Rugby League World Cup 2022: Which jersey is each country wearing?

Mark Molyneux

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Rugby League World Cup 2022: Which jersey is each country wearing? image

The Rugby League World Cup plays host to 16 nations as they battle it out in England to decide who gets to lift the Paul Barrière Trophy. Australia has a stranglehold over the competition having won eight of the past nine tournaments.

However, there a number of new contenders such as Tonga and Samoa alongside the usual powerhouses of New Zealand and England, which makes this the most competitive World Cup ever. 

GROUP A:

England

The hosts of this year's World Cup made it all the way to the final of the previous installment and will be hoping to go one better on home soil. 

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France

The majority of the French team is made up of Catalans Dragons players from the Super League yet progressing into the knockout stages may be just beyond them after being grouped alongside England and Samoa. 

Greece

Greece will be making their first appearance ever at the RLWC, with South Sydney halfback Lachlan Ilias headlining an inexperienced team which have overcome a number of obstacles just to get to the group stage. 

Samoa

The Samoans have reached the quarter finals in the past two tournaments but will consider that a failure in 2022. The star-studded outfit contains eight grand final players from across Penrith and Parramatta. 

GROUP B:

Australia

The eleven-time winners have won the past two World Cups and will be confident of making it a third on the bounce, even though a number of stars elected to represent their ancestral nations rather than the Kangaroos. 

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Fiji

Often overlooked, the Bati have been remarkably consistent over the past decade or so at the World Cup. In fact, they have reached the semi-final stage on three consecutive occasions in 2008, 2013 and 2017.  

Italy

Parramatta's firebrand forward Nathan Brown captains the Azzurri in what will be their third consecutive appearance at the World Cup. 

Scotland

The Bravehearts have been drawn in a tough group consisting of the defending champions Australia and a Fiji side jam-packed with talent from the NRL. Although the last time they played in a World Cup in England, they managed to make the quarter finals in 2013. 

GROUP C: 

Ireland 

The Wolfhounds have been drawn in arguably the most open group and stand a chance of progressing after Roosters playmaker Luke Keary and former England international Richie Myler joined the team. 

Jamaica

The Reggae Warriors will be making their first appearance at the World Cup and have selected six domestic-based players in their squad. 

Lebanon

Michael Cheika will coach the Cedars, while Mitchell Moses will captain a side that made the quarter finals at the last World Cup. 

New Zealand

The Kiwis have assembled their strongest squad in recent memory with Michael Maguire's men ranked number one in the world heading into the tournament.

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GROUP D:

Cook Islands 

The Cook Islands are back in the World Cup after missing out on qualification in 2017. They have yet to advance beyond the group stage in their history but have the likes of captain Brad Takairangi and Dylan Napa to call upon. 

Papua New Guinea 

The Kumuls made the quarter final stage at the last World Cup. They will fancy their chances of progressing to the knockouts once again with matches against the Cook Islands and Wales decisive.  

Tonga 

Tonga was the feel-good story of the last tournament, when the likes of Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita almost powered them to the final. Five years later, they are now an emerging powerhouse on the international stage. 

Wales

The Welsh will have it all to do in Group D with a lack of experience at the domestic level posing as an issue. The John Kear-coached side have just two representatives from the Super League, while the rest of their squad will be made up of young talent from the lower tiers. 

Mark Molyneux

Mark Molyneux Photo

Mark Molyneux is a freelance writer covering the NRL and UFC for Sporting News Australia. He has previously worked in the music industry and as a teacher around the world.