'Proof that women's league is growing in Europe': RLWCQ draw made

Wales and Ireland will renew rivalries in a bid to qualify for their first ever women's Rugby League World Cup, while France has been pitted against Greece and Serbia in qualifying fixtures.

The nations were seeded using the December 2023 IRL World Rankings, and came out as follows:

Group A will feature Wales as the top seed and winners of Euro B North in 2022; Ireland; and either Italy or Netherlands - who will meet in a preliminary qualifying match in April.

Group B is made up of France as top seed; Greece who claimed Euro B South in 2022; and Serbia.

The winners of each group will join Australia, New Zealand, England and Papua New Guinea in qualifying for RLWC2026.

The second placed nations will meet in a play-off game in October to determine which team represents Europe in the inaugural World Series to decide the final World Cup berth.

France contested the women's World Cup in England in 2022 and has more international experience than the other European nations.

France celebrate a try during the last World Cup (Getty Images)

“That’s it, we’re there! The draw for qualifying for the 2026 World Cup has just been released and we can't wait to get started," French coach Romain Maillot said.

"It's an interesting new qualification format, [and] proof that women's rugby league is developing in Europe. The objective is clear for the entire group and management: we must finish first in the group and assume our favourite status.”

Wales beat Ireland convincingly in Dublin in 2022 to claim the Euro B (North) title, but narrowly lost the first meeting between the two nations in 2021, held at Stadiwm CSM in Colwyn Bay.

"We're excited by the opportunity that lies ahead of us,” Wales coach Tom Brindle said.

"Everything over the last few years has been about putting ourselves in the strongest possible position to qualify for the World Cup.

"We took a lot from testing ourselves against France and England in the autumn and we'll look to put those experiences to best use for these two matches.

"We've not played Netherlands before, but we've faced both Ireland and Italy over the last couple of years and had positive results.

"But we know that whoever we play, we'll need to make sure we're the best version of ourselves to achieve our ambition of being the first Wales team to play in a women's Rugby League World Cup."

Wales won the 2022 Europe North B Championships (supplied)

Italy recorded a 34-14 win over Serbia in June 2023, while Netherlands shocked Greece with a 14-0 victory on their debut in Athens late last year.

The draw was made by David Butler, ERL general manager, and former England international Andrea Dobson, who appeared at four consecutive World Cups before her retirement in 2019. 

“It’s amazing to see the growth of the international women’s game,” said Dobson, who made 27 appearances for England and Great Britain.

“To have so many nations aiming to qualify is very exciting and not something I could have imagined when I started playing. I’d like to wish all good luck for their fixtures and look forward to seeing who progresses."

The group stage fixtures over three dates will now be determined and released shortly.