This article is about the Men's Rugby League World Cup. For the women's, see Women's Rugby League World Cup. For other world cups for rugby, see World cup of rugby.
Rugby League World Cup
Upcoming tournament 2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup
Sport
Rugby league
Instituted
1954; 70 years ago (1954)
Number of teams
16 (finals)[a]
Region
International (IRL)
Holders
Australia (12th title)
Most titles
Australia (12 titles)
Website
rlwc2021.com
Related competition
Women's World Cup Wheelchair World Cup World Cup 9s
Tournaments
1954
1957
1960
1968
1970
1972
1975
1977
1988
1992
1995
2000
2008
2013
2017
2021
2025
2026
2030
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was the first World Cup held for any form of rugby football.[1]
The idea of a rugby league World Cup tournament was first mooted in the 1930s with the French proposal to hold a tournament in 1931, and again in 1951.[2] The tournament's structure, frequency, and size has varied significantly throughout its history.[3] The winners are awarded the Paul Barrière Trophy, named after Paul Barrière, the French Rugby League President of the 1940s and 1950s. Three nations have won the tournament; Australia twelve times, Great Britain three times, and New Zealand once. Australia has been in the final of every World Cup, except the first in 1954, when they came third, which was considered to be a complete upset with the bookmakers at the time having Australia as strong favourites.
The latest World Cup was held in England in 2022 after being delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^Folkard, 2003: 337
^Richard William Cox; Wray Vamplew; Grant Jarvie (2000). Encyclopedia of British Sport. UK: ABC-CLIO. p. 426. ISBN 9781851093441.
^McCann, Liam (2006). Rugby: Facts, Figures and Fun. UK: AAPPL Artists' and Photographers' Press. p. 80. ISBN 9781904332541.
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Global Information
2026 Men's Rugby League World Cup
Australia (12th title)