The group stage of the Rugby League World Cup is now over – and it has featured some unforgettable moments and huge attendances.

International rugby league appears to be really on the up, and that is true when you look at the attendances from the group stage of this year’s tournament.

But how do the numbers hold up against England four years ago? Wonder no more..

How are the hosts’ games faring?

Intriguingly, the biggest crowd for either England or Australia on home soil in the group stages across the last two tournaments has been in England.

That came in the opening match of the 2022 tournament when Shaun Wane’s side hammered Samoa on an unforgettable afternoon in Newcastle at St James’ Park. Here is how England’s group games in 2022, and Australia’s group games in 2026, stack up, starting with the Kangaroos:

• Australia 24-22 New Zealand – Sydney, 41,255
• Australia 36-22 Fiji – Brisbane, 41,108
• Australia 66-6 Cook Islands – Townsville, 19,172

And as for England:

• England 60-6 Samoa – Newcastle, 43,119
• England 42-18 France – Bolton, 23,648
• England 94-4 Greece – Sheffield, 18,760

The lowest-attended games

This, however, is where there is a big difference between 2022 and 2026.

Four years ago there were a lot of matches that had crowds lower than 5,000 – let alone 10,000. The lowest number from the group stages on English soil was the 3,675 that watched Fiji defeat Italy at Kingston Park in Newcastle. Samoa’s thumping win over Greece in Doncaster also attracted an attendance of just 4,215.

In contrast this time around, the lowest crowd figure is above 10,000: but only just. That was the 10,723 that watched England dismantle France in Perth last weekend. Papua New Guinea’s game against Lebanon also attracted 11,624 supporters – but on the whole, even the games not involving host nations have seen big crowds.

And definitely up on 2022, that is for sure.

The bottom line average number

The most important number that matters is arguably the overall tournament average.

There have been 15 group stage games in 2026, and there were 24 in 2022. The difference is significant; with this year’s tournament attracting over double the crowd per match than four years ago.

In 2022, the group stage averaged 9,849 supporters. This year? It’s 21,360. It is a sign of two things: how far the game has come at international level across the last four years, but also the momentum that is being generated for rugby league at all aspects of the sport in Australia and its neighbouring regions.