Rugby League World Cup 2026: Why I’ll be watching every Kiwis game for my dad

The Kiwis are chasing Rugby League World Cup glory in 2026, but with Tonga and Samoa on the rise, the Pacific could have a major say in who lifts the trophy.

I have few regrets in life, but one that's stuck with me over the decades comes from 2008. It was late November and the Kiwis were playing Australia in the final of the Rugby League World Cup. My dad – a bonafide league diehard – couldn’t have been more excited.

We weren’t rich enough to afford Sky, but Māori TV was showing a delayed broadcast of the match and Dad wanted me to stay home and watch it with him. Instead, 13-year-old me was more concerned about going to a pool party in Gulf Harbour and chasing girls.

“You don’t want to watch the game with me?” I remember Dad asking me with a disappointed look on his face.

He was nice enough to eventually give in to my request to go to the party, after putting up with my bitching and moaning. I can’t remember where I ended up that night, but I do recall the party was shit. At some point, I heard the Kiwis had won the game and remember being in utter disbelief. What an upset.

The next morning, I was hitchhiking down Whangaparāoa Road back towards Stanmore Bay when I was picked up by a young brown man. “You watch the game last night?” I asked excitedly, hoping to break the ice and bask in New Zealand’s maiden Rugby League World Cup glory with him. “Nah, I don’t watch men running around in short shorts hugging each other on the ground,” he replied.

My dad has passed on now. While I’ll never have the opportunity to watch the Kiwis lift the Paul Barrière Trophy with him again, I'll certainly be making a point to watch every Kiwis game in their 2026 campaign, hoping they can repeat the triumphs of 18 years ago.

The 2026 World Cup begins tonight in Sydney with a highly-anticipated match between tournament favourites Australia and New Zealand kicking off at 10pm NZT. Running over the next five weeks, the competition will be predominantly hosted in Australia, with a Kiwis game against the Cook Islands in Christchurch being the sole game this side of the Tasman. The tournament will feature 10 teams across two pools. Australia and New Zealand are the favourites to finish in the top two of Pool A and advance to the finals, with the Fiji Bati and Cook Islands Aitu hoping they can pull off a major upset and nab a semifinal berth. 

Meanwhile, the other pool includes six teams, with England, France, Lebanon, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga all vying for a spot in the final four. While Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Samoa are widely expected to advance through to the finals, previous tournaments have shown anything can happen.

Defending champions Australia will be without star halfback Nathan Cleary, after he broke his leg in a NRL preliminary final against Newcastle. However, the 12-time champions are once again the bookies’ favourites to take home the trophy. The Kangaroos have a star-studded line up comprised of multiple Dally M winning players and representative superstars. But the Kevin Walters coached side will be acutely aware winning the tournament will be no walk in the park. 

For one thing, this year’s Kiwis team has been hailed as one of the strongest ever assembled, fronted by one of the strongest forward packs the game has seen. Changes in eligibility rules for State of Origin players earlier this year means superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga and Newcastle teammate Dane Gagai can now represent New Zealand at international level. 

Tonga and their Pacific archrivals Samoa continue to benefit from a movement of top-level players returning to play for their motherland, sparked by Jason Taumalolo’s historic decision in 2017 to defect from New Zealand and play for Tonga. Mate Ma’a Tonga is littered with NRL superstars, including Haumole Olakau'atu and Robert Toia, who both made the Dally M team of the year. 

Toa Samoa will be hoping to go one better in 2026 after finishing as runners-up in 2021, becoming the first team outside of England, New Zealand and Australia to make a World Cup final since France in 1968. NRL Premiership winning Benaiah Ioelu and Spencer Leniu feature in the squad, as do fellow finalists Greg Marzhew, Francis Manuleleua, Jermaine McEwen and Pasami Saulo.

England remains a dark horse in the tournament, seeking its first World Cup title as an independent country (Great Britain has won three World Cups). The Dolphins’ Dally M centre of the year Herbie Farnworth headlines the squad and is joined by NRL premiership winner Victor Radley and fellow finalists Dom Young and Hugo Savala.

In my neighbourhood of Māngere, cars are already covered in Samoan and Tongan flags. If the recent Pacific Cups are anything to go by, the town centre down the road from my house will soon become a rallying point for proud fans, blasting music through their sirens, honking horns and parading into the early hours of the morning. Whatever the result, they'll be making noise and sending their support across the Tasman.

The rise of Tonga and Samoa has given their supporters even more reason to believe. The Kiwis' 2008 victory remains one of New Zealand's great sporting achievements, and another triumph would be something special. But imagine if a team outside the traditional powers of New Zealand, Australia and England went all the way.

I'll be cheering for the Kiwis, of course. I'll watch every game, hoping to see them lift the Paul Barrière Trophy again. And when I do, I'll think of my old man, and the game I wish I'd stayed home to watch with him.