World Rankings

The Official International Rugby League (IRL) World Rankings are calculated on each nation’s performance over the current season and the three preceding seasons. 

Points are awarded to each team for each match based on:

  • The result of the match i.e. win, lose or draw 
  • The margin of victory (or defeat) - the larger the winning margin the greater the value to the rankings
  • The relative strength of opposition faced - if you play a higher ranked team that is of greater value than playing a lower ranked team
  • The date of the match – more recent matches are weighted more heavily - a result in the most recent 2 years is worth double a result 3 years ago and 4 times a result that is 4 years old
  • The importance of the match - World Cup matches are ranked top followed in order by World Cup Qualifiers, Regional Championships and one-off international matches

The points are then used to create the Official World Rankings by ordering the teams by virtue of the points gained over the four year period.

Only officially sanctioned matches played at senior level between two approved members are considered as part of the rankings.

World Rankings

International Rugby League world rankings are based upon results over the past 4 years of competition. They are expressed as a percentage of the Number 1 ranked nation (i.e. the number 1 ranked nation is 100 - the other nations are expressed as a percentage). Hover over team name to view previous ranking.
  1. 1
    Australia
    Australia
    ?
    Previous: 1st
    100%
  2. 2
    New Zealand
    New Zealand
    ?
    Previous: 2nd
    92%
  3. 3
    Samoa
    Samoa
    ?
    Previous: 3rd
    86%
  4. 4
    England
    England
    ?
    Previous 4th
    80%
  5. 5
    Tonga
    Tonga
    ?
    Previous 5th
    56%
  6. 6
    Papua New Guinea
    Papua New Guinea
    ?
    Previous 6th
    45%
  7. 7
    Fiji
    Fiji
    ?
    Previous 7th
    45%
  8. 8
    Lebanon
    Lebanon
    ?
    Previous 8th
    36%
  9. 9
    France
    France
    ?
    Previous 9th
    33%
  10. 10
    Serbia
    Serbia
    ?
    Previous 15th
    25%
  11. 11
    Wales
    Wales
    ?
    Previous 10th
    23%
  12. 12
    Ireland
    Ireland
    ?
    Previous 11th
    23%
  13. 13
    Cook Islands
    Cook Islands
    ?
    Previous 12th
    20%
  14. 14
    Italy
    Italy
    ?
    Previous 13th
    19%
  15. 15
    Jamaica
    Jamaica
    ?
    Previous 14th
    17%
  16. 16
    Greece
    Greece
    ?
    Previous 16th
    17%
  17. 17
    Scotland
    Scotland
    ?
    Previous 17th
    14%
  18. 18
    Netherlands
    Netherlands
    ?
    Previous 18th
    13%
  19. 19
    Malta
    Malta
    ?
    Previous 19th
    11%
  20. 20
    Turkey
    Turkey
    ?
    Previous 20th
    11%
  21. 21
    Germany
    Germany
    ?
    Previous 21st
    6%
  22. 22
    Chile
    Chile
    ?
    Previous 23rd
    6%
  23. 23
    Nigeria
    Nigeria
    ?
    Previous 24th
    6%
  24. 24
    Ghana
    Ghana
    ?
    Previous 26th
    6%
  25. 25
    Brazil
    Brazil
    ?
    Previous 22nd
    6%
  26. 26
    South Africa
    South Africa
    ?
    Previous 26th
    6%
  27. 27
    Czech Republic
    Czech Republic
    ?
    Previous 27th
    5%
  28. 28
    Ukraine
    Ukraine
    ?
    Previous 28th
    4%
  29. 29
    Poland
    Poland
    ?
    Previous 30th
    3%
  30. 30
    Cameroon
    Cameroon
    ?
    Previous 31st
    3%
  31. 31
    Kenya
    Kenya
    ?
    32nd
    3%
  32. 32
    Spain
    Spain
    ?
    Previous 33rd
    3%
  33. 33
    Philippines
    Philippines
    ?
    Previous 29th
    3%
  34. 34
    Norway
    Norway
    ?
