A big weekend of International Rugby League has been run and won, and to measure all the teams and players side by side, here is our Rugby League World Cup Round 2 Stats, with an added Team of the Round and Player Ratings.
After each round of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, we’ll offer up a brief look at the stats that matter for both the teams and players involved in the RLWC26 action.
Rugby League World Cup Round 2 Stats
BEST
- Fiji. Despite all the thrashings, the team performance of the weekend was Fiji really giving it to Australia.
- Kurt Donoghue.
GOOD
- Tonga’s World Cup form – having won 11 of their last 14 games at World Cups since 2013, and their three losses have all been by two points.
- PNG’s opening 20-25 minutes v Samoa, giving it to the Pacific powerhouse for as long as they could.
- Samoa’s 72 Tackle Breaks in this game was the most for all RLWC26 games and the 2026 NRL season. It beat the record they set last game v France by three.
- Samoa’s 2,075 Run Metres was just four less than their first round win over France. For the record
- Samoa’s 50-0 second half performance v PNG.
- England waking up and scored 82 points from the 22nd minute.
- England’s winning streak v France – England are now on a 24 game winning streak against France. Their last loss to France was in 1981.
- Hat trick of tries early from Queensland Cup player Esom Ioka as Cook Islands gave the Kiwis plenty to think about.
- Fiji’s pre-match hymn..
BAD
- France’s defence – they are averaging exactly a point a minute conceded over their two games so far in the RLWC26.
- Second half capitulations from most teams.
UGLY
- Australia are probably playing the worst of the five big teams that can win the competition.
- PNG’s combined 117 Missed/Ineffective Tackles is the first time a team in 2026 in either NRL or RLWC26 has a total over 100. The previous worst was 93 set by the Broncos in Round 4.
WORST
- France’s defence – they are averaging exactly a point a minute conceded over their two games so far in the RLWC26.
Rugby League World Cup Round 2 Team Stats
The best of Team Stats from the weekend of Rugby League World Cup action.
Rugby League World Cup Round 2 Team of the Round & Player Ratings
Here is the Team of the Round based on various stats and judged on each position.
Rugby League World Cup Round 2 Player Stats
To see how and why the Team of the Round and Player Ratings ended like they did, with the standout players of the weekend.
Rugby League World Cup Round 2 Match Reports
To finish off the stats for Round 1, here are the Match Report visuals, available from our full match hubs listed below.
RLWC26 ROUND 2 MATCH HUBS
Tonga v Lebanon
PNG v Samoa
England v France
New Zealand v Cook Islands
Australia v Fiji
