) - Chris Kendall ( England)
- Ashley Klein ( Australia)
- Liam Moore ( England)
- Gerard Sutton ( Australia)
Video Referees:
Touch Judges:
Pre-tournament matches[]
| October 2022 | England
|
v | Fiji
|
Crown Oil Arena, Rochdale[19][20] |
Venues[]
The full list of 21 venues to be used for the three tournaments (men's, women's and wheelchair) was announced on 29 January 2019.[21] Eighteen venues will be used for the men's tournament and in addition Preston was announced as a training venue for the tournaments.[21] The use of the as-yet unbuilt Workington Community Stadium as a venue was thrown into doubt after the 2019 Allerdale Borough Council election when control of the council changed and the new council showed less enthusiasm for the new stadium project.[22] In early July 2019, Allerdale Council confirmed that they would be unable to host any matches in the tournament.[23] On 28 August 2019, it was announced that Kingston Park in Newcastle upon Tyne would host the three games originally allocated to Workington.[24]
| Manchester | London | Newcastle | Leeds | Middlesbrough |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Trafford | Emirates Stadium | St James' Park | Elland Road | Riverside Stadium |
| Capacity: 74,994 | Capacity: 60,260 | Capacity: 52,405 | Capacity: 37,890 | Capacity: 34,742 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Sheffield |
  Newcastle Newcastle London Middlesbrough Sheffield Coventry Hull Doncaster York St Helens Warrington  Greater Manchester West Yorkshire  Leigh Bolton Old Trafford Wigan  Leeds Headingley Huddersfield |
Hull | ||
| Bramall Lane | MKM Stadium | |||
| Capacity: 32,702 | Capacity: 25,400 | |||
|
| |||
| Coventry | Bolton | |||
| Coventry Building Society Arena | University of Bolton Stadium | |||
| Capacity: 28,723 | Capacity: 25,586 | |||
|
| |||
| Wigan | Huddersfield | |||
| DW Stadium | Kirklees Stadium | |||
| Capacity: 25,138 | Capacity: 24,500 | |||
|
| |||
| Leeds | St Helens | |||
| Headingley Stadium | Totally Wicked Stadium | |||
| Capacity: 21,062 | Capacity: 18,000 | |||
|
| |||
| Doncaster | Warrington | Leigh | Newcastle | York |
| Keepmoat Stadium | Halliwell Jones Stadium | Leigh Sports Village | Kingston Park | York Community Stadium |
| Capacity: 15,231 | Capacity: 15,200 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 10,200 | Capacity: 8,500 |
|
|
|
|
|
NB: Anfield in Liverpool was due to host a quarter final match but became unavailable when the competition was moved from 2021 to 2022. It was replaced by the DW Stadium in Wigan.
Team base camps[]
Base camps are to be used by the 16 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. On 10 June 2020, these locations were released.[25]
- Australia: Manchester
- Cook Islands: Tees Valley
- England: Manchester
- Fiji: Kingston upon Hull
- France: Bolton
- Greece: Sheffield
- Ireland: Leeds
- Italy: St Helens
- Jamaica: Leeds
- Lebanon: Leigh
- New Zealand: York
- Papua New Guinea: Warrington
- Samoa: Doncaster
- Scotland: Newcastle upon Tyne
- Tonga: St Helens
- Wales: Preston
Opening ceremony[]
The men's tournament opening ceremony will take place at St James' Park in Newcastle on 15 October 2022.[26][27]
Group stage[]
Draw[]
The draw was originally scheduled to be finalised on 27 November 2019, exactly two years before the date of the tournament final, however, it was postponed until 16 January 2020.[13] The draw was made at Buckingham Palace on 16 January 2020. Teams from pot 1 were drawn by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, pot 2 by Katherine Grainger, and pot 3 by Jason Robinson.[28]
Each group must have at least one team from the Asia-Pacific region. As such, Lebanon was not eligible to be drawn into Group A from pot 1.[29]
| Seeded | Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Group A[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout phase[A] |
| 2 | Samoa
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | France
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Greece
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- ^ Teams that advance to the knockout phase also automatically qualify for the 2025 World Cup
| 15 October 2022 | England
|
v | Samoa
|
St James' Park, Newcastle |
| 17 October 2022 | France
|
v | Greece
|
Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster |
| 22 October 2022 | England
|
v | France
|
University of Bolton Stadium, Bolton |
| 23 October 2022 | Samoa
|
v | Greece
|
Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster |
| 29 October 2022 | England
|
v | Greece
|
Bramall Lane, Sheffield |
| 30 October 2022 | Samoa
|
v | France
|
Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington |
Group B[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout phase[A] |
| 2 | Fiji
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Scotland
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Italy
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- ^ Teams that advance to the knockout phase also automatically qualify for the 2025 World Cup
| 15 October 2022 | Australia
|
v | Fiji
|
Headingley Stadium, Leeds |
| 16 October 2022 | Scotland
|
v | Italy
|
Kingston Park, Newcastle |
| 21 October 2022 | Australia
|
v | Scotland
|
Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry |
| 22 October 2022 | Fiji
|
v | Italy
|
Kingston Park, Newcastle |
| 29 October 2022 | Fiji
|
v | Scotland
|
Kingston Park, Newcastle |
| 29 October 2022 | Australia
|
v | Italy
|
Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens |
Group C[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout phase[A] |
| 2 | Lebanon
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Jamaica
