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England RL

21 Dec 2022

England Wheelchair's World Cup win reflected in latest IRL World Rankings

England Wheelchair's World Cup win reflected in latest IRL World Rankings

England’s Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup success has been recognised by their elevation to Number One in the new International Rugby League World Rankings.

Tom Coyd’s team have climbed above arch rivals France, who had held the position since beating them in the 2017 World Cup Final.

England Women have consolidated their position at Number Three, behind New Zealand and world champions Australia, while England’s Men have slipped to fourth, with Samoa’s achievement in reaching the World Cup Final recognised as they climb to a best-ever position of third, and Mal Meninga’s Kangaroos returning to the top of the rankings above New Zealand for the first time since 2019 after their victory over Samoa at Old Trafford.

“This is a great way to finish an amazing year,” said Coyd. “We had the target of beating France in our home World Cup pretty much since the last World Cup in 2017.

"But we always recognised it would be a massive challenge to overtake them as the world number one – and the quality and intensity of the Final in Manchester underlined that.

"I’m delighted for all the guys who worked so hard for so long – and it’s also great to see the effect of the World Cup in the expansion of the world rankings, as Wheelchair Rugby League goes to another level.”

The full rankings are listed on the IRL website.

There are now nine teams in the Wheelchair rankings. Australia have climbed from sixth to third after their impressive World Cup performances, Wales are fourth, Ireland fifth and Scotland sixth.

The 22 teams in the Women’s rankings include Cook Islands in sixth and Brazil in 10th, after their World Cup performances. Papua New Guinea and France, who were both beaten by England during the tournament, remain fourth and fifth, while Wales’s competitiveness in consecutive internationals against England in 2021 and 2022 is recognised as they climb to ninth – leaving them well-placed to push for qualification in the 2025 World Cup in France.

There are 51 teams in the Men’s rankings, with Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Lebanon climbing to sixth, seventh and eighth respectively, leaving them above the European quartet of France (9th), Wales (10th), Ireland (11th) and Scotland (17th).

Troy Grant, the IRL Chair, said: “On behalf of the IRL I would like to congratulate the Australian men’s and women’s teams and the England wheelchair team.

“All three teams proved they are the best in their discipline with unbeaten records at the recently completed World Cup in England, culminating in victory in their finals at Old Trafford and Manchester Central.

“In the case of England, they also overcame France - the previous No.1 ranked wheelchair team - in a mid-season Test before again triumphing against the defending world champions in the World Cup final.

“For the Kangaroos and Jillaroos, the World Cup marked a welcome return to the international arena after a hiatus since 2019 due to COVID restrictions and fans look forward to seeing the world champions in action in 2023.”

The IRL World Rankings are determined by the following criteria:

  • Teams are awarded ranking points each time they play a sanctioned international fixture;
  • Result and margin: The bigger the win, the more points the winning team receives and the fewer points are awarded to the loser;
  • Strength of opponent: The higher the ranking of the opponent the greater the weighting of the result.
  • Importance of the match: Games in official competition are weighted higher than bi-lateral arranged games. Rugby League World Cup games carry the greatest weighting, and;
  • More recent games are weighted higher than older games and only games since the 2017 World Cup are considered.