Australia Win Both Rugby League World Cup Titles, and the Tournament Makes a Profit
Australia have won both the men's and women's titles at the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, the fourth tournament in a row they have won the crown. The tournament also made a profit, which was not the case at the 2022 edition.
Rugby league is the 13-a-side code, where teams try to score by carrying the ball over the opponent's line. Australia's men are known as the Kangaroos and the women as the Jillaroos. The tournament's story has been about more than the finals, though, and it has had a rocky road to get here.
Australia stepped in to host after the scheduled hosts, France, pulled out for financial reasons. The tournament was then postponed by a year. Australia's men's captain, Isaah Yeo, described the tournament as the most competitive and best World Cup to date, according to the BBC.
The men's competition was also cut from 16 teams to 10. That means fewer matches overall. Jamaica and Greece had made their debuts at the 2022 men's World Cup, and the smaller field took away the chance for them to build on that experience.
Not every nation was in the same position, and some of the biggest news came off the pitch. Tonga and Samoa are being elevated to Tier One status, the top tier of nations in the men's game. The United States will co-host the 2030 men's and women's World Cups.
England won the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup, beating France in the final.
Money matters in a sport that has long run on tight budgets. Channel Seven in Australia reportedly paid A$12m (£6.1m) for exclusive free-to-air rights to the men's, women's and wheelchair tournaments. Each Kangaroos and Jillaroos player received an equal payment of $40,000 (£20,500) for competing at the World Cup. Many of the players were based in Australia, playing club rugby in the NRL men's competition or the Women's Premiership, which helped the International Rugby League keep costs down.
Watching at home was harder for many fans. In the UK, only the wheelchair final was available free-to-air on BBC iPlayer. Every other game needed a Premier Sports subscription. In North America, Premier Sports was the only way to watch the tournament.
For a sport that wants to grow beyond its heartlands, the access question is the one to watch. Bigger television audiences would help the next hosts, and the expanded Tier One group, plan with more confidence. For now, Australia will celebrate two trophies and a balance sheet in the black, while England's wheelchair players have their own gold to enjoy.
