RLWC2026 Wheelchair tournament to light up Wollongong

The New South Wales beachside city of Wollongong is set to play host to the fifth Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup, which will be staged alongside the Men’s and Women’s tournaments in October and November.

Tickets are now on sale for the eight-team tournament, which will be played in its entirety at Wollongong’s WIN Entertainment Centre and will feature 20 awe-inspiring matches over 15 days, beginning on October 30.

The Rugby League World Cup 2026 Wheelchair tournament features two groups of four:

Group A

• England
• Ireland
• Wales
• USA

Group B

• France
• Australia
• Scotland
• New Zealand

England enters the tournament as No.1 on the IRL World Rankings and will be out to defend the World Cup trophy they won in an epic final against France at Manchester Central in 2022.

The host nation, Australia, are looking to build on a semi-final finish in 2022. The Wheelaroos best previous result at a World Cup was a runner-up finish in the inaugural 2008 event.

Wheelaroos captain Brad Grove said: “We played England in the Ashes on the Gold Coast last year. It was the first time we’ve played them since the last World Cup and they beat us with a couple of minutes to go. 

“We’ve taken that into consideration, we’re really excited because we think we’ve got a chance to win that World Cup here. 

“Last year it was really close, to win here at home, we don’t know when the next game in Australia is going to be so we want to get as many wins here as possible.”

The opening match of the tournament will coincide with the England v PNG Men’s and England v Samoa Women’s RLWC 2026 double header at the adjacent WIN Stadium on October 30, enabling England fans to support all three of their teams at the same venue.

Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown is thrilled to welcome the world’s best athletes to her city and expects fans to pack out the stands for the event. 

“It’s another opportunity to put Wollongong on the world stage,” Brown said. “Last year we had the World Triathlon, in 2022 we had the UCI [Road World Championships]. We’ve shown we can put on world-class events and I can’t wait for October 30 when the Wheelaroos roll on to the court at WIN Entertainment Centre. 

“The visitor economy always takes a boost whenever we have these events on, particularly when it’s over a week. People will come and stay for a period of time, spend their money around the city and that’s good for all of us.”

Tickets are just AUD$15 for adults and AUD$5 for children, or kids go free with a family ticket purchase (2 adults & 2 children).

Tickets are on sale through https://www.rlwc2026.com.