The 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s was the first staging of the

Rugby League World Cup 9s The Rugby League World Cup 9s (currently known as the Downer Rugby League 9s World Cup for sponsorship purposes) is an international rugby league tournament played in the rugby league nines format of the sport. The competition will be held ever ...

tournament and took place on 18 and 19 October 2019 at

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Bankwest Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadi ...

. The tournament featured teams from 12

International Rugby League The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...

member countries, 4 of which also fielded teams in the women's tournament. In the men's final, Australia defeated New Zealand, while in the women's final, New Zealand defeated Australia.

Rule variations

The standard rules of rugby league applied but with the following variations: * games are nine-a-side with unlimited interchanges in the 13-strong squad * each half is nine minutes with a 2-minute half time * the tackle count for the team in possession is five rather than six * any player sin-binned is off the field for only three minutes * the 40/20 rule is supplemented by a 20/40 rule i.e. a kick from behind the player's own 20m line which after bouncing goes into touch past the opponent's 40m line will result in the kicking team retaining possession with a tap-restart * Bonus zone tries - tries score four points as normal but the value of the try will be increased to five for a try scored in the area between the goalposts * all conversions are drop kicks rather than place kicks and a 25-second

shot clock A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, proving a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, wat ...

will apply * a game which goes to extra time will be decided by golden try extra time

Teams

The competing teams were hand picked, and the selections were announced on 22 April 2019. On 27 September 2019, the

Tonga National Rugby League The Tonga National Rugby League (TNRL) was the governing body for rugby league in Tonga. It is based in the capital Nuku'alofa. The TNRL was founded in 1949 and has been a member of the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) since 1974. A ...

were suspended by the

(IRL), pending an investigation into their board. Tonga were represented at the tournament by a "Tonga Invitatonal" team.

Men's

Women's

Match Officials

The NRL named the following 18

NRL match officials The NRL match officials are a select group of trained professional and semi-professional rugby league match officials who officiate in the National Rugby League (NRL) and lower tier rugby league competitions, including the Holden Cup, the Intr ...

to handle the 28 matches. * Grant Atkins * Tyson Brough *

Matt Cecchin Matt Cecchin is an Australian former rugby league referee who officiated in the NRL between 2001 and 2021. Cecchin has officiated international matches at the 2011 Four Nations and 2017 World Cup, and domestic representative matches in all th ...

* Ben Cummins * Darian Furner * Adam Gee * Peter Gough * Phil Henderson * Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski *

Belinda Sharpe Belinda Sharpe née Sleeman is an Australian rugby league referee and former journalist, and is the first woman to referee a first-grade match in the National Rugby League. Sharpe was born and grew up in Rockhampton, Queensland, where she work ...

* Todd Smith * Jon Stone * Chris Sutton * Gerard Sutton * Chris Kendall * Stephane Vincent *

Henry Perenara Henry Edward Perenara (born 16 June 1980) is a New Zealand rugby league referee and former professional footballer who represented New Zealand. He played as a , though he could also play in the . He is also the first NRL referee in history to s ...

* Paki Parkinson

Venue

Men's tournament

Pool stage

The pools were announced on 22 July 2019. The draw was announced on 4 August 2019.

Pool A

Pool B

''Lebanon were stripped of their win over France due to fielding an ineligible player.''

Pool C

Knockout stage

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Semi-finals

=New Zealand vs England

= ----

=Australia vs Samoa

= ----

Final: Australia v New Zealand

Women's tournament

Pool stage

The draw was announced on 4 August 2019. ----

Final: Australia v New Zealand

Try scorers

Men's

;7 * Jamayne Isaako ;5 *

Ken Maumalo Ken Maumalo (born 16 July 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the West Tigers in the NRL and has played for Samoa and New Zealand at international level. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in th ...

;4 *

Josh Addo-Carr Josh Addo-Carr (born 28 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level. He began his career with ...

Kyle Feldt Kyle Feldt (born 9 February 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. Feldt has played for the Prime Minister's XIII, and was a member of the Cowboys' 2015 NRL ...

Mitchell Moses Mitchell Moses (Arabic: ميتشل موسى; born 16 September 1994) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He also plays for the Lebanon national team. He previously played for the Wests ...

;3 * Robert Jennings * Sione Katoa *

Bilal Maarbani Bilal Maarbani (12 February 1998) is a Lebanon international rugby league footballer who plays as a or er for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles in the NSW Cup. He was selected to represent the Lebanon in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup and at t ...

* Marion Seve *

Reimis Smith Reimis Smith (born 13 May 1997) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and er for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL. He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League and has p ...

Maika Tudravu Maika may refer to: People Given name * Maika (wrestler), 舞華, Japanese professional wrestler * Maika Elan (born 1986), Vietnam photographer * Maika Felise, Samoan rugby league player * Maika Friemann-Jennert (born 1964), German politicia ...

