IRL World Rankings

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Official Men's Rankings as of December 2021
Rank Change* Team Pts%
1 Steady  New Zealand 100.00%
2 Increase 1  England 79%
3 Increase 1  Tonga 69%
4 Decrease 2  Australia 60%
5 Increase 1  Papua New Guinea 34%
6 Decrease 1  Fiji 30%
7 Increase 1  France 21%
8 Decrease 1  Samoa 19%
9 Increase 6  Serbia 18%
10 Increase 1  Greece 15%
11 Decrease 2  Scotland 13%
12 Steady  Ireland 12%
13 Decrease 3  Lebanon 10%
14 Increase 11  Netherlands 10%
15 Increase 1  Malta 9.00%
16 Decrease 3  Italy 8.00%
17 Increase 5  Czech Republic 8.00%
18 Increase 2  Jamaica 7.00%
19 Increase 5  Turkey 7.00%
20 Decrease 3  Norway 6.04%
21 Decrease 2  Poland 6.03%
22 Increase 1  Cook Islands 6.02%
23 Decrease 9  Wales 6.00%
24 Decrease 6  United States 5.00%
25 Increase 14  Ukraine 4.29%
26 New entry  Philippines 4%
27 Increase 1  Nigeria 3.81%
28 Decrease 2  Spain 3.61%
29 Increase 2  Germany 3.52%
30 Decrease 9  Hungary 2.86%
31 Increase 2  Ghana 2.85%
32 Decrease 2  Sweden 2.80%
33 Increase 1  Morocco 2.70%
34 Increase 4  Cameroon 1.79%
35 Increase 2  Russia 1.72%
36 Decrease 9  Canada 1.66%
37 Decrease 8  Solomon Islands 1.61%
38 Decrease 2  South Africa 1.31%
39 Increase 7  Bulgaria 1.21%
40 Decrease 5  Vanuatu 1.06%
41 Increase 1  Belgium 1.04
42 Decrease 1  Brazil 1.03%
43 Decrease 11  Chile 1.02%
44 New entry  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.00%
45 Decrease 5  Colombia 0.50%
46 Decrease 3  Denmark 0.10%
47 Decrease 2  Latvia 0.05%
*Change from November 2019

The IRL World Rankings are the ranking system for men's national teams in the sport of rugby league football. The teams of the member nations of the International Rugby League, rugby league football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. A point system is used, with points being awarded based on the results of IRL-recognized international matches. Under the existing system, rankings are based on a team's performance over the last three years, with more recent results and more significant matches being more heavily weighted to help reflect the current competitive state of a team.

Ranking system[]

The IRL World Rankings are calculated based on an average of points accumulated by each nation over a three-year cycle. Under the structure, matches deemed of higher importance such as World Cup games, Four Nations and other major tournament finals draw more points than mid-season Tests and other ‘Internationals’. For each match that a nation participates they are given a base level of points. This base level is affected upon the type of match (World Cup, Major Tournament, Test Match and International) and the status of the opponent.

Official Women's Rankings as of November 2019
Rank Change* Team Pts%
1 Steady Australia Australia
2 Steady New Zealand New Zealand
3 Steady England England
4 Increase 2 Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea
5 Decrease 1 Canada Canada
6 Decrease 1 France France
7 Decrease 2 Cook Islands Cook Islands
8 Steady Italy Italy
9 New entry Serbia Serbia
10 New entry Fiji Fiji
11 New entry Turkey Turkey
12 New entry Samoa Samoa
13 New entry Brazil Brazil
14 Decrease 6 Lebanon Lebanon
15 New entry Greece Greece
*Change from July 2019

Bonus points are given for teams that reach certain milestones deemed of significant international importance including reaching a tournament final or qualifying for an event such as a World Cup.

From the total number of points that a nation will receive these points are then averaged to help give a more accurate view of the performance of a nation over the three-year cycle.

Nations which have played fewer than 5 matches over a three-year cycle will be penalised under the current point structure.

Use of the rankings[]

The rankings are used by International Rugby League to view the progression and ability of the national rugby league teams.

