The Rugby League World Cup Nines will be live from Parramatta’s Bankwest Stadium this weekend and will be live on Fox Sports and Kayo.
The men’s competition will have three pools competing for four semi-finals spots whilst the women’s competition will have a round-robin format with the top two teams will go through to the final.
Group A: Australia, New Zealand, PNG, USA
Group B: England, France, Lebanon, Wales
Group C: Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Cook Islands.
The two highest-placed teams from Group A will progress to the semi-finals alongside the winners of Groups B and C.
The tournament will feature international stars such as Daly Cherry-Evans, Mitchell Moses, and Kalyn Ponga from Australia, Shaun Johnson from New Zealand, Sam Tomkins, Gareth Widdop, and George Williams from England and, Andrew Fifita, Tevita Pangai Jnr, and Jason Taumalolo from Tonga.
Rules
• 9 players per team
• 9-minute halves with a 2-minute half time
• Bonus Zone Tries — 5 points for a try if you score under the goal
• Conversions are drop kicks
• Tackle Count for a team in possession is 5 tackles (One less than normal)
• In addition to the standard 40/20, there will also be a 20/40
• Golden Try to determine the winner of matches which goes to Extra Time
• Sin bins will be only three minutes instead of 10 minutes
Draw:
Friday, October 18
6.20pm – France v Lebanon
6.45pm – England v Papua New Guinea (women’s)
7.10pm – England v Wales
7.35pm – Tonga v Cook Islands
8.10pm – Samoa v Fiji
8.35pm – Australia v New Zealand (women’s)
9pm – Australia v New Zealand
9.25pm – Papua New Guinea v United States
Saturday, October 19
11.30am – New Zealand v Papua New Guinea (women’s)
11.55am – France v Wales
12.20pm – England v Lebanon
12.45pm – Samoa v Cook Islands
1.10pm – Tonga v Fiji
1.45pm – New Zealand v Papua New Guinea
2.10pm – Australia v United States
2.35pm – Australia v England (women’s)
3pm – Lebanon v Wales
3.25pm – England v France
4pm – Fiji v Cook Islands
4.25pm – Tonga v Samoa
4.50pm – New Zealand v United States
5.15pm – Australia v Papua New Guinea
5.40pm – Australia v Papua New Guinea (women’s)
6.05pm – New Zealand v England (women’s)
6.55pm – Men’s semi-final
7.20pm – Men’s semi-final
7.45pm – Women’s final
9pm – Men’s final