World Cup 2026 : Round One (Women)

The format for the women is standard fare. Group A and Group B, each with four teams and they play each other once. The top two from each group progress to the semi finals. 

The standard is evening out, with any nation able to call on several players from Australia's NRLW competition in a good place. 

On to the first round.

Group A:

Australia 40-0 Samoa. It sounds like a one sided game, but it would have been far worse two years ago or even one. It was 28-0 at half time, but the Jillaroos struggled to have any dominance in the second half as Samoa got into a groove. 

England 70-6 Wales. This is the first wowmns' world cup appearance for Wales and they are here on a learning curve. It was 40-6 at the break and the onslaught conitnued for the second half too. It was nice that Wales scored, not something they have done in their previous two encounters with England. I hope they can score some more points in their final two matches. 

Group B: 

PNG 58-4 France. PNG can call on NRLW players, while France has a small, weak domestic set up. Add to that PNG play with more confidence at home, so the result was a foregone conclusion. PNG went to the break 32-0 up and wen on to win comfortably but at least the scoreline was better for France in the second half.

New Zealand 18-10 Fiji. NZ are the second best rated side, playing a Fiji side at its first tournament. It could only have one outcome and ultimately did. However, the game was close throughout, with NZ scoring a late try to seal the victory. Fiji led 12-10 at half time, a late try in that half by NZ giving hope to a Kiwi side being outplayed. NZ will surely play better but they are well off Australia's level. 

For video match highlights and post match interviews, simply click here. 

World Cup 2026 : Round One (Mens)

The format for the men is unusual. Group A has four teams and they play each other once. The top two progress. Group B teams don't play each other but the three from Group C. Group C teams likewise only play teams from Group B. One team from B and one from C progress to semi finals. 

This means all sides play three group stage matches. With only ten teams participating, having eight quarter finalists would make the group matches of little value. 

On to the first round.

Group A:

Australia 24-22 New Zealand. NZ dominated the game except for the scoreline. It seemed NZ lost rather than Australia won. The win was there for the taking for NZ. Both sides should progress regardless. It just changes who they will play in the semi final game. 

Fiji 40-12 Cook Is. Fiji raced to a 28-0 half time lead, effectively ending the contest in terms of outcome. The Cooks did come back well in the second half but the horse had already bolted. Fiji will hope it can upset the Kiwis and be the second qualifier from the group. 

Group B/C: 

Tonga 30-12 England. Some say it was a shock result, but I don't. England had no warm up matches. Rather than fly direct to Perth, they flew across the world and went to the east coast before having to fly across Australia. With all that, they struggled with combinations, which need to get better.

All that said, Tonga are a top nation. They only led 10-0 at half time and it was 10-6 during the second period. Things got away from England late but the score didn't reflect the contest. The top ranked sides from each group playing first up wasn't smart by the organisers either. England now look out of the semi finals already. 

Samoa 78-4 France. Before the first whistle, this had one way traffic stamped all over it. Samoa were ruthless and France battled valiantly, but that still was embarrassing for France. It was 34-4 at the break and already all over bar the shouting. 

Papua New Guinea 42-18 Lebanon. PNG are good at home and they play with confidence. In this instance, Lebanon stayed in the fight and only trailed 12-18 at half time. PNG pulled away in the second half, but that was a gutsy display by The Cedars. 

For video match highlights and post match interviews, simply click here. 

IMG UK Ratings

A rating system was created by IMG to determine who should play at the elite level of the sport in the UK. The ratings have been revealed for 2026 and they are as follows.

Category A covers clubs 15 points and over. eight in total. Category B those below that figure, six SL clubs lead the way. 

All present Super League clubs (division one) are covered in the blue and yellow shading I have created. 

The top two Championship (second division) I have shaded in pink. They are some way off the current SL clubs.  

The SL clubs are therefore all safe from relegation. The question is, will they be joined by another club from the division below? On the scoring system no. They are supposed to achieve that through points.

The problem I see with the system is that London Broncos have won  three competitions in the lower level and are financially sound, yet are nowhere near SL admission via points. I'm also surprised Barrow got more, no disrespect to that fine club. 

London may get promoted anyway, as that could be part of a media deal. The issue still remains, could any Championship club ever realistically qualify to be promoted with the IMG points system?

UK Championship Play Offs: 2026

I covered the league* and now it's on to the finals. It's a convoluted affair, spanning five rounds. 

Round 1: It was Whitehaven and Batley that departed. As 9th and 10th in the league, not surprising. Widnes and Doncaster earned byes for the next round.

Round 2: In came London and Newcastle. The Sheffield Eagles and Midlands Hurricanes bade farewell. Seeing that they were 7th and 8th in the league, that meant all of the top six remained. London and Newcastle earned byes. 

Round 3: Widnes Vikings and Barrow Raiders said adieu, with Doncaster and Oldham into the semi finals. The top four league sides all making it through.

Round 4: The semi finals had arrived. League winners London easily and expectedly cruised into the final. Fourth placed in the league Doncaster overcame the second placed league team the Newcastle Thunder to take the other spot.

Round 5: The grand final between hot favourites and massive underdogs. The scoreline reveals the extent of the gap. The only fully professional club in the competition made that count. Well done Doncaster for making it to the grand final. The Broncos should be a Super League Club next season, confirmation surely a formality.