The data is currently used in things as seeding for tournaments such as the European Cup, Mediterranean Cup and Pacific Cup.

Current calculation method[]

Match status[]

A weighting system has been implemented by the IRL to give more points to teams if they gain a victory over a major team in a major tournament, with friendlies ranked with considerably fewer points than any World Cup finals match or the final of Cups such as the European, Mediterranean and Pacific Cups.

Opponent strength[]

The IRL has organized the ranking so that a win against a very highly ranked opponent is a considerably greater achievement than a win against a low-rated opponent, so the strength of the opposing team is a factor.

Assessment period[]

All matches played over the last thirty-six months or three years are included in the calculation of the rankings, but there is a weighting system implemented to put more emphasis on recent results.

Historical rankings[]

Team Jun 2013[1] Dec 2013[2] Aug 2014[3] Nov 2014[4] May 2015 Dec 2015[5] Jun 2016[6] Oct 2016[7] Nov 2016[8] May 2017[9] Oct 2017[10] Dec 2017[11]
 Australia 1 1 1 1 2 (Fall 1) 2 2 2 1 (Rise 1) 1 1 1
 New Zealand 2 2 2 2 1 (Rise 1) 1 1 1 2 (Fall 1) 2 2 2
 England 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
 Tonga 10 13 (Fall 3) 13 16 (Fall 3) 15 (Rise 1) 16 (Fall 1) 15 (Rise 1) 13 (Rise 2) 14 (Fall 1) 11 (Rise 3) 11 4 (Rise 7)
 Fiji 7 5 (Rise 2) 5 6 (Fall 1) 6 7 (Fall 1) 7 6 (Rise 1) 7 (Fall 1) 8 (Fall 1) 7 (Rise 1) 5 (Rise 2)
 Samoa 8 8 7 (Rise 1) 4 (Rise 3) 4 4 4 4 5 (Fall 1) 5 5 6 (Fall 1)
 Scotland 11 11 11 8 (Rise 3) 8 9 (Fall 1) 9 9 4 (Rise 5) 4 4 7 (Fall 3)
 France 4 4 4 5 (Fall 1) 5 5 5 5 6 (Fall 1) 6 6 8 (Fall 2)
 Lebanon 16 20 (Fall 4) 21 (Fall 1) 21 20 (Rise 1) 20 20 21 (Fall 1) 21 21 18 (Rise 3) 9 (Rise 9)
 Papua New Guinea 6 7 (Fall 1) 8 (Fall 1) 11 (Fall 3) 11 14 (Fall 3) 11 (Rise 3) 12 (Fall 1) 15 (Fall 3) 15 16 (Fall 1) 10 (Rise 6)
 Ireland 9 9 10 (Fall 1) 7 (Rise 3) 7 6 (Rise 1) 6 7 (Fall 1) 8 (Fall 1) 7 (Rise 1) 8 (Fall 1) 11 (Fall 3)
 Wales 5 6 (Fall 1) 6 9 (Fall 3) 9 8 (Rise 1) 8 8 9 (Fall 1) 9 9 12 (Fall 3)
 Italy 13 12 (Rise 1) 12 12 12 12 13 (Fall 1) 15 (Fall 2) 13 (Rise 2) 14 (Fall 1) 12 (Rise 2) 13 (Fall 1)
 United States 12 10 (Rise 2) 9 (Rise 1) 10 (Fall 1) 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 14 (Fall 4)
 Jamaica 22 23 (Fall 1) 24 (Fall 1) 27 (Fall 3) 29 (Fall 2) 27 (Rise 2) 27 16 (Rise 11) 17 (Fall 1) 17 13 (Rise 4) 15 (Fall 2)
 Serbia 15 17 (Fall 2) 17 13 (Rise 4) 14 (Fall 1) 11 (Rise 3) 12 (Fall 1) 11 (Rise 1) 11 12 (Fall 1) 14 (Fall 2) 16 (Fall 2)
