Players, coach rip ‘joke’ World Cup format as ugly truth exposed
Updated . First published
A Scottish international has hit out at the reduced Rugby League World Cup format, declaring the one-sided battles in the group stage are a “joke”.
Lachlan Walmsley took to social media to vent his anger about the tournament after Scotland were denied the chance to compete due to tweak in the format.
Lachlan Walmsley and Scotland did not qualify for the 10-team format. Getty Images
The withdrawal of France as the host nation due to financial issues in 2023 left organisers in a panic to find a new location for the tournament. Australia was later named to take over the hosting honours, with organisers confirming the draw would be reduced from 16 teams to 10 due to financial and logistical reasons.
With some nations like Scotland informed they would not take part in the event, players were left to come to terms with watching the World Cup from home.
But the number of heavy blowouts in the first two weeks of the tournament has only added to the frustrations of Walmsley, who has four Test caps and represented Scotland at the last World Cup.
“So Scotland, Wales, Italy and Ireland don’t get to compete in this World Cup, but a poor man’s England win by 80 points? It’s a joke this,” he wrote on X.
“I want to represent my family but can’t. What a waste of time.
“What are we doing? Scotland played Fiji in 2022 and it finished 30-14. Now we play England seconds v French thirds and it finishes 82-0. Turn it off.”
Only two games in the men’s draw and one in the women’s draw have ended with a 14-point or less difference between the winner and loser. The Kiwi Ferns hold the crown for the highest-scoring game so far with a 92-0 win over France.
The monster scorelines were not the only part of the 2026 tournament that bothered the Bradford Bulls-bound winger, who called out the stolen chance for some players to put themselves on show in front of top-flight selectors.
“I knew a bloke playing for Whitehaven four, five years ago ... going on to win a Super League grand final all because he got a chance at the World Cup,” he added.
“Someone say something.”
Italian forward Ryan King praised Walmsley for calling out the reduced format, adding on social media “Thank f--- someone said it.”
Samoa have only conceded eight points and scored 142 after two games. Getty Images
“Whole set up is shit. We’re missing an opportunity for a lot of unknown players to show it on the world stage, it just seems to be going backwards,” he said.
England coach Brian McDermott shared a similar view to King and Walmsley, questioning the harsh nature of losing one game in a pool of three.
“It’s almost like we don’t get another chance to straighten things out,” he told reporters after England’s loss to Tonga in the opening round.
“The jeopardy is really harsh, and we knew for us to go through that we had to go and beat Tonga (in the first game).”
While he was perplexed by the format, McDermott made sure to praise Australia for taking on the tournament at late notice after France’s withdrawal.
But his view of the pool structure, with one pool of four and two pools of three, with a combined table to determine semi-final spots, was odd.
“Whether it was going to be a 12 or 16-team competition originally, I’m not sure, but the teams were reduced to one pool of four and two pools of three,” he said.
“New Zealand lost their first game as well (against the Kangaroos), but they’re going to get another go at it. The likelihood is that they’ll quality because their destiny is not lying in other people’s hands (like us).”
The final round of the group stage will get underway on Friday when England’s women’s team takes on Samoa before the England men’s team takes on PNG.
