The Women's Rugby League World Cup is an international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

tournament, contested by the women's national team of the

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 ...

(IRL). The competition has been held since 2000 in Great Britain and since 2008 has been part of the

Festival of World Cups The Festival of World Cups is a collection of Rugby League World Cups usually held as a support series alongside the centrepiece Men's, Women's, and Wheelchair tournaments. First held in 2008, the festival includes events such as police, armed ...

. Under the current format, eight teams are separated into two groups of four with the top two qualifying for the semis. Throughout the five editions, the Women's Rugby League World Cup has been won by two teams.

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

has won three times while

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

has also won the title three times, including the most recent one (

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

History

Background

Women's Rugby League had been played in both

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

for several years but it was not until 1985 in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and 1993 in

and

where female only organizations and governing bodies were established and while the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisat ...

recognized the British women in 1985 it took another five years for the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

to officially recognize the

Australian Women's Rugby League The Australian Women's Rugby League is the governing body of Women's rugby league, female rugby league in Australia and other parts of Oceania and was established in 1993. It currently falls under the Australian Rugby League Commission which over ...

. New Zealand Women's Rugby League were officially recognized by the governing body New Zealand Rugby League Inc in 1995. This is partially the reason for no Women's World Cup being held until the year 2000 when these organizations collectively came together to organize it.

Tournaments

The 2000 World Cup was held in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The final was contested between

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

and

with New Zealand being crowned champions by a score of 26-4. The 2003 World Cup was held in

Albany, New Zealand Albany ( mi, Ōkahukura) is one of the northernmost suburbs of the contiguous Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. It is located to the north of the Waitematā Harbour, northwest of the Auckland city centre. The suburb is in the Albany ...

and was contested by teams from Australi,

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between T ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

, New Zealand Māori and

. New Zealand would eventually win the competition, beating New Zealand Maori by a score of 58-0. New Zealand went through the tournament unbeaten with only four points scored against them. The 2008 World Cup was held was held in

, with all matches at Sunshine Coast Stadium apart from the final, which was held at

Lang Park Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. Teams from Australia,

, England, Samoa, Tonga, Pacific Islands,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and Russia participated in the tournament. This was the first tournament in which Great Britain didn't participate, their place being taken by England. It was also the first tournament to feature more than one team from Europe with France and Russia. To date, this is the only tournament that Russia has participated in. New Zealand won the 2008 World Cup defeating Australia 34–0 in the final. Up to this point, New Zealand had won all three world cups that had been held. The 2013 World Cup was held in

with all four venues being in the county of

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. For the tournament, the number of teams was reduced from eight to just four with Australia, New Zealand, England and France taking part. France performed particularly poorly in the competition, conceding 202 points in their three games and scoring just 4. The final was held at

Headingley Stadium Headingley Stadium is a stadium complex in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, comprising two separate grounds; Headingley Cricket Ground and Headingley Rugby Stadium, linked by a two-sided stand housing common facilities. The ground ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

and was contested by Australia and New Zealand. Australia won by a score of 22-12 to win their first world cup. The 2017 World Cup was held in

, with all matches at

Endeavour Field Endeavour Field (also known by its commercial name PointsBet Stadium and colloquially as Shark Park during Cronulla Sharks matches) is a rugby league stadium in the southern Sydney suburb of Woolooware, New South Wales, Australia. It is the ...

Cronulla, New South Wales Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the S ...

apart from the final, which was held at

in Brisbane, Queensland. The number of teams was increased from the previous tournament to 6. Despite taking part in the previous two tournaments, France did not feature, making England the sole representative of Europe. For the first time in the tournament's history, Canada would take part thus becoming the first team from North America to feature. Canada performed well, beating Papua New Guinea and reaching the semi-finals, eventually losing 58-6 to Australia. For the first time, the final was held as a double-header with the men's World Cup final with Australia defending their title by beating New Zealand by a score of 23-16. On 18 July 2019, the teams for the 2021 World Cup were announced with the tournament being expanded once again to eight teams. The tournament was be played alongside the men's and wheelchair competitions and took place in England. Teams from England, France, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Canada and Brazil took part. For the first time, teams from four different continents will play in the competition. The inclusion of Brazil means a team from South America will take part in for the first time in any Rugby League World Cup.

Results

Summary

Australia and New Zealand have been the most successful teams in the tournaments history, winning all 6 of the 6 World Cups that have been staged between them, with Australia coming out on top in the last three tournaments beating New Zealand in each of the 3 finals. In two of the finals (2005, 2008) NZ would even prevent their opponents from scoring, with the 2005 final seeing a devastation of the New Zealand Maori team by 58 points. New Zealand in turn would be crushed 54 - 4 by Australia in the 2022 final. In the first two World Cups, the home nations competed as Great Britain just as they did in the men's equivalent tournament up to the expansion of the competition in 1995. Since then, England have competed in GB's place. The 2005 tournament is the only one that has not been run alongside the men's tournament, all of the others taking place at the same time and using some of the same stadiums. The 2017 final was significant in that it was the first final to be played as a curtain-raiser to the men's final, this final taking place at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

Format

In 2000 three teams participated. There had been an intention that New Zealand Maori would participate as a fourth team, however this did not happen. In 2003 nine teams participated, initially in three groups of three. The top two teams in each pool progressed to a second phase, with the six teams divided into two pools. The bottom three teams from the first phase played a round-robin of consolation matches. After the second phase, the top two teams from each second phase pool entered the semi-finals. In 2008, the eight teams was split into two groups of four with the top two of each group progressing through semi-final and final rounds. The 2013 tournament saw a change in the format with the reductions of teams to four meant that there was only one group with the top two qualifying for the final. The following edition saw the return to a two-group format with the six teams being separated in two groups of three with an inter-group game so that they have still played three games as in previous tournaments. The semi-final round will be brought back for this tournament with the bottom team of each group being eliminated at the first stage.

Media coverage

Television coverage for the 2017 tournament is as follows: The 2021 tournament was shown live and in full in the UK on the BBC.

References

External links

Women's World Cup set for 2008
{{Main world championships Women's rugby league competitions Rugby league international tournaments

Rugby League World Cup 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 t ...

Recurring sporting events established in 2000 Rugby League pages needing cleanup Quadrennial sporting events World cups