The Rugby League World Cup returns this weekend with five more men’s matches, and sadly all five threaten to deliver embarrassingly lop-sided scorelines.

A quick glance at the betting markets says it all. 

According to Sportsbet, Week 2 presents fans with five of the biggest mismatches you’re ever likely to see at a World Cup in any sport.

Head to head, four of the five favourites are paying less than $1.01 – that is, effectively money back – with only Samoa offering any return at a paltry $1.05 against Papua New Guinea at $10.

MORE: Rugby League World Cup: Confirmed line-ups for Week 2

Tonga is tipped to dismantle Lebanon ($41) in Sydney, as is England against France ($51) in Perth, and both almost certainly will. 

The Kiwis and Kangaroos are similarly expected to blitz the Cook Islands ($51) and Fiji ($41) respectively and it’s hard to see any other outcome this weekend or in Week 3 when their opponents are reversed.

It’s not just a problem for value-seeking punters, of course.

Mismatches on this scale are hardly a selling point for fans and broadcasters and they’re unlikely to do much for the weekend’s television ratings.

Frustratingly, the game has done itself no favours with the complex three-pool crossover format adopted for the 2026 tournament that sees different nations looking to qualify for the semi-finals under very different conditions – all seemingly to avoid having two five-team pools that would add an extra match to each team’s schedule.

The lack of foresight that has led to the Week 2 wasteland is also a major missed opportunity. Why not play the Tonga-Samoa blockbuster this weekend to fill the obvious gap, for example?

Organisers will rightly point to the tournament’s growth and development of the emerging nations is a worthy goal.

But a schedule that serves up this many one-sided contests in a single round raises serious questions around the format if nothing else.

For fans hoping for a genuine contest this weekend the best hope may be Samoa and PNG, and perhaps Australia and Fiji.

But even there, the markets suggest it’s a long shot.