Rugby League World Cup 2026 opens in Sydney as Australia face New Zealand, with free streams on 7Plus
The 2026 Rugby League World Cup runs from October 15 to November 15, opening with Australia against New Zealand in Sydney. Every match streams free on 7Plus in Australia, while viewers in the US, UK and Canada pay for Premier Sports.
All 18 men's matches are being shown free-to-air on Channel 7, 7Mate and 7Plus in Australia, according to TechRadar's viewing guides. Viewers need a free 7Plus account and an Australian postcode, such as 2025, to reach the stream. In New Zealand, ThreeNow is carrying every New Zealand game as well as the semi-finals and final, while Sky Sport NZ is showing the opener on Sky Sport 1 through satellite or the Sky Sport Now service, which starts at NZ$29.99 per day or NZ$59.99 per month.
Premier Sports holds rights in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. A full tournament pass in the US costs $25. In the UK, Premier Sports costs £18.99 on a rolling monthly basis or £150 a year if paid upfront, and can be added to an existing Sky TV, Virgin Media or Prime Video plan. Canadian subscribers pay CA$29.99 monthly, CA$79.99 for six months or CA$139.99 for 12 months.
The TechRadar guides recommend VPN services, NordVPN and Surfshark, for viewers travelling outside their home market who want to reach their usual streaming accounts, and list discounts of up to 75 percent and 85 percent respectively on long-term plans. Both are commercial recommendations published by TechRadar, which states that it tests VPN services in the context of legal recreational use.
The guides differ on the opening match details. One lists kick-off at 10.05am UK time, or 7.05pm Australian eastern time, while another gives 10.05am BST and 8.05pm AEDT. The venue is named as the Allianz Stadium by one guide and the Sydney Football Stadium by another.
Australia, 12-time world champions in what is the 17th edition of the tournament, enter as favourites and are chasing a fourth consecutive title. Coach Kevin Walters has gone without Mark Nawaqanitawase and the injured Nathan Cleary, and has chosen Reece Walsh at fullback ahead of James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses at halfback ahead of Sam Walker and Kotoni Staggs at centre ahead of Bradman Best. NRL joint-top scorer Thomas Jenkins has been included only as a shadow player.
New Zealand, the 2008 champions and three-time runners-up, won the Pacific Championships in Australia's absence and are led by Kalyn Ponga, James Fisher-Harris and Erin Clark. Erin Clark does not make the starting lineup despite winning the Dally M Lock of the Year award in two consecutive seasons, with captain James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota preferred. New Zealand have won one of their past five meetings with Australia.
Samoa reached the final for the first time five years ago and play without the injured Payne Haas. Tonga, semi-finalists in 2017, have Haumole Olakau'atu, Leka Halasima and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak available. England's new coach Brian McDermott has dropped Super League top scorer Jake Connor in favour of Mikey Lewis, after last year's Ashes series defeat forced a managerial change.
After the opener, Samoa play France on October 16, Papua New Guinea meet Lebanon and England face Tonga on October 17, and Fiji play the Cook Islands on October 18. 7Plus coverage is led by Mel McLaughlin, Matt White, Matt Shirvington and 2013 World Cup winner Corey Parker, with Andrew Voss as lead commentator. The platform recommends an internet speed of at least 3 to 10 Mbps and lists support for Amazon Fire devices, Android TV and mobile, Apple TV, Google TV, iOS devices, LG and Samsung smart TVs, PlayStation 4 and 5, Roku, Sky and Freeview Play hardware.