International rugby league in 2020

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A list of men and women international rugby league matches played throughout 2020 and does not include wheelchair rugby league international matches. A † denotes a recognised, but unofficial match that did not contribute to the IRL World Rankings.

Many fixtures scheduled were cancelled or rescheduled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Kangaroo tour of England, Oceania Cup, and European Championship were all cancelled. The European Championship B, European Championship C, European Championship D and Americas Championship were all postponed until 2021, whilst the MEA Championship was postponed until a later date not confirmed.

As a result of the travel restrictions from COVID-19, only two respective men's and women's test matches were played in 2020; a men's international between Peru and Brazil in Sydney before the pandemic began, the Griffin Cup match between Germany and Netherlands, and a women's 'Clash of the Pacific' double-header in Auckland where Tonga and Niue, and New Zealand and Tonga played each other.

Season overview[]

Men's international tours
Start date Touring side Region Results [Matches]
No international men's tours in 2020
Men's international friendlies
Start date Home team Away team Winners
22 February 2020  Peru  Brazil  Brazil
Men's international tournaments / series
Start date Tournament Winners
26 September 2020 Netherlands Griffin Cup  Netherlands
Women's international tours
Start date Touring side Region Results [Matches]
No international women's tours in 2020
Women's international friendlies
Start date Home team Away team Winners
7 November 2020  Tonga  Niue  Tonga
7 November 2020  New Zealand  Samoa  New Zealand
Women's international tournaments / series
Start date Tournament Winners
No international women's tournaments in 2020

Rankings[]

The following were the rankings at the beginning of the season.

IRL World Rankings
Official Men's Rankings as of November 2019[1]
Rank Change* Team Pts%
1 Increase 2  New Zealand 100.00%
2 Decrease 1  Australia 91.82%
3 Decrease 1  England 85.34%
4 Steady  Tonga 60.66%
5 Steady  Fiji 36.57%
6 Increase 4  Papua New Guinea 28.53%
7 Steady  Samoa 22.09%
8 Decrease 2  France 16.69%
9 Decrease 1  Scotland 15.00%
10 Decrease 1  Lebanon 11.81%
11 Increase 5  Greece 11.38%
12 Steady  Ireland 11.36%
13 Increase 1  Italy 7.86%
14 Decrease 3  Wales 7.75%
15 Increase 4  Serbia 0.00%
16 Increase 1  Malta 6.77%
17 Increase 1  Norway 5.63%
18 Decrease 3  United States 5.39%
19 Increase 4  Poland 5.35%
20 Decrease 7  Jamaica 5.04%
21 Decrease 1  Hungary 4.27%
22 Increase 3  Czech Republic 4.16%
23 Increase 5  Cook Islands 3.87%
24 Increase 7  Turkey 3.51%
25 Decrease 1  Netherlands 3.29%
26 Increase 4  Spain 3.18%
27 Decrease 6  Canada 2.81%
28 New entry  Nigeria 2.51%
29 Decrease 2  Solomon Islands 2.32%
30 Increase 10  Sweden 2.16%
31 Increase 4  Germany 1.95%
32 Increase 1  Chile 1.86%
33 New entry  Ghana 1.80%
34 Increase 16  Morocco 1.69%
35 Decrease 3  Vanuatu 1.47%
36 Steady  South Africa 1.46%
37 Decrease 8  Russia 1.41%
38 New entry  Cameroon 1.31%
39 Decrease 2  Ukraine 1.21%
40 Increase 1  Colombia 1.06%
41 Increase 4  Brazil 0.50%
42 Steady  Belgium 0.30%
43 Increase 4  Denmark 0.13%
44 Increase 4  Bulgaria 0.10%
45 Increase 4  Latvia 0.07%
*Change from July 2019
IRL World Rankings
Official Women's Rankings as of November 2019[2]
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

February[]

Peru vs Brazil men in Australia[]

22 February 2020
17:00 AEDT (UTC+11:00)
Peru  14–30  Brazil
Try: N. Ibarburu, Sommers, Zarate
Goal: G. Altamirano (1/3)
 Report Try: Araújo, De Araujo, Howison, Jackson, Viñas
Goal: Nunes (5/5)
Hillier Oval, Sydney
Attendance: 350
Referee: Matthew Middelton (Australia)

September[]

Griffin Cup[]

See also: Griffin Cup
26 September 2020
17:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Netherlands  20–18  Germany
Try: Longhurst, Farrell, Schoenmaker
Goal: Gout (4/4)
 Report Try: Hampson (2), Seidler
Goal: Billsborough (1/1), Esser (1/1), Doughton (1/1)
RC Zwolle, Zwolle[3]
Referee: Jaroslav Bzoch (Czech Republic)

November[]

Tonga vs Niue in New Zealand[]

7 November 2020
14:00 NZDT (UTC+13:00)
Tonga  66–8  Niue
Try: Hufanga (3), Taulanga (2), Filimoe'atu (2), Sikei (2), Vailea, Huni, Maumau-Pinomi
Goal: Hufanga (9/12)
 Report Try: Kamutoa, Hiko
Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland[4]

Samoa women in New Zealand[]

7 November 2020
16:00 NZDT (UTC+13:00)
New Zealand  28–8  Samoa
Try: Stephens (2), Hansen, Hireme-Smiler, Vaha'akolo, Tamarua
Goal: Hansen (2/4), Paul (0/2)
 Report Try: Lemanu, Tufuga
Goal: Eli (0/2)
Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland[4]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Cook Islands rise 17 places in latest Rugby League World Rankings". Rugby League International Federation. 13 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Cook Islands rise 17 places in latest Rugby League World Rankings". Rugby League International Federation. 13 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Twitter Post". Twitter. Netherlands Rugby League. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b "KIWI FERNS TO CELEBRATE 25TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR WITH FETŪ SAMOA TEST". nzrl.co.nz. NZRL. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
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