The ninth nation to qualify for the IRL Men’s 2026 Rugby League World Cup will be decided on Saturday October 25, when France face Jamaica at the Stade Mazicou, Albi (kick off 3.30pm local time).

Both nations have named their 19-player squads, with the hosts having had a ten-day lead in which has included opposed training sessions with the touring Australian Kangaroos in London.

France head coach, Laurent Frayssinous - who has named Louis Grossemy and Catalans’ Leo Darrelatour as potential debutants - has acknowledged that the game is one of the biggest for the sport in France for a number of years, on and off the field.

“It’s massive for us for a few reasons,” he said. “We want to be at the World Cup and tested against the best.

“With only 10 nations playing in it, it’s the best of the best and we want to be part of that. Off the field, it’s very important for French rugby league to be recognised as a leading nation of the sport and the progress made by the French Federation over the last few years.

“There’s been a lot of talk between them and the International Rugby League, Rugby Football League and NRL in Australia about moving forward and supporting the nation, and hopefully there will be a positive outcome to underline that on Saturday night.”

Of the time spent with the Australian squad that is preparing for the Ashes against England, Frayssinous is extremely grateful for the exchange.

“That was great, their coaching staff and players took time to share their experiences with us and it was a wonderful first step in our preparations, we learned a lot from what is classified as the best nation in the world. We recorded the sessions and have a done a full review and those two days were extremely valuable for us.”

In an effort to leave no stone unturned, on Tuesday his squad went into camp in Albi and the following evening played an opposed training game against the local side who are currently champions of the Super XIII domestic competition.

“We’ve been lucky, we have a good relationship with the club and their head coach Tony Gigot, who was a major part of the national team during his fabulous career and who we know very well. He was extremely supportive and the objective was to step up after the weekend with Australia and be ready for Saturday.”

Frayssinous also believes that playing the game in the town will bring a big crowd and fantastic atmosphere. “I’ve been to a couple of games there recently and they are always supportive of the national side, there is a lot of talk about the game. We have been made extremely welcome.”

His side contains a number of players who are coming off long seasons, but he is confident they will be raring to go.

“All the boys who are here are very keen to put the French jersey on their shoulders, they know the objective and what the last four years have been building for under the direction of Trent Robinson, our director of rugby, and so they are all very keen and hungry to come in camp.

“Jamaica’s squad has a lot of experience within it, the likes of Ashton Golding, Ben Jones-Bishop and James Woodburn-Hall, so we need to be ready. That’s why we’ve put in ten days big game preparation.”

By comparison, Jamaica have gone somewhat under the radar with their preparations, although co-head coach Jy Mel Coleman doesn’t believe that has harmed their prospects.

“We’re happy to be out the spotlight, that was never a big issue for us,” he commented.

“Everyone internally knows exactly what we are looking to achieve and how, and that’s been transmitted to the players, it doesn’t make much of a difference to us. We respect the French and their squad but we feel we’ve come up with a game plan that will hopefully see us do well.”

Coleman confirmed: “Some of their players you see week-in, week-out in Super League but it’s a one-off and we’ve been here before as underdogs and come up with a result and if we can carry that plan out for 80 minutes and thoroughly believe, we think we can cause an upset.”

The Reggae Warriors are looking to compete in their second, consecutive World Cup after becoming everyone’s second favourite nation in 2022 in England with their refreshing approach, not least out in communities. “If I’m honest, I think it’s a bit of a let down going to ten nations and newer ones like ours not having the same opportunities but that isn’t to be, we just need to do what we can and see where we get to.

“The game’s growing on the island, the domestic players are still in season and, with limited resources, it’s not possible to get them over for this game,” Coleman noted. “There is a lot of interest back home and messages coming in where people can watch the game.

“We’ll be looking to our bigger name players, but I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Harlan Smith who is new to the group, come in from Wigan with a good pedigree and I’m excited to see how he goes after how he’s looked in training, and Delaine Gittens-Bedward who’s been great when he’s pulled on the Jamaica shirt.

“We’ve not had long together but that only motivates us further. One thing we will do is give it everything and look after each other as a team, our identity that we live by won’t change.”

FRANCE SQUAD

Louis Grossemy (Canterbury Bulldogs), Guillermo Aispuro Bichet, Julian Bousquet, Alrix Da Costa, Leo Darrelatour, Jordan Dezaria, Theo Fages, Benjamin Garcia, Romain Navarrete, Cesar Rouge, Arthur Romano, Paul Seguier, Ugo Tison, Fouad Yaha (Catalans Dragons), Arthur Mourgue (Hull KR), Justin Sangare (Salford Red Devils), Enzo Griffier (Sydney Roosters), Anthony Marion (Toulouse Olympique), Mathieu Cozza (Wakefield Trinity)

JAMAICA SQUAD

Delaine Gittens-Bedward (Barrow Raiders), Joshua Hudson-Lett (Bedford Tigers), Dec Tomlinson, Keenen Tomlinson (Dewsbury Rams), Isaac Coleman (East Leeds ARLFC), Leo Skerrett-Evans (Keighley Cougars), James Woodburn-Hall (Halifax Panthers), Ashton Golding, Kieran Rush (Huddersfield Giants), Jimmy Morgan (Hunslet ARLFC) Chris Ball (London Broncos), Keenan Ramsden (Mullumbimby Giants) Jordan Andrade (Rochdale Hornets), Jamin Williams (St Mary’s), AJ Wallace (Toulouse Olympique), Ben Jones-Bishop (York Knights) Harlen Smith (Wigan Warriors), Jack Rampton (Unattached)