;2 * Dean Blore *

AJ Brimson Alexander "AJ" Brimson (born 9 September 1998) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for Queensland in the State of Origin series and Australi ...

* Nathan Brown * Mike Butt * Jake Connor * David Fifita *

Edene Gebbie Edene Gebbie (born 6 May 1995) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and er for Whitehaven in the Betfred Championship and Papua New Guinea at international level. He previously played for the PNG Hunter ...

Anthony Gelling Anthony Gelling (born 18 October 1990) is a Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who plays as a er and forward. He has previously played for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League, the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby L ...

* Campbell Graham * Ash Handley *

Kayal Iro Kayal Roy Iro (born 20 February 2000) is a Cook Islands national rugby league team, Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who plays as a er and for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League, NRL. Background Iro i ...

Shaun Johnson Shaun Johnson (born 9 September 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL) and the New Zealand Kiwis at international level. He has played pr ...

* Elliot Kear *

Moses Leota Moses Leota (born 20 July 1995) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League, NRL. He has played for both Samoa national rugby league team, Samoa and New Zealand national ru ...

* Danny Levi * Gavin Marguerite *

Jermaine McGillvary Jermaine McGillvary (born 16 May 1988) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays on the for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League. He has played for the England Knights, England and Great Britain at international level. ...

Travis Robinson Travis Robinson (born 13 June 1987) is a Lebanon international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Newtown Jets in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW. He previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. ...

Bailey Simonsson Bailey George Simonsson (born 18 February 1998) is a New Zealand Māori international rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. Background Simonsson was born in Mona Vale, New South Wales, Australia. He ...

Sam Tomkins Sam Tomkins (born 23 March 1989) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and occasional for the Catalans Dragons in the Betfred Super League and England at international level. He is the two time and current and r ...

Brian To'o Brian To'o (born 18 August 1998) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL. He won both the 2021 and the 2022 NRL Grand Finals with the Panthers. He has represented the NSW Blues in ...

;1 * Stargroth Amean * Tevin Arona *

Jai Arrow Jai Arrow (born 12 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er, and for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby Le ...

Blake Austin Blake Austin (born 1 February 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Leeds Rhinos in the Betfred Super League. Austin previously played for the Warrington Wolves ( Heritage № 1147), Canberra Raiders, Penrit ...

* Lambert Belmas * Watson Boas * Ryan Burroughs *

Daly Cherry-Evans Daly Cherry-Evans (born 20 February 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level. He captains Manly and won the 2011 NRL Grand ...

Daryl Clark Daryl Clark (born 10 February 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Warrington Wolves in the Betfred Super League and England at international level. He played for the Castleford Tigers ( Heritage � ...

* Alrix Da Costa * William Fakatoumafi *

Bureta Faraimo Bureta Faraimo (born 16 July 1990) is a United States international rugby league footballer who plays on the for the Castleford Tigers in the Betfred Super League. He has previously played for the Parramatta Eels and the New Zealand Warriors ...

* Kristian Freed *

Tyson Frizell Tyson Lomano David Frizell (born 9 October 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who usually plays as a er for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He has played for Wales in the 2011 Four Nations and 2013 Rugby League World Cup and Aust ...

* Regan Grace *

Clinton Gutherson Clinton Gutherson (born 9 September 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He previously played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League, a ...

* Ryan Hall * Tim Lafai * Thomas Lasvenes * Joseva Lawalawa * Kyle Laybutt * Penaia Leveleve *

Garry Lo Garry Lo (born 1 November 1993) is a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer who plays for the Waghi Tumbe in the Digicel Cup. Lo plays as a winger. He is also a Papua New Guinea international. He represented Papua New Guinea in the 2017 Ru ...

Jarome Luai Jarome Luai (born 16 January 1997) is a international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL (National Rugby League). He won both the 2021 and the 2022 NRL Grand Finals with the Penrith club. He has repr ...

* Paul Marcon * Jeremy Marshall-King * Steven Marsters *

Kevin Naiqama Kevin Naiqama (born 4 February 1989) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who usually plays as a or er for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League and as a or for Fiji at International level. He previously played for the ...

Tesi Niu Fanitesi Niu (born 11 August 2001) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for The Dolphins in the National Rugby League. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. Background Niu was born in Brisb ...

David Nofoaluma David Nofoaluma (born 28 November 1993) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays on the for the Wests Tigers in the NRL. He previously played for the Melbourne Storm on-loan from the Wests Tigers and has played at representa ...

* Justin Olam *

Tevita Pangai Junior Tevita Pangai Junior (born 4 February 1996) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and Penrith Panthers with whom w ...

Ryan Papenhuyzen Ryan Papenhuyzen (born 10 June 1998) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia. He is a NRL premiership winning player of 2020. Early life Papen ...

Kalyn Ponga Kalyn Ponga (born 30 March 1998) is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a for the Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League, NRL. He played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League, New ...

