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IRL Wheelchair World Rankings

IRL Wheelchair World Rankings
Official rankings as of July 2025
Rank Change Team Pts %
1 Steady  England 100
2 Steady  France 96
3 Steady  Ireland 60
4 Steady  Australia 52
5 Steady  Wales 49
6 Steady  Scotland 41
7 Steady  Spain 27
8 Steady  United States 25
9 Increase 1  Italy 0
Complete rankings at
www.internationalrugbyleague.com

The IRL Wheelchair World Rankings are the ranking system for national teams in the sport of wheelchair rugby league football. The first rankings were published in June 2020.

Ranking calculation method

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The world rankings are calculated by International Rugby League using a points system based on the following criteria which are used for men's, women's and wheelchair teams:[1]

  • Match result: win, draw or loss
  • Margin of victory or loss: a larger winning margin is worth more than a narrow win
  • Opponent strength: playing higher ranked teams is of greater value than playing lower ranked teams
  • Assessment period: all matches played[a] over the current season and the three preceding seasons are included, using a weighting system in which more recent matches are of greater value
  • Importance of match: World Cup matches are of greatest value, followed by World Cup qualifiers,[b] regional championships and then one-off matches

History

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The first rankings were published in June 2020.[3] Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rugby league, the rankings remained unchanged over the following year until being updated in December 2021.[4] In contrast to this, December 2022 saw a complete reordering of rankings as a result of the 2021 World Cup. This included England displacing France from the top position for the first time, and the addition of the United States following their début at the tournament.[5] In December 2024, New Zealand featured in the rankings for the first time having made their début against Australia the previous month.[6]

Historical rankings

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Team Jun
2020 		Dec
2021 		Jun
2022 		Dec
2022 		Jun
2023 		Dec
2023 		Jun
2024 		Dec
2024 		Jun
2025
 Australia 4 4 7 (Fall3) 3 (Rise4) 4 (Fall1) 4 3 (Rise1) 4 (Fall1) 4
 England 2 2 2 1 (Rise1) 1 1 1 1 1
 France 1 1 1 2 (Fall1) 2 2 2 2 2
 Ireland 5 6 (Fall1) 4 (Rise2) 5 (Fall1) 5 5 4 (Rise1) 3 (Rise1) 3
 Italy 8 7 (Rise1) 6 (Rise1) 9 (Fall3) 9 9 9 10 (Fall1) 9 (Rise1)
 New Zealand – – – – – – – 9 (New entry) –
 Scotland 6 5 (Rise1) 5 6 (Fall1) 6 6 6 6 6
 Spain 7 8 (Fall1) 8 7 (Rise1) 7 7 8 (Fall1) 7 (Rise1) 7
 United States – – – 8 (New entry) 8 8 7 (Rise1) 8 (Fall1) 8
 Wales 3 3 3 4 (Fall1) 3 (Rise1) 3 5 (Fall2) 5 5
References: [3] [4][7] [8][9] [10] [11] [12][13] [14] [6][15] [16][17]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Only officially sanctioned matches are included
  2. ^ Participation at the 2026 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup is based on previous tournament results and application/invitation so, as with previous tournaments, no qualification matches have been played[2]

References

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  1. ^ "World Rankings". IRL. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  2. ^ "New Zealand, USA confirm wheelchair berths places at RLWC2026". NZRL. 15 April 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Inaugural Wheelchair Rugby League World Rankings revealed". RFL. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Serbia move into Top 10 in men's world rankings". IRL. 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Kangaroos back on top after three years, Jillaroos stay No.1". NRL. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  6. ^ a b "IRL World Rankings: December 2024". IRL. 19 December 2024. Archived from the original on 17 January 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  7. ^ "World Rankings: Wheelchair". IRL. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022.
  8. ^ "IRL World Rankings: Tonga continue rise as rivals close gap on Jillaroos, France". IRL. 8 July 2022. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022.
  9. ^ "World Rankings: Wheelchair". IRL. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Explainer: Wheelchair IRL World Rankings (Dec 2022)". IRL. 22 December 2022. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Serbia, Philippines, Wales big movers in IRL World Rankings". IRL. 27 July 2023. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Kangaroos still ranked No.1 despite record loss to Kiwis". NRL. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  13. ^ "World Rankings: Wheelchair". IRL. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024.
  14. ^ "IRL World Rankings: June 30, 2024". IRL. 26 July 2024. Archived from the original on 26 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  15. ^ "World Rankings Updated". ERL. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  16. ^ "World Rankings: Wheelchair". IRL. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  17. ^ "IRL World Rankings: June 30, 2025". IRL. 22 July 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.