    Previous 35th
    2%
  35. 35
    Bulgaria
    Bulgaria
    ?
    Previous 34th
    2%
  36. 36
    Colombia
    Colombia
    ?
    Previous 36th
    2%
  37. 37
    USA
    USA
    ?
    Previous 38th
    1%
  38. 38
    MONTENEGRO
    MONTENEGRO
    ?
    Previous 39th
    1%
  39. 39
    Solomon Islands
    Solomon Islands
    ?
    Previous 41st
    1%
  40. 40
    Hungary
    Hungary
    ?
    Previous 37th
    1%
  41. 41
    Sweden
    Sweden
    ?
    Previous 42nd
    1%
  42. 42
    Morocco
    Morocco
    ?
    Previous 43rd
    1%
  43. 43
    Canada
    Canada
    ?
    Previous 44th
    1%
  44. 44
    Japan
    Japan
    ?
    45th
    1%
  45. 45
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    ?
    Previous 40th
    0%
  46. 46
    Vanuatu
    Vanuatu
    ?
    Previous 46th
    0%
  47. 47
    El Salvador
    El Salvador
    ?
    47th
    0%
  48. 48
    Belgium
    Belgium
    ?
    Previous 48th
    0%
  49. 49
    Argentina
    Argentina
    0%
  50. 50
    Denmark
    Denmark
    ?
    Previous 49th
    0%
  51. 51
    Latvia
    Latvia
    ?
    Previous 50th
    0%
International Rugby League world rankings are based upon results over the past 4 years of competition. They are expressed as a percentage of the Number 1 ranked nation (i.e. the number 1 ranked nation is 100 - the other nations are expressed as a percentage). Hover over team name to view previous ranking.
  1. 1
    Australia
    Australia
    ?
    Previous: 1st
    100%
  2. 2
    New Zealand
    New Zealand
    ?
    Previous: 2nd
    80%
  3. 3
    England
    England
    ?
    Previous: 3rd
    76%
  4. 4
    France
    France
    ?
    Previous: 5th
    37%
  5. 5
    Papua New Guinea
    Papua New Guinea
    ?
    Previous: 4th
    33%
  6. 6
    Cook Islands
    Cook Islands
    ?
    Previous: 6th
    28%
  7. 7
    Canada
    Canada
    ?
    Previous: 7th
    24%
  8. 8
    Ireland
    Ireland
    ?
    Previous: 8th
    22%
  9. 9
    Wales
    Wales
    ?
    Previous: 9th
    18%
  10. 10
    Brazil
    Brazil
    ?
    Previous: 10th
    17%
  11. 11
    Greece
    Greece
    ?
    Previous: 11th
    14%
  12. 12
    Serbia
    Serbia
    ?
    Previous: 12th
    14%
  13. 13
    Italy
    Italy
    ?
    Previous: 14th
    9%
  14. 14
    Philippines
    Philippines
    ?
    19th
    7%
  15. 15
    Turkey
    Turkey
    ?
    Previous: 13th
    7%
  16. 16
    Tonga
    Tonga
    ?
    Previous: 15th
    6%
  17. 17
    Malta
    Malta
    ?
    16th
    4%
  18. 18
    USA
    USA
    ?
    Previous: 17th
    3%
  19. 19
    Fiji
    Fiji
    ?
    Previous: 18th
    2%
  20. 20
    Samoa
    Samoa
    ?
    Previous: 20th
    2%
  21. 21
    Lebanon
    Lebanon
    ?
    Previous: 21st
    1%
  22. 22
    Argentina
    Argentina
    ?
    22nd
    0%
International Rugby League world rankings are based upon results over the past 4 years of competition. They are expressed as a percentage of the Number 1 ranked nation (i.e. the number 1 ranked nation is 100 - the other nations are expressed as a percentage). Hover over team name to view previous ranking.
  1. 1
    England
    England
    ?
    Previous: 1st
    100%
  2. 2
    France
    France
    ?
    Previous: 2nd
    85%
  3. 3
    Wales
    Wales
    ?
    Previous: 4th
    61%
  4. 4
    Australia
    Australia
    ?
    Previous: 3rd
    52%
  5. 5
    Ireland
    Ireland
    ?
    Previous: 5th
    42%
  6. 6
    Scotland
    Scotland
    ?
    Previous: 6th
    33%
  7. 7
    Spain
    Spain
    ?
    Previous: 7th
    21%
  8. 8
    USA
    USA
    ?
    8th
    19%
  9. 9
    Italy
    Italy
    ?
    Previous: 9th
    0%
PARTNERS