* John Puna *

Nixon Putt Nixon Putt (born 3 March 1996) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Central Queensland Capras in the Qld Cup and Papua New Guinea at international level. He previously played for the PNG Hunters and No ...

* Selestino Ravutaumada * Reubenn Rennie *

Reece Robinson Reece Robinson (born 13 June 1987) is a Lebanon international rugby league footballer who most recently played for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders and Parramatta Eels in the Nat ...

* Arthur Romano * Dan Russell *

Ligi Sao Liligiifo Sao (born 11 October 1992) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for Hull F.C. in the Betfred Super League. Sao previously played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors in the ...

Maika Sivo Maika Sivo (born 3 October 1993) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Fiji at international level. Background Sivo grew up in Nadi, Fiji. Sivo playe ...

Ryan Sutton Ryan Sutton (born 2 August 1995) is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL). He previously played for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League an ...

* Brody Tamarua * Charbel Tasipale * Aaron Teroi *

Junior Vaivai Taioalo "Junior" Vaivai (born 18 January 1990) is a Professional Rugby League player. He is also a United States international who plays as a for Toulouse Olympique in the English Super League. He has previously played for the Penrith Panthers ...

* Malakai Watene-Zelezniak * Lloyd White *

Elliott Whitehead Elliott Whitehead (born 4 September 1989) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL, and England and Great Britain at international level. He previously played for the Bradf ...

Gareth Widdop Gareth Widdop (born 12 March 1989) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Castleford Tigers in the Betfred Super League, and England and Great Britain at international level. Widdop previously played the ...

----

Women's

;5 *

Tiana Penitani Tiana Penitani (born 12 January 1996) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NSWRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a , she is an Au ...

;4 *

Honey Hireme Arneta Honey Hireme-Smiler (born 3 May 1981) is a New Zealand rugby football player who has represented her country in rugby league, rugby sevens and rugby union. Due to her multi-sport career, Hireme-Smiler has been referred to as Honey Bill W ...

Corban McGregor Corban Baxter (''née'' McGregor; born 10 April 1994) is an Australian international rugby league footballer who plays as a , or for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NSWRL Women's Premiership. She last played for the Sydney Roosters in ...

;3 * Jules Newman ;2 * Ali Brigginshaw *

Isabelle Kelly Isabelle Maree Kelly (born 20 September 1996) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Central Coast Roosters in the NSWRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a , she is an Au ...

* Rhiannon Marshall *

Nita Maynard Nita Maynard (born 7 July 1992) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a , she is a New Zealand and New South Wales representative. Before switching to ...

Raecene McGregor Raecene McGregor (born 23 October 1997) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who plays for St George Illawarra Dragons, in the NRL Women's Premiership and the North Sydney Bears in the NSWRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a halfback she i ...

* Ua Ravu *

Krystal Rota Krystal Rota (born 3 October 1985) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer. She previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a , she is a New Zealand international. Backgrou ...

Kiana Takairangi Kiana Takairangi (born 20 July 1992) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Cronulla Sharks in the NRL Women's Premiership. A er or , she has represented the Cook Islands and New Zealand internationall ...

Shakiah Tungai Shakiah Tungai (born 29 November 1996) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays a and for the St. George Illawarra Dragons Women in the NRL Women's Premiership. She is an Australian and New South Wales representative. Shakiah atten ...

;1 * Elsie Albert *

Kezie Apps Kezie Apps (born 4 February 1991) is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays as a for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Wests Tigers in the NSWRL Women's Premiership. She is an Australian internati ...

* Caitlin Beevers * Leah Burke *

Keeley Davis Keeley Davis (born January 4, 1976) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and graphic designer. He is best known as a member of the post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, with whom he has recorded one studio album, '' In•ter a•li•a' ...

* Amy Hardcastle * Janet Johns * Kanyon Paul *

Julia Robinson Julia Hall Bowman Robinson (December 8, 1919July 30, 1985) was an American mathematician noted for her contributions to the fields of computability theory and computational complexity theory—most notably in decision problems. Her work on Hilber ...

* Emily Rudge * Jessica Sergis *

Hannah Southwell Hannah Southwell (born 4 March 1999) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently co-captains the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a , she is an Australian and New South Wales representative. ...

* Atawhai Tupaea * Georgia Wilson

Controversy

On 19 October 2019,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

's Jacob Kiraz and Jordan Samrani and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

women's players Sera Koroi and Joyce Waula were all suspended from the tournament for being under the age of 18. While the

allows players 16 or older to play in Test matches, the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

(who ran the tournament) rules require that players must be 18 or older. Kiraz, who would not turn 18 until November 2019, was the only one of the four to play a game, coming off the bench in Lebanon's 12–8 win over France. Lebanon were stripped of the two competition points earned for their win as a result.

Media coverage

References

{{2019 in rugby league 2019 in Australian rugby league

Rugby league in Sydney Sports competitions in Sydney International rugby league competitions hosted by Australia Rugby league nines Rugby League World Cup 9s