A list of men and women international rugby league matches played throughout 2021 and does not include wheelchair rugby league international matches. A † denotes a recognised, but unofficial match that did not contribute to the IRL World Rankings.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Championship B, European Championship C, European Championship D and Americas Championship were all initially postponed until 2021, however all were eventually abandoned except for the European Championship B and European Championship D due to travel restrictions.
2021 Rugby League World Cup was also postponed until 2022 due to Australia and New Zealand pulling out months before the tournament was scheduled to commence.
Season overview Men's international tours Start date Touring side Region Results [Matches] Balkans 4–0 Men's international friendlies Start date Home team Away team Winners Draw Men's international tournaments Start date Tournament Winners European Championship B European Championship D
Women's international tours Start date Touring side Region Results [Matches] No international women's tours in 2021Women's international friendlies Start date Home team Away team Winners Women's international tournaments Start date Tournament Winners No international women's tournaments in 2021
Rankings
The following were the rankings at the beginning of the season. IRL Men's World RankingsOfficial rankings as of 18 November 2019RankChangeTeamPoints %1 2100.00%2 191.82%3 185.34%460.66%536.57%6 428.53%722.09%8 216.69%9 115.00%10 111.81%11 511.38%1211.36%13 17.86%14 37.75%15 40.00%16 16.77%17 15.63%18 35.39%19 45.35%20 75.04%21 14.27%22 34.16%23 53.87%24 73.51%25 13.29%26 43.18%27 62.81%282.51%29 22.32%30 102.16%31 41.95%32 11.86%331.80%34 161.69%35 31.47%361.46%37 81.41%381.31%39 21.21%40 11.06%41 40.50%420.30%43 40.13%44 40.10%45 40.07%*Change from July 2019Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT
IRL Women's World RankingsOfficial rankings as of 18 November 2019RankChangeTeamPoints %12 34 2 5 1 6 17 2 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 6 15*Change from July 2019Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT
February Brazil men vs Uruguay in Australia
March Peru men vs El Salvador in Australia
April Turkey men vs Australian Defence Force
Notes: This match was a curtain raiser to an NRL fixture between the Sydney Roosters and the St. George Illawarra Dragons.
June Serbia men tour of the Balkans
Brazil men vs Philippines in Australia
England women vs Wales
England vs Combined Nations All Stars
October Griffin Cup
European Championship B
European Championship D
England Knights vs Jamaica
Wales women vs Ireland
France vs England double header
Jamaica men vs Scotland in England
December North Macedonia men vs Vietnam in Australia
See also Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rugby league
Notes
References