International Power Rankings: England flying, Kangaroos cruising, Fiji rise

Ben Olawumi
Dom Young, Tom Trbojevic, Fiji

From left to right: England, Australia and Fiji all feature in this week's international Power Rankings

Each week this season, Love Rugby League has brought to you our Power Rankings, ranking the top 10 clubs in the British game we believe have the most momentum behind them.

Now that the campaign is over at club level, we’re switching our focus to the international game and bringing you an ‘International Power Rankings’ over the next few weeks.

The premise of the article remains the same – we’re ranking the nations involved based upon their on-field momentum, so teams can move up and down the ranking week-on-week – or even out of them entirely.

To simplify things, any team who have been in action over the seven days prior to the release of our Power Rankings each Monday will be considered – men, women and wheelchair sides alike.

Without further ado, here’s the Love Rugby League Power Rankings (28/10/2024)…

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10. Samoa (Men) – NEW

Jazz Tevaga
Samoa’s Jazz Tevaga throws the ball out from a scrum during their first Test against England at The Brick Community Stadium

Toa Samoa were beaten 34-18 by England on Sunday, going 1-0 down in the two-match Test Series. With the second clash to come at Headingley on Saturday, Ben Gardiner’s side will be left ruing a slow start in Wigan having been fortunate to only head into the sheds 10 points behind at the break. They’ve now lost four games on the spin.

9. New Zealand (Women) – NEW

The Kiwi Ferns were far from disgraced in a 14-0 defeat against Australia in Christchurch on Sunday, with all three tries they conceded coming across a 23-minute period either side of half-time. Ricky Henry’s side must now beat the PNG Orchids next week to book their spot in the Women’s Pacific Cup final against the Jillaroos.

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8. New Zealand (Men) – NEW

New Zealand’s men were also beaten by their Australian counterparts in Christchurch on Sunday, with their clash ending 22-10 in the visitors’ favour. Again, the Kiwis were far from disgraced, but they just weren’t quite good enough to match the Kangaroos over 80 minutes. A win next week against Tonga would still set up a Men’s Pacific Cup final against Australia.

7. England (Wheelchair) – NEW

England’s wheelchair side returned to action in Wigan on Saturday, beating France 66-33 at a sold out Robin Park Arena with 598 in attendance. They’ve now won eight of their last nine games, with all four of their most recent outings coming against France.

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6. France (Men) – NEW

Speaking of the French, their men’s team have kept their 2026 World Cup hopes alive having come out on top in last week’s European qualifying tournament on home soil. A semi-final win against Ukraine was followed up with a thumping 48-6 success in the final against Wales, booking their spot in next year’s World Series qualifiers as a result.

5. Fiji (Women) – NEW

Fiji’s women are now just one win away from cementing a World Cup spot after they beat the Cook Islands 18-6 in the semi-finals of the Women’s Pacific Bowl in Suva on Saturday. Joe Dakuitoga’s side will now square off against Samoa in a straight shootout for automatic World Cup qualification. The losers of that tie head into next year’s World Series qualifiers.

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4. Fiji (Men) – UP 3

Fiji‘s men were also victorious in Suva on Saturday, thumping the Cook Islands 56-6 to move top of the Men’s Pacific Bowl group, at least for the time being. The Bati have essentially ensured they won’t finish bottom of that group barring a mathematical miracle, and they’re the only side who featured last week to move up in these Power Rankings.

3. England (Men) – NEW

Shaun Wane’s England side head straight into 3rd in our rankings after that 34-18 win against Samoa in Wigan. All the build up to this Test Series has been about ‘revenge’ for the World Cup semi-final defeat, and whether that played a part or not, Sunday’s victory was richly deserved. They’ll now be hoping for a series whitewash ahead of Saturday’s second Test in Leeds.

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2. Australia (Men) – SAME

The Kangaroos remain 2nd in our Power Rankings after their 22-10 win against New Zealand in Christchurch on Sunday. As was the case in their win against Tonga last week, Mal Meninga’s side weren’t at their best but never really looked in danger of not winning the game. The Aussies have now cemented top spot in the Men’s Pacific Cup group.

1. Australia (Women) – SAME

Australia Women
The Jillaroos celebrate a try during the 2024 Pacific Championships

The Jillaroos remain top of our rankings having beaten the Kiwi Ferns 14-0 in Christchurch. Having already thumped the PNG Orchids, top spot has now been secured in the Women’s Pacific Cup group, and it’s been secured in style. Brad Donald’s side have scored 98 unanswered points across their two group games, and will be odds-on favourites to win the final, whoever it’s against.

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