So, what is Rugby League World Cup? In the late 19th century, rugby split. The breakaway faction wanted to compensate its players for taking time off work to play. After breaking away, the clubs formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895.
What is the Rugby League World Cup?
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament that is held every four years. It features national teams from around the world competing for the title of world champion.
Which countries have won the Rugby League World Cup?
Australia has won the competition a record 11 times, while Great Britain (including England, Wales, and Scotland) has won it three times. New Zealand has won it once.
What is the format of the Rugby League World Cup?
The format of the Rugby League World Cup varies, but it typically involves group stages followed by knockout rounds leading up to a final.
How often is the Rugby League World Cup held?
The competition is held every four years.
When was the first Rugby League World Cup held?
The first Rugby League World Cup was held in 1954.
Over the next decade, the NRFU adopted new rules, such as 13 players for each team instead of 15 players. They also came up with a new scoring structure, no scrums, and no line-outs rules.
The new game became so popular with the working class and gave birth to the Rugby League. Half a century later, they introduced the Rugby League World Cup, a tournament that brought together member nations to compete for the trophy.
Want to learn about Rugby League World Cup History? Read on.
Rugby League World Cup History
History of the Rugby League World Cup starts in the 1930s. The French started promoting the idea of a World Cup for Rugby. Previously, other nations had completed tours of other test-playing nations. However, there was not a single tournament that unified rugby league teams from available nations.
It was not until 1951 when Paul Barriere, the French League president (at the time) proposed the idea of a World Cup. A year later, Bill Fallowfield, the Rugby Football League secretary (at the time) had a chat with the Rugby League Council. During the meeting, Fallowfield asked the council to back the idea of NRL World Cup.
In 1953, the International Board met in Blackpool where the officials accepted Barriere’s idea of a World Cup for the Rugby League. A year later, the first Rugby League World Cup was held in Paris, France.
Australia, France, Great Britain, and New Zealand teams participated. In the final game, Great Britain downed France in front of 30,000+ fans. After the game, France donated the trophy which was worth 8 million francs to the International Board. In 2017, they named the trophy – the Paul Barriere Trophy – in honor of Barriere.
Today, the Rugby League World Cup is usually held every four years. The tournament features qualification phases. These phases are usually arranged worldwide just before the event. The World Cup is open to all members and features competitions for wheelchair players, men and women.
Rugby League World Cup Locations
Rugby League World Cup locations can be worldwide. In 1954, Parc des Princes, a football stadium, played host to the first World Cup. The stadium, which has a seating capacity of 47,000+ spectators, is home to Paris Saint-Germain.
Three years after the first tournament in Paris, the next World Cup was in Australia where the Aussies went on to win the 1957 game. In 1960, the tournament returned with Great Britain taking the win on home soil.
It was not until 8 years later that they held the next Rugby League World Championship. In 1968, Australia played against France in the finals at the Sydney Cricket Ground. They won in front of 54,000+ spectators.
From then onwards, they held the World Cup every two years with Australia becoming the first nation to retain their title. Between 1985 and 1988, they held the tournament over four years where teams played each other at home and away.
At the PNG Football Stadium, newcomers Papua New Guinea beat New Zealand. Later, the Kiwis got defeated by Australia in the final at Auckland’s Eden Park. This format remained between 1989 and 1992. Tournaments were held at Wembley Stadium and Old Trafford.
Since 1954, there have been 13 competitions. The next tournament will start on 15th October 2023 and will run until 19th November 2023. The hosting country is England, and the tournament will run in 18 venues.
Rugby League World Cup Winners
The first Rugby World Cup champions in 1954 was Great Britain. They played against France and won 16 – 12. The next tournament was in Australia, and they went on to win the 1957 World Cup on home soil.
Three years later, Great Britain hosted the tournament and they took home the cup. The next tournament returned 8 years later and jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Australia took home the trophy after they downed France 20-2 in the final.
That tournament featured the highest crowd ever seen at a World Cup match. In fact, more than 62,000 people were in attendance at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In 1970, England hosted the tournament where Australia retained the title.
Two years later, France hosted the tournament where Australia lost the title to Great Britain. Come 1975, five countries hosted the tournaments with teams playing home and away matches. Host countries were Australia, England, New Zealand, France, and Wales.
Australia took home the 1975 World Cup trophy, which they retained till 2008 when New Zealand downed the title holders. In fact, the Kiwis downed the Kangaroos 34-20 in one of the most shocking results ever experienced in international rugby.
However, Australia won the trophy back in 2013. They went on to win the 2017 World Cup hosted in Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.
Highlights
Below are some rugby world cup highlights.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup held in Japan was one of the most watched rugby events. More than 857 million people worldwide watched the tournament via networks of rights-holding broadcast partners. This was a 26% increase from the previous tournament held in England.
In England, rugby league is the second-highest spectator sport. It had 6.8 million spectators attending the 1948 and 1949 seasons.
Rugby League is a popular sport in countries such as France, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, England, Lebanon, Tonga, South Africa, and others. In Papua New Guinea, Rugby League is the national sport.
There are more than 2.3 million registered rugby players globally and more than 100 affiliated members. However, the International Rugby League is currently dominated by:
New Zealand
England
Australia
Other nations from Europe and South Pacific also play in the European and Pacific tournaments.
Rugby League fans say that the game is more free-flowing and exciting. Rugby Union fans say they love the sport for its traditions and emphasis on kicking and defense. In the US, Rugby Union is more familiar where it’s primarily played in colleges.
Conclusion
The Rugby League World Cup is an international tournament held every four years. At the tournament, teams from more than 18 countries compete against each other and winners receive the Paul Barriere Trophy.
In 1954, only four teams competed in the tournament, but today, more than 16 teams compete against each other. With the growth in the number of teams, more people have been attending the tournament.
In fact, the audience doubled over the past 50 years. So, now you know more about this tournament and Rugby League World Cup winners list.
