Mal Meninga’s Kangaroos are once more the number-one ranked nation in men’s rugby league after a World Cup campaign in which they notched six wins from six games en route to a third consecutive world title.
A 30-10 World Cup Final victory over a plucky Sāmoan side capped off a perfect tournament for the Kangaroos.
The Australians entered the tournament as short-priced favourites despite finding themselves ranked behind New Zealand, Tonga, and England by the IRL largely due to a nearly three-year absence from international play.
They had gone down in two of their previous four encounters and, for once, the natural order had been challenged.
New Zealand drop to second in the IRL rankings after narrowly going down to Australia in a famous semi-final in Leeds.
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Sāmoa have risen to third – their highest ever ranking – after upsetting England in a bumper semi-final in London to qualify for their maiden World Cup Final.
England are fourth whilst Tonga have dropped to fifth after a disappointing quarterfinals defeat at the hands of Pacific rivals Sāmoa.
Papua New Guinea have leapfrogged Fiji into sixth with Lebanon jumping from 13th to eighth after winning two of their three group stage clashes before going down to the Kangaroos in the quarterfinals.
France and Wales round out the top 10 whilst other big movers include the Cook Islands – 20th to 12th – and Jamaica – 21st to 13th.
Serbia are the highest-ranked side that did not compete in the World Cup followed by the Netherlands and Malta.
Lower down the table, Brazil are rejoicing after their South Americas Championship victory over Chile and Colombia – rising from 40th to 22nd.
Nigeria have also climbed into the top 25 after their MEA Championship win over Ghana.
In the women’s, the Jillaroos continue their stranglehold on the number-one spot after winning another World Cup.
Runners-up New Zealand are second with England third and Papua New Guinea fourth.
World Cup rookies Canada and Brazil also find themselves in the top 10.
England’s wheelchair title, meanwhile, has allowed them to leapfrog France and claim the top spot with France second and Australia, Wales, and Ireland rounding out the top five.
There are reports that the IRL is in the process of drafting a multi-year international rugby league calendar in preparation for the sport’s next World Cup in France in 2025, however, the NRL’s ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations have interfered with it being ratified.
