Rugby League World Cup 2026 at Parramatta: Seven Matches, and Samoa Play Four of Them
Parramatta hosts seven World Cup matches across three days in 2026, more than any venue outside the two finals grounds — including a triple-header on Sunday 1 November. Samoa appear in four of the seven. Tonga appear in two.
That is not an accident of the draw. Western Sydney has the largest Pacific Islander population in Australia, and the schedule has quietly made CommBank Stadium the Pacific home ground of this tournament.
Parramatta fixtures
| Date | Match | Kick-off (AEDT) |
| Fri 16 October | Men’s: Samoa v France | 5:45pm |
| Fri 16 October | Women’s: Australia v Samoa | 8:05pm |
| Fri 23 October | Women’s: Samoa v Wales | 5:50pm |
| Fri 23 October | Men’s: Tonga v Lebanon | 8:05pm |
| Sun 1 November | Women’s: Australia v Wales | 3:45pm |
| Sun 1 November | Men’s: Lebanon v France | 5:50pm |
| Sun 1 November | Men’s: Tonga v Samoa | 8:05pm |
The triple-header on 1 November
Three internationals, one ticket, one afternoon and evening. Australia’s women play Wales at 3:45pm, Lebanon play France at 5:50pm, and Tonga play Samoa at 8:05pm — the fixture most likely to produce the noise of the whole pool stage, and a round-three game with qualification riding on it.
If you are picking one day of the pool stage to actually attend, this is defensibly it: seven and a half hours of football, two Pacific nations in the main event, and a venue that is a short walk from Parramatta station.
The ground
CommBank Stadium, listed by the tournament as Western Sydney Stadium, opened in 2019 on the site of the old Parramatta Stadium. It holds about 30,000, the stands are steep and close to the touchline, and it has a reputation as one of the better atmospheres in Australian rugby league precisely because it is compact.
Where it sits in the tournament
The tournament runs 15 October to 15 November. It opens with Australia against New Zealand at Sydney Football Stadium on 15 October; both finals are at Lang Park in Brisbane on 15 November. Parramatta does not get a knockout match — Newcastle hosts both semi-finals on 7 November — but it gets more pool football than anywhere else.
Also nearby: Wollongong’s one-night England double-header on 30 October. Full pools, every venue and the complete schedule: Rugby League World Cup 2026.