*You can view the league article by clicking here.

A full replay below of a live stream. Best watched on YouTube. You have to slide the progress bar along if you want to avoid the live build up.

NRL 2026 Finals (Men)

If you missed my coverage of the regular league season, you can see it by clicking here.

All the top eight sides hit the first round of the finals. Four have a second life if they lose. For two it's sayonara. 

First round: The two that went were the South Sydney Rabbitohs (6th in the league) and North Queensland Cowboys (8th). The NZ Warriors (2nd) and Sydney Roosters (4th) lost so missed out on a bye. 

Quarter finals: An out of form Cronulla Sharks (5th) were blown away by the Roosters. The Warriors didn't lift enough for the finals and were ousted by the Newcastle Knights in a somewhat controvesial cliff hanger. 

Semi finals: The Dolphins (3rd) had been hot leading up to the finals series but were outplayed by the Roosters. Favourites the Penrith Panthers (1st) were likewise upset by the Knights.

Grand Final: The Roosters were favourites but the diogged Knights were not out of the equation. The Knights led 12-6 at the break but with less possession and a poorer field position, it was always going to be tough. Yet the Knights only lost by one point. That determination summed up how they got there. 

The Roosters played a grand final how it should be played. Give the opposition as little as possible. The stats say they should have won by more but the margin of victory isn't the point. Winning the grand final is, no matter how you do it.

The highlights of the final are below. Best watched at YouTube. 

NRLW 2026 Finals (Women)

Six clubs lined up for a shot at the coveted crown, the grand final. The third to sixth sides comprised the first round. The regular season summary can be seen by clicking here.

Quarter finals: The Wests Tigers (4th in the league) and Newcastle Knights (6th) ended their journey here. The Wests lost out in a tight one. In came the top two league teams for the semi final.

Semi finals: Neither match had a run away scoreline. The League winner and hot favourite Sydney Roosters went through and the Brisbane Broncos (3rd in the league) defeated second placed Gold Coast Titans. 

Grand final: Last year's finalists were back for round two. Brisbane edged that match but the Roosters were favoured to reverse that result. So it proved with the Roosters taking a 26-0 half time scoreline. The game was over but the second half was close. 

The highlights are below, best watched at YouTube.

European SL 2026 Finals

The 2026 season has concluded. How have the top six clubs fared? Here's my assessment.

6:Leigh Leopards. Sixth in the league and out at the first hurdle in the finals, the quarters. They wanted more as they made the semi finals in 2025 but not good enough.

5: Hull KR. Grand final winners to a quarter final exit, but poor discipline and perhaps over confidence unhelpful to the cause. Fifth in the league too.

4: Leeds Rhinos. Second in the league gave them a bye but narrowly lost their semi final match. There was some murmuring about the penalty that sunk them but I thought it fair. A good season but not quite there.

3: Wigan Warriors. Already had won the league and cup, they were so good on their day but their semi final was a poor effort. Comprehensively beaten and not a reflection of their season.

2: Warrington Wolves. Always the bridesmaid but never the bride, this was their chance to make it their year. Third in the league and a grand finalist. They recently have often played in the finals series and have made grand finals, but their last grand final victory was 1986! They need to catch the bouquet.  

1: Wakefield Trinity. The Trinity comes from when they were formed in 1873 as a team associated with a church. Their last grand final victory was 1968! Since then they have struggled to emulate their better times. They were in the second division in 2024.

Fast forward two years. They came fourth in the league and then won three games to take the grand final. They led 19-0 at the break and despite losing the second half on the scoreboard, were just too good. Well done Trin. A highlights video will follow soon. 

If you missed my coverage of the league season, simply click here.

The highlights are below. Best watched on YouTube.

Queensland State Club Rankings: 2022-26

The Queensland competition is a vibrant one, covering a large distance and even reaching up into PNG. The last five years are covered here, points allocated according to how I've done it. There could be other ways to do it.

Gold Coast club the Burleigh Bears are the most successful, just ahead of the Redcliffe Dolphins. The latter act as a feeder club to the Dolphins in the NLR, giving them a slight advantage, provided it is managed well. No other club has such a direct link to to a top tier club. 

Some clubs are consistent on a good or not so good way. Others can be surprisingly variable, such as Bribane side Norths and the PNG Hunters in 2026. Any decent player in this league not getting a crack in the NRL should look at Super League in the UK. Some are going and doing well. 

UK Women's RL Rankings: 2023-26

Currently, the UK game for women revolves around four clubs. These are listed below at rankings 1-4. They have contested all the finals between them. Wigan have been the most successful over the past two years, but it's St Helens that have been the most successful, according to the way I've scored it anyway. 

There are three competitions, the League, Finals and cup listed below. As Cardiff and London haven't played at the top level in England, the cup is their only opportunity to score points, and commendably, they both have. 

Saints had a relatively poor 2026, the fourth best club. Is that a hiccup or a sign of things to come? Captain Jodie Cunningham and vice captain Emily Rudge are departing, leaving a potential leadership problem. We will see.  

As for depth, the top four sides offer some financial reward to the players to varying degrees. I don't think below that any teams offer anything other than the pleasure to play. Barrow does well, in the top tier of the women's game while not to have a men's team in the top division.  Featherstone is doing even better, with no men's team at present.