International Power Rankings: Australian clean sweep as Kiwis, Fetu Samoa rise

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.

When the campaign at club level concluded, we switched our focus to the international game and have brought you an ‘International Power Rankings’ over the last few weeks.

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

To simplify things, any team who had been in action over the seven days prior to the release of our Power Rankings each Monday are always under consideration – men, women and wheelchair sides alike.

This week’s top 10, which you’ll find below, will be the last International Power Rankings of the year, with the vast majority of the games involving countries now done and dusted.

So, without further ado, here are the Love Rugby League International Power Rankings (11/11/2024)…

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10. USA (Women) – NEW

At the start of last week, the USA’s women’s team had played just three full internationals. Now, they’ve played five – beating Jamaica 44-0 on Wednesday to reach the final of the Americas’ World Series qualifying tournament but losing 40-8 in that final to Canada on Saturday. The loss in Jacksonville ended the Hawks’ faint hopes of appearing at the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.

9. Canada (Women) – NEW

Canada’s World Cup hopes are still alive and kicking thanks to that 40-8 success. They progressed straight into the final of the Americas tournament due to Brazil’s withdrawal, beating a second-string US outfit in midweek before that victory in Jacksonville on Saturday. The Ravens will now compete with Fiji, Ireland and Nigeria in next year’s World Series for a spot at the World Cup.

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8. New Zealand (Women) – DOWN 1

The Kiwi Ferns were well beaten in the Women’s Pacific Cup final by Australia in Sydney on Sunday, beaten 24-4. Ricky Henry’s side will no doubt be disappointed with their own performance, but the Jillaroos – as we’ll get onto – were magnificent. Quite remarkably, New Zealand’s women have only ever lost 13 full international games – every one of them against the Aussies!

7. Papua New Guinea (Men) – DOWN 5

PNG’s men were also beaten at the Commbank Stadium, losing out heavily against New Zealand in the promotion/relegation final and missing out on a spot in the Pacific Cup in 2025 as a result. The Pacific Bowl champions were beaten 54-12, which is their worst defeat – by scoreline – in over a decade.

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6. Tonga (Men) – SAME

Mate Ma’a Tonga are able to reflect fondly on their maiden Pacific Championships campaign, but it ultimately ended in a 20-14 defeat to the Kangaroos in the Pacific Cup final. Kristian Woolf’s side staged a bit of a late comeback and got themselves back within one score with seven minutes remaining, but it wasn’t enough to topple the world champions.

5. New Zealand (Men) – UP 3

The Kiwis would have expected to reach the Pacific Cup final, so being involved in the promotion/relegation final against PNG instead would have been a kick in the teeth. Nevertheless, they sucked it up and delivered a dominant performance to retain their spot in the Pacific Cup next year. They’ll enter as favourites with the Kangaroos involved in the Ashes Series against England.

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4. Samoa (Women) – UP 1

Fetu Samoa are among the biggest winners from 2024’s Pacific Championships. After winning the Pacific Bowl, and booking a spot in the 2026 World Cup in the process, they went on to comfortably beat the PNG Orchids on Sunday in the promotion/relegation final. A 34-12 victory has seen them earn a spot in the top tier competition, the Pacific Cup, for 2025.

3. Australia (Wheelchair) – SAME

Spoiler alert (if you hadn’t guessed from our headline), the top three places in our rankings are all occupied by Australian sides, starting with the Wheelaroos. They beat their Kiwi counterparts 110-8 in Auckland last Monday, and won a friendly two-match Test Series 2-0 with an aggregate scoreline of 208-12! Two hugely impressive performances from Brett Clark’s side.

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2. Australia (Men) – NEW

Mal Meninga’s Kangaroos narrowly miss out on top spot in our rankings, but without ever really being at their best in this year’s tournament, the world champions have scooped a first-ever Pacific Cup title. They went into Sunday’s final against Tonga as favourites, and realistically had the job done two minutes into the second half when Tom Trbojevic’s try sent them 20-4 up.

1. Australia (Women) – NEW

Brad Donald’s Jillaroos never looked in any danger of not lifting the inaugural Women’s Pacific Cup this year. Throughout the tournament, they’ve been head and shoulders above the rest of the nations in the competition, with Sunday’s final against New Zealand as comfortable as the 24-4 scoreline suggests. Three games, three wins and an aggregate score of 122-4 – simply the best!

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