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FRANCE and Jamaica have named their 19-man squads for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup Qualifier that will take place this weekend.
With Stade Mazicou in Albi the host, the ninth nation to qualify for next year’s major tournament will be decided on Saturday 25 October.
For France, Canterbury Bulldogs’ Louis Grossemy and Catalans Dragons’ Leo Darrelatour could make their debuts and Laurent Frayssinous’ side has been bolstered by having opposed training sessions with the touring Australia side in London.
Frayssinous said ahead of the qualifier: “It’s massive for us for a few reasons,” he said. “We want to be at the World Cup and tested against the best.
“With only ten nations playing in it, it’s the best of the best and we want to be part of that. Off the field, it’s very important for French rugby league to be recognised as a leading nation of the sport and the progress made by the French Federation over the last few years.
“There’s been a lot of talk between them and the International Rugby League, Rugby Football League and NRL in Australia about moving forward and supporting the nation, and hopefully there will be a positive outcome to underline that on Saturday night.”
Meanwhile, the Jamaica side will consist of hardened Super League and Championship veterans Ashton Golding, Ben Jones-Bishop and James Woodburn-Hall.
And Jamaica’s boss Jy Mel Coleman is happy to go under the radar against the French favourites: “We’re happy to be out the spotlight, that was never a big issue for us,” he commented.
“Everyone internally knows exactly what we are looking to achieve and how, and that’s been transmitted to the players, it doesn’t make much of a difference to us. We respect the French and their squad but we feel we’ve come up with a game plan that will hopefully see us do well.
“Some of their players you see week-in, week-out in Super League but it’s a one-off and we’ve been here before as underdogs and come up with a result and if we can carry that plan out for 80 minutes and thoroughly believe, we think we can cause an upset.”
FRANCE
Louis Grossemy (Canterbury Bulldogs), Guillermo Aispuro Bichet, Julian Bousquet, Alrix Da Costa, Leo Darrelatour, Jordan Dezaria, Theo Fages, Benjamin Garcia, Romain Navarrete, Cesar Rouge, Arthur Romano, Paul Seguier, Ugo Tison, Fouad Yaha (Catalans Dragons), Arthur Mourgue (Hull KR), Justin Sangare (Salford Red Devils), Enzo Griffier (Sydney Roosters), Anthony Marion (Toulouse Olympique), Mathieu Cozza (Wakefield Trinity)
JAMAICA
Delaine Gittens-Bedward (Barrow Raiders), Joshua Hudson-Lett (Bedford Tigers), Dec Tomlinson, Keenen Tomlinson (Dewsbury Rams), Isaac Coleman (East Leeds ARLFC), Leo Skerrett-Evans (Keighley Cougars), James Woodburn-Hall (Halifax Panthers), Ashton Golding, Kieran Rush (Huddersfield Giants), Jimmy Morgan (Hunslet ARLFC) Chris Ball (London Broncos), Keenan Ramsden (Mullumbimby Giants) Jordan Andrade (Rochdale Hornets), Jamin Williams (St Mary’s), AJ Wallace (Toulouse Olympique), Ben Jones-Bishop (York Knights) Harlen Smith (Wigan Warriors), Jack Rampton (Unattached)
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