As the year draws to a close, European Rugby League chair Dean Andrew has reflected on a record-breaking twelve months for the international game which has seen more senior international matches played than ever before outside of a World Cup year, with the lion’s share of those involving ERL Members.

“It was fantastic to see 53 senior international games being played by men’s, women’s and wheelchair teams across our three regions of Europe, Middle East & Africa and the Americas,” he noted. “It shows the sport is continuing to grow and diversify which bodes very well for the future.”

A large factor in the rise of women’s games was the first ever Rugby League World Cup qualifying tournaments staged in each of ERL’s three regions which saw 13 games played, resulting in Wales and France securing a berth at the 2026 tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea, with Ireland, Nigeria and Canada all set to feature in the inaugural World Series next year alongside Fiji to determine the final place.

“The women’s tournaments provided us with some very entertaining games,” continued Andrew. “In Europe we saw some close-run encounters, with Netherlands pushing Ireland all the way in Dublin being a real highlight. The MEA series went to countback because it was so close between Kenya and Nigeria and although Canada dominated in the Americas, they know they are in for a greater challenge next year in the World Series.”

Ireland staged the Wheelchair Celtic Cup for the first time on home soil which saw them lift the trophy and be elevated to third in the World Rankings, in a year which also saw Spain return to the pitch and take on England, Wales travel to the USA for a pioneering pair of games and England and France trade wins in fiercely contested games at the end of the season.

“The wheelchair game continues to turn heads, and Europe continues to lead the way from a performance perspective,” Andrew added. “What is pleasing to note is the level of domestic development which is also taking place, with Wales and Scotland running their own competitions and Ireland following suit with their first inter-provincial game taking place in 2024. The footprint of the wheelchair game is certainly deepening and paying dividends at international level.”

The headline fixtures in the men’s encounters were also the RLWC26 qualifiers which saw France take the spoils after determined performances from Wales, Serbia and Ukraine in the competition. England recorded victory in their two-match series over Samoa, and Scotland and Ireland returned to action, both facing the Netherlands before meeting each other. Other European highlights included Serbia and Netherlands fighting out a thriller, whilst Serbia also travelled to Montenegro to continue the development of their Balkan neighbours, Greece meeting Albania for the first time in Tirana.

The USA made the most of the NRL’s visit to Las Vegas, staging a 16-16 all draw against Canada in March, and ended the year victorious in a pioneering trip to South Africa which saw them win both matches, and Jamaica travelled to Canada.

Andrew said: “Some nations have vastly improved their ranking positions as a result of choosing challenging games and travelling that bit further to help spread the game. The world is open for rugby league and it’s great to see countries taking advantage.”

Outside of the senior game, Europe saw several youth international fixtures including Norway travelling to both Czechia and Serbia with U16s and U19s boys teams, and England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland played their U16s Four Nations tournament for the second year, with Wales recording a consecutive victory, France also touring England with an U17s side.

But the big focus in the youth game was the European U19s Championship which took place in Serbia in July and saw England, France, Scotland, Ukraine, USA and the hosts do battle over the space of a week in blistering heat. England triumphed against France in the final, with Scotland showing promise after missing the competition in 2022 and the USA overcoming the adversity of significant flight delays to record victory over Ukraine in the final grading game.

“The European U19s Championship was a huge success and my thanks go to the Serbia Rugby League Federation for their efforts in hosting the tournament,” Andrew noted. “It was great to see pictures of the teams being hosted by the various embassies and the opportunity to also deliver coaching and match officials’ education in the Balkan region alongside the matches. Seeing so many younger players taking to the field and performing so well shows that those nations have security on their future.”

Looking ahead to 2025, European Rugby League will be evolving, something which excites Andrew. “We spoke at our Annual Council Meeting recently about identifying a European Union country to ultimately relocate the company so that we can explore Erasmus funding which has been a crucial component of ERL’s delivery in the last decade, and we will see a refreshed European Championships programme for men launch in January which is very exciting.

Organisationally European Rugby League is going to look a little different but our mission will continue to be the same and I look forward to supporting our members in achieving our goals.”