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Ireland
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- ^ Teams that advance to the knockout phase also automatically qualify for the 2025 World Cup
| 16 October 2022 | Jamaica
|
v | Ireland
|
Headingley Stadium, Leeds |
| 16 October 2022 | New Zealand
|
v | Lebanon
|
Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington |
| 22 October 2022 | New Zealand
|
v | Jamaica
|
MKM Stadium, Hull |
| 23 October 2022 | Lebanon
|
v | Ireland
|
Leigh Sports Village, Leigh |
| 28 October 2022 | New Zealand
|
v | Ireland
|
Headingley Stadium, Leeds |
| 30 October 2022 | Lebanon
|
v | Jamaica
|
Leigh Sports Village, Leigh |
Group D[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tonga
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout phase[A] |
| 2 | Papua New Guinea
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Wales
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Cook Islands
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- ^ Teams that advance to the knockout phase also automatically qualify for the 2025 World Cup
| 18 October 2022 | Tonga
|
v | Papua New Guinea
|
Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens |
| 19 October 2022 | Wales
|
v | Cook Islands
|
Leigh Sports Village, Leigh |
| 24 October 2022 | Tonga
|
v | Wales
|
Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens |
| 25 October 2022 | Papua New Guinea
|
v | Cook Islands
|
Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington |
| 30 October 2022 | Tonga
|
v | Cook Islands
|
Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough |
| 31 October 2022 | Papua New Guinea
|
v | Wales
|
Eco-Power Stadium, Doncaster |
Knockout stage[]
The top 2 teams from each pool advanced to the quarter-finals. All quarter-finalists automatically qualified for the 2025 Rugby League World Cup.
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| TBA | ||||||||||
| Group B winner | ||||||||||
| TBA | ||||||||||
| Group C runner-up | ||||||||||
| First quarter-final winner | ||||||||||
| TBA | ||||||||||
| Third quarter-final winner | ||||||||||
| Group C winner | ||||||||||
| TBA | ||||||||||
| Group B runner-up | ||||||||||
| First semi-final winner | ||||||||||
| TBA | ||||||||||
| Second semi-final winner | ||||||||||
| Group A winner | ||||||||||
| TBA | ||||||||||
| Group D runner-up | ||||||||||
| Second quarter-final winner | ||||||||||
| TBA | ||||||||||
| Fourth quarter-final winner | ||||||||||
| Group D winner | ||||||||||
| Group A runner-Up | ||||||||||
Quarter-finals[]
First quarter-final[]
Second quarter-final[]
Saturday, 5 November 2022
2:30pm |
| Group A winner | v | Group D runner-up |
|---|---|---|
DW Stadium, Wigan
|
Third quarter-final[]
Saturday, 5 November 2022
7:30pm |
| Group C winner | v | Group B runner-up |
|---|---|---|
MKM Stadium, Hull
|
Fourth quarter-final[]
Sunday, 6 November 2022
2:30pm |
| Group D winner | v | Group A runner-up |
|---|---|---|
University of Bolton Stadium, Bolton
|
Semi-finals[]
First semi-final[]
Friday, 11 November
7:45pm |
| First quarter-final winner | v | Third quarter-final winner |
|---|---|---|
Elland Road, Leeds
|
Second semi-final[]
Saturday, 12 November
2:30pm |
| Second quarter-final winner | v | Fourth quarter-final winner |
|---|---|---|
The Emirates Stadium, London
|
Final[]
Broadcasting[]
The Rugby League World Cup announced a partnership with the International Rugby League (IRL) in July 2020. The organisations will work together on match broadcast production and the sale of global broadcast rights.[30] As of January 2021 the World Cup Organisers have started to look for broadcast partners for Australia and New Zealand.[31]
| Country | Broadcaster | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Australia
|
Nine Network | 16 matches live & free including every Australian match, other marquee pool matches and all knockout stage matches |
| Stan Sport | All 31 matches live & on-demand | |
| New Zealand
|
Spark Sport | All 61 matches live across the 31 men's, 15 women's and 15 wheelchair.[32] |
| Papua New Guinea
|
EM TV | All 61 matches live across the 31 men's, 15 women's and 15 wheelchair.[33] |
 United Kingdom
|
BBC | All 31 matches live, 16 matches on BBC One or BBC Two, Venue launch programme[34] and highlights programme[35] |
| OurLeague App | All 31 matches live, exclusive post match interviews and OuRLeague highlights programme.[36][37] | |
| RugbyAM (FreeSports) | Highlights programme and post match interviews. | |
| FacebookLive (RLWC2021 and Royal Family Pages) | Group Draws for Men's, Women's, and Wheelchair. Hosted by HRH Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex. |
In April 2019, it was reported that the digital strategy for the tournament will be led by Deloitte.[38] In May 2019, the RLWC organisers announced they were looking for an esport partner to engage new audiences with the sport.[39]
InspirationALL legacy project[]
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup commenced a legacy project called InspirationALL in 2018.[40]
Festival of Rugby League World Cups[]
In 2019 it was announced that the RLWC contacted Rugby League governing bodies across the world regarding a 'Festival of World Cups'. Organisers have stated the festival of world cups will take place in the summer of 2021, before the commencement of the Men's, Women's, and Wheelchair tournaments, taking place in the autumn of 2021.[41]
Previous RLWC tournaments have also hosted a Festival of World Cups, which have historically included a University World Cup, Police World Cup, and a Defence Forces World Cup. 2021 is expected to include an emerging nations tournament for both men and women.
