A list of men and women international rugby league matches played throughout 2020 and does not include wheelchair rugby league international matches. A † denotes a recognised, but unofficial match that did not contribute to the IRL World Rankings.

Many fixtures scheduled were cancelled or rescheduled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Kangaroo tour of England, Oceania Cup, and European Championship were all cancelled. The European Championship B, European Championship C, European Championship D and Americas Championship were all postponed until 2021, whilst the MEA Championship was postponed until a later date not confirmed.

As a result of the travel restrictions from COVID-19, only two respective men's and women's test matches were played in 2020; a men's international between Peru and Brazil in Sydney before the pandemic began, the Griffin Cup match between Germany and Netherlands, and a women's 'Clash of the Pacific' double-header in Auckland where Tonga and Niue, and New Zealand and Tonga played each other.

Season overview

Men's international tours
Start date Touring side Region Results [Matches]
No international men's tours in 2020
Men's international friendlies
Start date Home team Away team Winners
22 February 2020  Peru  Brazil  Brazil
26 September 2020  Netherlands  Germany  Netherlands
Men's international tournaments
Start date Tournament Winners
No international men's tournaments in 2020
Women's international tours
Start date Touring side Region Results [Matches]
No international women's tours in 2020
Women's international friendlies
Start date Home team Away team Winners
7 November 2020  Tonga  Niue  Tonga
7 November 2020  New Zealand  Samoa  New Zealand
Women's international tournaments
Start date Tournament Winners
No international women's tournaments in 2020

Rankings

The following were the rankings at the beginning of the season.

IRL Men's World Rankings
Official rankings as of 18 November 2019[1]
RankChangeTeamPoints %
1 Increase 2 New Zealand100.00%
2 Decrease 1 Australia91.82%
3 Decrease 1 England85.34%
4 Steady Tonga60.66%
5 Steady Fiji36.57%
6 Increase 4 Papua New Guinea28.53%
7 Steady Samoa22.09%
8 Decrease 2 France16.69%
9 Decrease 1 Scotland15.00%
10 Decrease 1 Lebanon11.81%
11 Increase 5 Greece11.38%
12 Steady Ireland11.36%
13 Increase 1 Italy7.86%
14 Decrease 3 Wales7.75%
15 Increase 4 Serbia0.00%
16 Increase 1 Malta6.77%
17 Increase 1 Norway5.63%
18 Decrease 3 United States5.39%
19 Increase 4 Poland5.35%
20 Decrease 7 Jamaica5.04%
21 Decrease 1 Hungary4.27%
22 Increase 3 Czech Republic4.16%
23 Increase 5 Cook Islands3.87%
24 Increase 7 Turkey3.51%
25 Decrease 1 Netherlands3.29%
26 Increase 4 Spain3.18%
27 Decrease 6 Canada2.81%
28 New entry Nigeria2.51%
29 Decrease 2 Solomon Islands2.32%
30 Increase 10 Sweden2.16%
31 Increase 4 Germany1.95%
32 Increase 1 Chile1.86%
33 New entry Ghana1.80%
34 Increase 16 Morocco1.69%
35 Decrease 3 Vanuatu1.47%
36 Steady South Africa1.46%
37 Decrease 8 Russia1.41%
38 New entry Cameroon1.31%
39 Decrease 2 Ukraine1.21%
40 Increase 1 Colombia1.06%
41 Increase 4 Brazil0.50%
42 Steady Belgium0.30%
43 Increase 4 Denmark0.13%
44 Increase 4 Bulgaria0.10%
45 Increase 4 Latvia0.07%
*Change from July 2019
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT
IRL Women's World Rankings
Official rankings as of 18 November 2019[1]
RankChangeTeamPoints %
1 Steady Australia
2 Steady New Zealand
3 Steady England
4 Increase 2 Papua New Guinea
5 Decrease 1 Canada
6 Decrease 1 France
7 Decrease 2 Cook Islands
8 Steady Italy
9 New entry Serbia
10 New entry Fiji
11 New entry Turkey
12 New entry Samoa
13 New entry Brazil
14 Decrease 6 Lebanon
15 New entry Greece
*Change from July 2019
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

February

Peru vs Brazil men in Australia

22 February 2020
17:00 AEDT (UTC+11:00)
Peru  14–30  Brazil
Tries: N. Ibarburu, Sommers, Zarate
Goals: G. Altamirano (1/3)
 Report
 Tries: Araújo, De Araujo, Howison, Jackson, Viñas
Goals: Nunes (5/5)
Hillier Oval, Sydney
Attendance: 350
Referee: Matthew Middelton (Australia)

September

Germany men in Netherlands

Griffin Cup
26 September 2020
17:00 CEST (UTC+02:00)
Netherlands  20–18  Germany
Tries: Longhurst, Farrell, Schoenmaker
Goals: Gout (4/4)
 Report
 Tries: Hampson (2), Seidler
Goals: Billsborough (1/1), Esser (1/1), Doughton (1/1)
RC Zwolle, Zwolle[2]
Referee: Jaroslav Bzoch (Czech Republic)

November

Tonga vs Niue women in New Zealand

7 November 2020
14:00 NZDT (UTC+13:00)
Tonga  66–8  Niue
Tries: Hufanga (3), Taulanga (2), Filimoe'atu (2), Sikei (2), Vailea, Huni, Maumau-Pinomi
Goals: Hufanga (9/12)
 Report
Highlights
 Tries: Kamutoa, Hiko

Samoa women in New Zealand

7 November 2020
16:00 NZDT (UTC+13:00)
New Zealand  28–8  Samoa
Tries: Stephens (2), Hansen, Hireme-Smiler, Vaha'akolo, Tamarua
Goals: Hansen (2/4), Paul (0/2)
 Report
Video Replay
 Tries: Lemanu, Tufuga
Goals: Eli (0/2)
Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland[3]
Referee: Viggo Rasmussen

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Cook Islands rise 17 places in latest Rugby League World Rankings". Rugby League International Federation. 13 July 2019.
  2. ↑ "Twitter Post". Twitter. Netherlands Rugby League. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 "KIWI FERNS TO CELEBRATE 25TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR WITH FETŪ SAMOA TEST". nzrl.co.nz. NZRL. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
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