The Pacific Championships Down Under Promises High-Stakes Action
As the international rugby league fixtures of 2024 come to a close, the finals of the Pacific Championships Down Under are set to deliver thrilling action this weekend. The highlight of the tournament will be the relegation playoff between New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, with the loser facing a demotion to the Pacific Bowl in 2025. Additionally, the clash between Australia and Tonga will crown the overall champions, while two crucial women’s matches will also take place.
Beyond the tournament titles and positions at stake, these fixtures hold immense significance for the global rugby league world rankings. Due to the limited international competition in recent years, updates to the rankings have been infrequent, but that is set to change. While Australia’s dominance at the top of the rankings comes as no surprise, there are several intriguing movers and shakers, including Shaun Wane’s England side.
“The IRL’s ranking system takes into account a team’s results over the past four seasons, with more recent matches holding greater weight. World Cup games, qualifiers, and regional championships all factor into the final percentages.”
As of June 30th, the Kangaroos lead the way with a perfect 100% score, followed by New Zealand at 82% and England at 80%. Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea round out the top seven.
With England just two percentage points behind the Kiwis and having secured a series whitewash over fourth-ranked Samoa, they could potentially leapfrog into second place by the end of this weekend’s fixtures. A defeat for New Zealand at the hands of the seventh-placed Kumuls would further bolster England’s ascent, while a Tongan victory over the Kangaroos could propel them closer to the top four.
While the complexities of the ranking system make it challenging to predict the exact impact of each result, one thing is clear: the prospect of a titanic clash between the world’s top two teams, England and Australia, in next year’s Ashes series is becoming increasingly likely.
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