In August 2020, the Festival Of World Cups was postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic [42]
Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup[]
The Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup will be the first of its kind and take place in Warrington.[43]
References[]
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- ^ Walter, Brad (5 August 2021). "2021 World Cup officially postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic". nrl.com. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup to feature 16 teams in 2021". Sky Sports. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ Darbyshire, Drew (21 October 2019). "Women and wheelchair players to receive equal pay to men at 2021 World Cup". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ Ed, Dixon (2 July 2020). "2021 Rugby League World Cup and IRL team up on broadcast production - SportsPro Media". www.sportspromedia.com. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ "UAE plans bid to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup". skySports. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ "Sol Mokdad issues public apology to UAE Rugby Federation to end criminal proceedings against him". TheNational. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ "England to bid for 2021 Rugby League World Cup". skySports. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- ^ Caldwell, Dave (1 August 2016). "Plan Seeks to Aid Rugby's Growth With a Global Event on U.S. Soil". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- ^ "USA submit bid to host 2021 Rugby League World Cup". Nzherald.co.nz. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- ^ "Vancouver — and Canada — aiming to be part of 2021 Rugby League World Cup bid". TheProvince. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "England to host RLWC2021 - North America recommended for RLWC2025". Rlif.com. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Rugby League World Cup 2021". www.rlwc2021.com. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- ^ "Duke of Sussex to host Rugby League World Cup Draw". BBC. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ^ "Statement from the RLIF Board meeting - March 28th 2017". rlif.com. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "Atkins, Klein and Sutton join new refs squad for World Cup". National Rugby League. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ Jones, Chris (17 January 2021). "Hicks, Kendall and Moore in driving seat for World Cup". TotalRL.comS. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ "Ref's shock retirement due to heart condition". wwos.nine.com.au. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "England to face Fiji in World Cup warm-up at Rochdale". www.rugby-league.com. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ^ "England versus Fiji postponed until October 2022".
- ^ a b "2021 Rugby League World Cup: Emirates Stadium among host venues but Wigan misses out". BBC Sport. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup boss offers fresh hope to supporters of Workington shared stadium plan". Times & Star. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "Allerdale Council pulls out of World Cup". Total RL. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ Knight, Chris (28 August 2019). "Kingston Park Stadium to host Rugby League World Cup 2021 games". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "Kangaroos to be united in Manchester: World Cup team bases announced". National Rugby League. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ Seddon, Sean (29 January 2019). "Newcastle to host Rugby League World Cup 2021 opening ceremony and game". nechronicle.
- ^ "Newcastle to host 2021 Rugby League World Cup". Newcastle United Football Club.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup 2021 draw: England drawn with Samoa, France and Greece". BBC Sport. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup 2021: How will Thursday's draw work?". BBC Sport. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ^ "RLWC2021 & IRL announce historic broadcast partnership to put fans at centre of the World Cup action". RLWC2021. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "World Cup organisers step up hunt for Australian broadcast deal". National Rugby League. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ "Spark Sport secures broadcasting rights for Rugby League World Cup". Stuff. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "PNG Secures broadcasting rights for Rugby League World Cup". emtv. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "2021 Rugby League World Cup: Venues to be named live on the BBC". 25 January 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup 2021: BBC secures rights to broadcast all 31 games". Sportspromedia.com. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
- ^ "Our League". App Store.
- ^ "Our League – Apps on Google Play". play.google.com.
- ^ "Deloitte's RLWC digital goal". www.sportindustry.biz. 30 April 2019.
- ^ Corking, Graham (24 May 2019). "Rugby League World Cup 2021 search for esports partner". Esports Insider.
- ^ "InspirationALL". www.rlwc2021.com.
- ^ "Record numbers for Rugby League Festival of World Cups 2021". www.rlwc2021.com. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ "Festival of World Cups postponed for 2021". Rugby League International Federation. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Warrington Chosen As 2021 Rugby League World Cup Venue". Wire FM.
External links[]
- 2021 Rugby League World Cup
- 2022 in rugby league
- 2022 in English sport
- Rugby league events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Scheduled sports events
- October 2022 sports events in the United Kingdom
- November 2022 sports events in the United Kingdom