The draw for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup was held today at Buckingham Palace with HRH, The Duke of Sussex presiding , also and involving Dame Katherine Granger and Jason Robinson (OBE).
There are just 645 days until the start of the competition on the Friday 26th October 2021 with the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair competitions all being hosted across English Stadia. It will be the largest ever World Cup and will create massive interest amongst die-hards and casual supporters and hopefully will be 'Inspiration All'.
Teams can now begin their preparation, ahead of the announcement of the venues and timings for the games and the organisers can make a start on publicity and ticket sales.
The draws were as follows (two to qualify from each group);
Men
Group A
ENGLAND
Samoa
France
Greece
Group B
AUSTRALIA
Fiji
Scotland
Italy
Group C
NEW ZEALAND
Lebanon
Jamaica
Ireland
Group D
TONGA
Papua New Guinea
Wales
Cook Islands
Women
Group A
ENGLAND
Papua New Guinea
Canada
Brazil
Group B
AUSTRALIA
New Zealand
France
Cook Islands
Wheelchair
Group A
ENGLAND
Australia
Spain
Norway
Group B
FRANCE
Wales
Scotland
USA
*Seeded sides in BOLD