The new look format for this year’s Rugby League World Cup is being questioned by a nation that suggests the revamped qualification process does not benefit all countries. The International Rugby League (IRL) reduced the number of men’s teams that qualified for RLWC26 from 16 to 10 in 2023 and did so for several reasons. Organizers said they wanted to address heavy criticism over blowout scorelines at the Rugby League World Cup in 2022 in the United Kingdom, ensure higher-quality competitive matches, and help manage the late rescheduling of the tournament after France withdrew from hosting.
At the time, organizers said they also wanted to develop new pathways for so-called ‘developing’ nations and in the interim they have focused on regional championships and an IRL World Series that was set up to offer dedicated pathways to future Rugby League World Cups. However, all of that hasn’t gone down well with everyone.
At least one international executive who is not pleased with the updated system is Rugby League Jamaica director of rugby, Romeo Monteith. He says as far as the sport’s governing body in the Caribbean nation is concerned, the reduced number of countries that will compete at RLWC26 is anything but helpful for up-and-coming nations.
“It is very disappointing,” says Monteith. “But it is more disappointing to see that there are now less opportunities for all the regions of the world to be represented at the World Cup. Most likely all the players in the 10-team World Cup will be from Australian and English competitions.
“This is not representative of the world game. That’s more disappointing to me because if the USA or Canada were there repping the Americas, I’d be just as happy for them. We need a return to regional representation in the World Cup, otherwise let’s just call it the ‘Pacific Cup,’ plus England and France because if this format is kept, it will be the same teams in 2030 and that’s boring and not representative of the world game.”
Jamaica is the only full member of the IRL from the Americas and as part of the IRL’s series of World Cup qualifiers, the Jamaicans faced off against France in a men’s RLWC (Inter-Regional) qualifier: Northern Hemisphere last October in Albi, France, and lost to les Chanticleers. It was one of two games that decided the final two men’s berths for RLWC26.
The Reggae Warriors made their World Cup debut in 2022 having qualified by winning the Americas Rugby League Championship in the lead-up. They then lost all three of their Pool games to Ireland, New Zealand and Lebanon. Now, looking ahead to the rest of 2026, Monteith says all of Jamaica’s national teams have matches scheduled.
“Our women play Greece, our senior men play Canada and are likely to play games in Australia, as well as versus Nigeria and a few other nations,” he continues. “Our U19s are slated to play Canada.”
In late 2025, Jamaica played France in that RLWC26 qualifier and then followed it up with a home game against Canada. As it has been more than six months since that last international, Monteith says it’s likely the Reggae Warriors’ squad will have a different look this year.
“We have a large cache of players we select from, so there will be different players selected based on location of the games and cost factors,” he says. “Many of the players who played in Kingston might not play in the Toronto Test. We will look to give opportunities to many of our Jamaica players living in Toronto and playing in the Ontario competition.”
Monteith says the plan is to keep Jamaica’s national programs progressing. “I see us being consistent in terms of playing yearly games,” he adds. “Results will vary based on opposition and the strength of players we have available. Travelling is always tough, but a necessary part of national programs. There is a big appetite in our community for internationals, so the aim is to keep all programs active.”
And as far as how the sport of rugby league is doing on the Caribbean island, Monteith says it’s steady in some regards but a challenge in others. “We maintain a consistent level of activities across schools and clubs,” he concludes. “Our university competition has taken a hit after COVID and numbers have declined. Women’s rugby league is struggling to get going the way we want due to a lack of athletes and resources, but we are still pushing it. Men’s is going well and youth boys as well.”
