2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s
The 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s was the first staging of the Rugby League World Cup 9s tournament and took place on 18 and 19 October 2019 at Sydney's Bankwest Stadium. The tournament featured teams from 12 International Rugby League member countries, 4 of which also fielded teams in the women's tournament. In the men's final, Australia defeated New Zealand, while in the women's final, New Zealand defeated Australia. Rule variations. The standard rules of rugby league applied but with the following variations: Teams. The competing teams were hand  picked, and the selections were announced on 22 April 2019. On 27 September 2019, the Tonga National Rugby League were suspended by the International Rugby League (IRL), pending an investigation into their board. Tonga were represented at the tournament by a "Tonga Invitatonal" team. Match Officials. The NRL named the following 18 NRL match officials to handle the 28 matches. Men's tournament. Pool stage. The pools were announced on 22 July 2019. The draw was announced on 4 August 2019. Pool A. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Pool B. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> "Lebanon were stripped of their win over France due  to fielding an ineligible player." Pool C. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Women's tournament. Pool stage. The draw was announced on 4 August 2019. Controversy. On 19 October 2019, Lebanon's Jacob Kiraz and Jordan Samrani and Papua New Guinea women's players Sera Koroi and Joyce Waula were all suspended from the tournament for being under the age of 18. While the International Rugby League allows players 16 or older to play in Test matches, the National Rugby League (who ran the tournament) rules require that players must be 18 or older. Kiraz, who would not turn 18 until November  2019, was the only one of the four to play a game, coming off the bench in Lebanon's 12–8 win over France. Lebanon were stripped of the two competition points earned for their win as a result.