Rugby League

RLWC organizers remain hopeful

July 29, 2021 12:08 pm

Organizers of the Rugby League World Cup remain hopeful that the event can be staged safely in England later this year, despite New Zealand and Australia’s withdrawal from the tournaments.

Men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions are due to be staged across England from October 23 to November 27, but organizers were dealt a hammer blow when the two top-ranked nations in men’s and women’s rugby league pulled out.

However, Rugby League World Cup 2021 leaders reacted angrily to the ARLC and NZRL announcement and have again insisted they want the competition to take place in spite of the pandemic and stance adopted by the ARLC and NZRL.

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The RLWC2021 held another emergency meeting today and have “instructed the RLWC2021 team to continue to hold further urgent discussions with all stakeholders, particularly the players, aimed at correcting misinformation as well as measuring the sentiment on proceeding with the tournament”, according to an official statement.

Five other members of the men’s top seven – Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea – are also Asia Pacific Rugby League members and have many Australian-based players, but so far remain committed to the World Cup.