Pacific nations on the rise in IRL World Rankings

Fetū Sāmoa have skyrocketed up the women’s IRL World Rankings after their successful Pacific Championships campaign, while Tonga have moved back into the top four men’s teams and New Zealand feature for their first time in the wheelchair rankings.

Australia remains first in the men’s and women’s rankings following their Pacific Cup victories, while England are still the top wheelchair team – but only by the narrowest of margins from France after winning one match apiece in their recent series.

England are closing in on second-placed New Zealand in the men’s rankings after beating Toa Samoa 2-0 in their historic series and the Kiwis failed to qualify for the final of the Pacific Cup.

Tonga’s epic 25-24 triumph over New Zealand has seen Kristian Woolf’s men leapfrog the Toa into fourth spot, while Papua New Guinea has climbed from seventh into six place – trading positions with Fiji – after winning the Pacific Bowl for a second consecutive year.

In the women’s rankings, there has been significant movement after qualifying tournaments and matches for the 2026 World Cup in Africa, Europe, North America and the Pacific.

Samoa's rise from 24th position to 11th is based on the Pacific nation being rewarded for playing regular matches in official IRL competitions and winning against higher ranked opponents.

The Fetū beat Cook Islands and Fiji to claim the seventh berth at RLWC2026 in Australia and Papua New Guinea and then climbed higher by toppling PNG Orchids in a promotion-relegation play-off for a place in next year’s Pacific Cup against Australia and New Zealand.

Before their 2023 Pacific Championships defeat of Fiji, Samoa had not won a women’s international since 2008.

Samoa has also played more matches in the past 12 months than they had in the previous 12 years - winning all four under the coaching of Jamie Soward.

The IRL World Rankings are calculated on each nation’s performance over the current season and the three preceding seasons. 

Points are awarded to each team for each match based on:

• The result of the match - win, lose or draw.
• The margin of victory (or defeat) - the larger the winning margin the greater the value to the rankings.
• The relative strength of opposition faced - if you play a higher ranked team that is of greater value than playing a lower ranked team.
• The date of the match – more recent matches are weighted more heavily - a result in the most recent two years is worth double a result three years ago and four times a result that is four years old.
• The importance of the match - World Cup matches are ranked top followed in order by World Cup Qualifiers, Regional Championships and one-off international matches.
• The points are then used to create the Official World Rankings by ordering the teams by virtue of the points gained over the four-year period.

Only officially sanctioned matches played at senior level between two approved members are considered as part of the rankings.

The 72 sanctioned international matches in 2024 was the most of any year besides 2022, when the men’s, women’s and wheelchair World Cups were staged together for the first time and an increase on last year’s record 64 international fixtures.

IRL Chair Troy Grant said: “There has been more international matches played this year than in the history of rugby league, played across all parts of the world, and with more countries playing than ever before.

“The quality, the standards, the viewership and the interest in international rugby league has never been as high, and that is largely to the credit of the IRL members who have collectively placed us in the most positive position the international game has been in for a number of years.

“In October and November, we saw another strong England performance during the tour by Samoa to the Northern Hemisphere, and a memorable men's and women's Pacific Championships.

“Congratulations to the ARLC for organising the event, along with the New Zealand Rugby League, and to Australia for winning both Pacific Cup competitions.

“We ended the year with another fantastic SudAmericano. Congratulations to Chile for winning the tournament and full credit to our newest member, Argentina Rugby League, for putting this competition on in arguably rugby league's world's most isolated area.

“With the return of The Ashes between Australia and England next year, and the World Cup in 2026, it is exciting times for international rugby league and there is much to look forward to.

“The women’s game is now the fastest growing part of rugby league, and it is really building up significant strength in places like Africa and Europe, as well as the Pacific.

“The first ever Women's Rugby League World Cup Qualifying competition in rugby league history was staged, with 16 nations across all four regions playing 15 games between April and October.

“I'd like to congratulate France, Samoa, and Wales for qualifying for Rugby League World Cup 2026, and we look forward to next year's final qualifying matches.

“Wheelchair Rugby League is also growing at an unbelievable pace. The World Cup in 2022 really put it into the hearts and minds of rugby league fans, particularly in England, and we expect the 2026 World Cup in Australia to have a similar impact.

“Wheelchair Rugby League's Celtic Cup was played in Ireland for the first time and won by the hosts, while New Zealand became the latest nation to play wheelchair rugby league.

“It is terrific to welcome New Zealand to that genre of the sport. They hosted Australia for two matches, meaning those two nations hosted wheelchair internationals for the first time in 2024.

“France ended the season with a magnificently organised and contested match against England.

“On behalf of the International Rugby League Board, I would like to thank the many volunteers and others whose hard work and dedication has enabled this fantastic growth.

“I would also like to congratulate and thank the players and coaches for their efforts on and off the field that have contributed to international rugby league being at the pinnacle of our sport.”

Men

Tonga and PNG are notable movers near the top of the IRL World Rankings ladder, but Serbia, Wales, Ukraine and USA are other nations who have climbed significantly.

Serbia is now ninth, just ahead of Cook Islands and Netherlands, after claiming third place in October’s European World Cup qualifying tournament in France.

Wales, who were runners-up to France in the tournament to decide the European nation in the 2025 World Series, have risen from 17th to 12th, while Ukraine has climbed from 20th to 14th. place.

The United States Hawks have moved up seven places from 31st to 24th spot after beating South Africa in two match series in Pretoria.

Argentina are now 34th after hosting the South American Championships and winning the final match against Chile, who took out the tournament based on for-and-against after beating Brazil in their other match.

Women

Besides Samoa, who have risen 11 places, Fiji are the other big mover in the women’s rankings after winning the Pacific berth at the 2025 World Series.

The Bulikula are also being rewarded for playing more regularly, with their two matches in this year’s World Cup qualifying tournament doubling the number of international fixtures they have played since 1998.

As a result of their win against Cook Islands and gripping 16-12 loss to Samoa, Fiji have moved from 26th to 16th place.

Ireland, who are also in the World Series, have climbed from 10th to seventh spot.

Wheelchair

New Zealand feature in the wheelchair World Rankings for the first time after making the international debut of the Wheel Kiwis against Australia.

Despite the Wheelaroos winning both matches in Auckland, Ireland has leapfrogged Australia into third place after their recent clash with France and Celtic Cup triumph against Wales and Scotland.

The trans-Tasman series was the first time the Wheelaroos had played since the World Cup in England in 2022.

Spain also played their first international matches since the World Cup when they faced England in France and have leapfrogged USA into seventh spot.