New Rugby Football League CEO Ian Nolan has only been in post for about a month, but is set to face one of his biggest tasks so far – settling a financial dispute between the RFL and International Rugby League that could end in England seeing their Test status stripped.

Reports from down under have revealed that England’s governing body owes around $800,ooo to the IRL federation in repayments from the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which took place a year later than expected.

Nolan is set to meet with IRL chairman Troy Grant in the coming days, and if things go south, it could result in England losing their licence to play any further international games until a resolution is found.

The RFL are said to have been paying back an unpaid rights fee in instalments, but questions have been asked by the international governing body after the repayments stopped.

The last time a situation like this occurred was in 2019, when Tonga were removed from Test status. That meant that a ‘Tonga Invitational XIII’ had to be created in order to fulfil matches against Great Britain and Australia – both of which they won.

England losing their Test status comes at a time when getting back on the horse is mandatory. A disappointing 2026 World Cup campaign saw both the Men and Women fail to advance from the group stages.

Albeit not confirmed, England are set to host New Zealand in a Test series at the end of 2027, something that could be in jeopardy if a resolution isn’t found.