Papua New Guinea Opens Rugby League World Cup at Home Against Lebanon
Papua New Guinea kicked off their first home Rugby League World Cup against Lebanon in Port Moresby on 17 October 2026, in front of a packed Santos National Football Stadium.
Rugby league's showpiece tournament returned on Saturday, 17 October 2026, with Papua New Guinea playing Lebanon in the men's opening pool match at the Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby. The Kumuls, ranked among the world's top eight nations, were taking on a Lebanon side built largely around NRL-based heritage players, in front of a capacity home crowd on a sweltering afternoon that kicked off at 3.25pm local time. It was the first time Papua New Guinea, where rugby league is the de facto national sport, had hosted the men's World Cup, part of a joint hosting arrangement with Australia and New Zealand. The same ground also staged the women's World Cup opener earlier in the day between Papua New Guinea and France. Across the water in Perth, England began their men's campaign against Tonga at HBF Park, while the women's side faced Wales at the same venue, giving the tournament a double-hemisphere opening day with games running from the Australian morning deep into the Pacific evening.