 Canada 19 16 (Rise 3) 16 14 (Rise 2) 13 (Rise 1) 13 14 (Fall 1) 14 12 (Rise 2) 13 (Fall 1) 15 (Fall 2) 17 (Fall 2)
 Malta 21 22 (Fall 1) 23 (Fall 1) 24 (Fall 1) 23 (Rise 1) 18 (Rise 5) 18 20 (Fall 2) 20 19 (Rise 1) 17 (Rise 2) 18 (Fall 1)
 Russia 14 15 (Fall 1) 14 (Rise 1) 15 (Fall 1) 16 (Fall 1) 15 (Rise 1) 16 (Fall 1) 18 (Fall 2) 16 (Rise 2) 16 19 (Fall 3) 19
 Belgium 31 29 (Rise 2) 22 (Rise 5) 22 18 (Rise 4) 17 (Rise 1) 17 17 18 (Fall 1) 18 20 (Fall 2) 20
 Spain 28 (New entry) 28 26 (Rise 2) 21 (Rise 5) 21 19 (Rise 2) 19 20 (Fall 1) 21 (Fall 1) 21
 Norway 20 19 (Rise 1) 19 19 21 (Fall 2) 26 (Fall 5) 26 26 26 26 22 (Rise 4) 22
 Greece 28 (New entry) 26 (Rise 2) 23 (Rise 3) 24 (Fall 1) 24 24 28 (Fall 4) 28 28 23 (Rise 5) 23
 Philippines 35 (New entry) 32 (New entry) 32 33 (Fall 1) 34 (Fall 1) 34 24 (Rise 10)
 Ukraine 23 21 (Rise 2) 20 (Rise 1) 20 22 (Fall 2) 23 (Fall 1) 23 23 22 (Rise 1) 22 25 (Fall 3) 25
 Czech Republic 26 (New entry) 30 (Fall 4) 29 (Rise 1) 30 (Fall 1) 30 29 (Rise 1) 25 (Rise 4) 24 (Rise 1) 25 (Fall 1) 26 (Fall 1) 26
 Netherlands 29 24 (Rise 5) 25 (Fall 1) 25 25 28 (Fall 3) 30 (Fall 2) 30 30 30 27 (Rise 3) 27
 Germany 18 18 18 18 19 (Fall 1) 19 22 (Fall 3) 24 (Fall 2) 23 (Rise 1) 23 28 (Fall 5) 28
 Hungary 31 (New entry) 33 (Fall 2) 32 (Rise 1) 33 (Fall 1) 33 34 (Fall 1) 38 (Fall 4) 38 33 (Rise 5) 29 (Rise 4) 29
 Cook Islands 17 14 (Rise 3) 15 (Fall 1) 17 (Fall 2) 17 22 (Fall 5) 19 (Rise 3) 22 (Fall 3) 25 (Fall 3) 24 (Rise 1) 24 30 (Fall 6)
 Sweden 28 30 (Fall 2) 32 (Fall 2) 30 (Rise 2) 31 (Fall 1) 29 (Rise 2) 28 (Rise 1) 29 (Fall 1) 29 29 30 (Fall 1) 31 (Fall 1)
 Chile 34 (New entry) 34 36 (Fall 2) 37 (Fall 1) 32 (Rise 5)
 Niue 32 (New entry) 32 33 (Fall 1) 33 32 (Rise 1) 31 (Rise 1) 31 33 (Fall 2)
 Denmark 26 27 (Fall 1) 27 26 (Rise 1) 27 (Fall 1) 25 (Rise 2) 25 27 (Fall 2) 27 27 32 (Fall 5) 34 (Fall 2)
 South Africa 24 25 (Fall 1) 29 (Fall 4) 31 (Fall 2) 28 (Rise 3) 31 (Fall 3) 31 31 31 32 (Fall 1) 33 (Fall 1) 35 (Fall 2)
 Vanuatu 35 (New entry) 35 37 (Fall 2) 35 (Rise 2) 36 (Fall 1)
 El Salvador 39 (New entry) 39 38 (Rise 1) 39 (Fall 1) 37 (Rise 2)
 Thailand 35 (New entry) 36 (Fall 1) 38 (Fall 2)
 Argentina 39 (New entry)
 Colombia 40 (New entry)
 Japan 41 (New entry)
 Solomon Islands 37 (New entry) 37 40 (Fall 3) 38 (Rise 2) 42 (Fall 4)
 Brazil 43 (New entry)
 Uruguay 41 (New entry) 40 (Rise 1) 44 (Fall 4)
 Hong Kong 45 (New entry)
 Bulgaria 41 (New entry) 46 (Fall 5)
 Latvia 25 31 (New entry) 33 (Fall 2) 34 (Fall 1) 34 35 (Fall 1) 36 (Fall 1) 36 39 (Fall 3) 42 (Fall 3) 47 (Fall 5)
 Morocco 30 34 (New entry) 34 36 (Fall 2) 35 (Rise 1) 36 (Fall 1) 40 (Fall 4) 40 42 (Fall 2) 43 (Fall 1) 48 (Fall 5)
 Estonia 27

