Inaugural Asian Championship : 2025

While this is a new championship, there were one off championship games between the Philippines and Thailand in 2012 and 2013. The Philippines won both, 86-0 and 44-10. That was the end of that until 2025 when four nations competed in the Philippines. 

This new competition included Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines and Singapore. The first round winners went into the final, while the two losing teams played the 3rd / 4th place game. The two best sides may not make the final but keeping the tournament to three days meant that compromise was necessary.

In this instance, it was likely the two best sides did qualify for the final, going by the scorelines. As it turned out, Japan narrowly defeated Hong Kong 34-30 and Singapore overwhelmed the hosts Philippines 62-0 after leading 44-0 at the break. 

It is hoped that Malaysia and Thailand will join for the next edition. It's a nice addition to the RL international scene which has over the years been badly neglected. 

RL World Cup 2026 Wheelchair Groups

This will be the 5th wheelchair WC, going back to 2008. England and France have won two each. It's not like Australia not to be leading in the sport and they are working overtime playing catch up. They will be serious challengers for the trophy this time.

The semi finalists from the last tournament were automatic qualifiers. One each from the hemispheres (NZ and the USA) were then invited. Finally, two were selected from Europe based on matches played since the last tournament (Ireland and Scotland).

This is the only part of international RL that the Northern Hemisphere leads in terms of numbers playing and the standard it's played at.

For the men's coverage,simply click here. 

For the women's coverage,simply click here.

RL World Cup 2026 Women's Groups

This will be the 7th Women's WC to be held, the original going back to 2000. NZ won the fisrt three and Australia the next three. Ten sides competed last time and the hope was to expand that number, but it has been reduced to eight. 

The two groups are to the right. Even with the reduced number, there will be blow out scores. The quickly improving Southern Hemisphere standard will ensure that. 

Four qualifiers came through the previous tournament placings. Two each from qualifying in their respective hemispheres. I recall Brazil and Canada were two women's sides that performed well last time.

For the men's coverage, simply click here.

For the wheelchair coverage, simply click here.