Tonga will kick off their Rugby League World Cup campaign against Papua New Guinea on 26 October 2021 at Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens, UK, and could meet England in the semi-finals for a rematch of their epic 2017 RLWC game.

The full schedule [2] was released yesterday by Rugby League World Cup organisers with hosts England to take on Samoa in the opening game on 23 October at St Jame’s Park, Newcastle.

Tonga will play against Wales on 1 November also at St Helens where their coach Kristian Woolf is based.

Their final pool match is against the Cook Islands at Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough on 7 November.

Tonga, England, Australia, and New Zealand head each of their groups.

The tournament will also include a women’s and a wheelchair competition for the first time.

Ticket pricing information will be released on 21 August. 

The full 2021 World Cup draw:

Men's

Group A
Oct 23: England v Samoa at St James Park, Newcastle
Oct 25: France v Greece at Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster
Oct 30: England v France at University of Bolton Stadium
Oct 31: Samoa v Greece at Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster
Nov 6: England v Greece at Bramall Lane, Sheffield
Nov 7: Samoa v France at Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington

Group B
Oct 23: Australia v Fiji at KCOM Stadium, Hull
Oct 24: Scotland v Italy at Kingston Park, Newcastle
Oct 29: Australia v Scotland at Ricoh Arena, Coventry
Oct 30: Fiji v Italy at Kingston Park, Newcastle
Nov 6: Fiji v Scotland at Kingston Park, Newcastle
Nov 6: Australia v Italy at Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens

Group C
Oct 24: Jamaica v Ireland at Emerald Headingley Stadium, Leeds
Oct 24: NZ v Lebanon at Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
Oct 30: NZ v Jamaica at Emerald Headlingley Stadium, Leeds
Oct 31: Lebanon v Ireland at Leigh Sports Village
Nov 5: NZ v Ireland at Emerald Headlingley Stadium, Leeds
Nov 7: Lebanon v Jamaica at Leigh Sports Village

Group D
Oct 26: Tonga v PNG at Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens
Oct 27: Wales v Cook Islands at Leigh Sports Village
Nov 1: Tonga v Wales at Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens
Nov 2: PNG v Cook Islands at Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
Nov 7: Tonga v Cook Islands at Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
Nov 8: PNG v Wales at Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster

Nov 12: Quarter-Final 1 (Winner B v Runner-Up C) at John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield
Nov 13: Quarter-Final 2 (Winner A/RU A v Runner-Up D/Winner D) at Anfield, Liverpool
Nov 13: Quarter-Final 3 (Winner C v RU B) at KCOM Stadium, Hull
Nov 14: Quarter-Final 4 (Winner A/RU A v RU D/Winner D) at University of Bolton Stadium

Nov 19: Semi-Final 1 (Winner QF1 v Winner QF 3) at Elland Road, Leeds
Nov 20: Semi-Final 2 Winner QF 2 v Winner QF 4) at Emirates Stadium, London

Nov 27: Final at Old Trafford, Manchester