Best and Worst[]

Team Best Worst
Rank Year(s) Rank Year(s)
 Argentina 39 2017 43 2019
 Australia 1 2012–15, 2016–19 4 2021
 Belgium 17 2015–16 31 2013
 Brazil 41 2019 43 2017
 Bulgaria 41 2017 46 2017
 Cameroon 38 2019 38 2019
 Canada 12 2016 27 2019
 Chile 32 2016, 2019 37 2017
 Colombia 40 2017, 2019 40 2017, 2019
 Cook Islands 14 2013 30 2017
 Czech Republic 22 2019 30 2014, 2015
 Denmark 25 2015–16 43 2019
 El Salvador 37 2017 39 2016, 2017
 England 2 2018 3 2012–17, 2019
 France 4 2013–14 8 2017, 2019
 Fiji 5 2013–14, 2017, 2019 8 2017
 Germany 18 2012–14 31 2019
 Ghana 33 2019 33 2019
 Greece 11 2019 28 2013, 2016–17
 Hong Kong 45 2017 45 2017
 Hungary 21 2019 38 2016
 Ireland 6 2015–16 12 2019
 Italy 12 2013–15, 2017 15 2016
 Jamaica 13 2017 29 2015
 Japan 41 2017 41 2017
 Latvia 25 2013 47 2017
 Lebanon 9 2017 21 2014, 2016–17
 Malta 16 2019 24 2014
 Morocco 30 2013 48 2017
 Netherlands 24 2013 30 2016–17
 New Zealand 1 2015–16, 2019-2021 2 2012–15, 2016–17
 Nigeria 28 2019 28 2019
 Niue 24 2018–19 33 2016, 2017
 Norway 17 2019 26 2015–17
 Papua New Guinea 4 2012 16 2017
 Philippines 22 201891 35 2015
 Russia 14 2013, 2014 37 2019
 Samoa 4 2015–16 8 2012–13
 Scotland 4 2016–17 11 2013–14
 Serbia 11 2015–16 17 2012, 2013–14
 Solomon Islands 29 2019 42 2017
 South Africa 24 2012–13 36 2019
 Spain 19 2016 28 2014
 Sweden 28 2012, 2016 32 2014
 Thailand 35 2017 38 2017
 Tonga 3 2021 16 2014, 2015
 Ukraine 20 2014 39 2019
 United States 9 2014 18 2019
 Uruguay 40 2017 44 2017
 Vanuatu 35 2016-17, 2019 37 2017
 Wales 5 2013 23 2021

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Australia strengthen grip on rankings". Rugby League International Federation. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Australia strengthen grip as world No 1". Rugby League International Federation. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  3. ^ "RLIF announce latest World Rankings". Rugby League International Federation. 1 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Latest World Rankings Announced". Rugby League International Federation. 30 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Latest world rankings released". Rugby League International Federation. 17 December 2015.
  6. ^ "PNG make the biggest move in new World Rankings". Rugby League International Federation. 1 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Australia and England can both overtake New Zealand in World Rankings". Rugby League International Federation. 28 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Australia reclaim world No.1 ranking". NRL.com. 23 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Australia to enter RLWC2017 as World Number 1". Rugby League International Federation. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  10. ^ "World Rankings released ahead of RLWC2017". Rugby League International Federation. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Latest World Rankings announced". Rugby League International Federation. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
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