Jamaica’s Reggae Warriors face an uphill battle to qualify for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, as head coach Romeo Monteith acknowledges the powerful highway forward with the variety of finalists diminished and solely two qualifying spots out there.
Monteith, who led the Reggae Warriors to their historic first appearance in the 2022 tournament in England, is making ready his group for a a lot harder qualification course of as they goal for the 2026 World Cup in Australia.
In contrast to the earlier 16-nation match, the 2026 version will function solely 10 groups, with the eight quarter-finalists from 2022 — Australia, Tonga, England, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Lebanon — already securing spots. This leaves simply two locations for different nations, which will likely be determined via a round-robin qualifying match on the finish of 2025.
No pushovers
Monteith, who has been on the helm of the Reggae Warriors since 2012, acknowledged the magnitude of the problem, significantly in opposition to sturdy opposition. “It is going to be a difficult qualification course of. The Cook dinner Islands aren’t any pushovers as they’ve NRL [Australia’s top competition] gamers to name on, and South Africa stays an unknown issue,” Monteith mentioned. “France, in the event that they qualify, could possibly be powerful as they’ve two full-time skilled golf equipment in Catalans Dragons and Toulouse Olympique.”
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The Reggae Warriors might want to overcome the Cook dinner Islands (Pacific), South Africa (Africa/Center East), and the winners of a European group that features France, Wales, Serbia, and Ukraine. Regardless of the daunting activity, Monteith stays optimistic. “If we put our strongest group on the sector, I believe we are able to undoubtedly problem for one of many two qualifying locations,” he mentioned.
The discount within the variety of World Cup finalists from 16 to 10 has been met with disappointment by Monteith, who believes the bigger match was a greater platform for creating nations. “The 16-nation competitors was a greater car to develop the game globally and lift consciousness about rugby league,” Monteith defined. “Modifications occur, and whereas the discount to 10 groups may make the video games extra aggressive, it’s disappointing for rising nations like ours.”
Elevated curiosity in Jamaica
Monteith famous that the 2022 World Cup, regardless of being held within the wake of COVID-19 disruptions, helped increase rugby league’s reputation in Jamaica. “The 2022 World Cup undoubtedly elevated curiosity in Jamaica, and now, in 2024, we’re again to the place we had been earlier than the pandemic, with all of our home competitions operating once more. We’ve even added a ladies’s programme,” he added.
Within the ladies’s division, Jamaica faces a equally powerful qualification course of. The ladies’s World Cup, which can run concurrently with the lads’s match and a wheelchair occasion, will function solely eight groups. Jamaica’s ladies should first beat the USA and Canada to win the Americas qualifying group earlier than progressing to a World Sequence with qualifiers from different areas, together with Africa/Center East, Pacific, and Europe.
The 2026 Rugby League World Cup finals will likely be staged throughout Australia, with some matches additionally held in Papua New Guinea.
