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The crown jewels of international rugby league are set to return, with The Ashes, plus Kangaroos and Kiwis tours, back on the agenda as part of the new global calendar published today, which also included the announcement that the next Rugby League World Cup will be moved back to 2026.
International Rugby League (IRL) confirmed the return of some of the most celebrated competitions in the history of the sport, with England Men and Women to tour Australia in 2025 for an Ashes tour, before New Zealand travel north in 2027 and Australia in 2028.
Additionally, a Tri or Four Nations tournament is guaranteed every year in both hemispheres featuring sides that do not tour.
Alongside being pushed back to 2026, the Men’s World Cup will be reduced to ten teams but the Women’s and Wheelchair tournaments retained alongside it, before the Women’s World Cup splits into a standalone competition in 2028.
2026 will be hosted in the Southern Hemisphere, with bidding set to open to host the Women in 2028, then the Men in 2030.
With the reduction to ten teams in the Men’s tournament, a secondary tournament – known as the World Series – will come in for those that do not qualify.
All quarter-finalists from the previous tournament are confirmed for 2026, with two more to win their way through qualifying.
Crucially, that means that France, one of the game’s historic powerhouses, will have to qualify, as will the likes of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Cook Islands.
“It is no secret that the Achilles heel for international rugby league for far too long has been the absence of an International Calendar,” said IRL Chair Troy Grant.
“The ad hoc nature of tournaments and international matches, and the absence of any clarity for nations, players and fans to plan their seasons, is over.
The return of The Ashes is a headline move, with rugby league’s traditional contest between England and Australia having lain dormant since 2003, when Great Britain/England chose to host tournaments that also included New Zealand.
A Kangaroo Tour had been scheduled for 2020, but was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Grant assured media that the IRL had the backing of NRL clubs, who employ the bulk of the players, as well as the Rugby League Player’s Association.
Those two parties are currently locked in an industrial dispute in Australia, which had previously delayed the announcement of the international calendar.
“The International Calendar respects player workloads and importantly also reduces the impact on professional clubs,” said Grant.
“The standards have improved dramatically in recent years regarding player welfare and player workload issues, and they were key considerations in the calendar design.”