| Rugby League World Cup |
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| Host nations: Australia, New Zealand & Papua New Guinea Dates: 27 October-2 December |
| Coverage: All England matches live on BBC TV, plus highlights of all other matches. Also live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and online |
The Rugby League World Cup kicks off on Friday, when co-hosts and reigning champions Australia play England in Melbourne.
It will be the first of 28 matches over 36 days played across 12 venues in three countries.With kick-off times ranging from 04:05 GMT to 10:05 GMT this could be a tournament for the enthusiast for an early start, but anyone who remembers England's thrilling - if agonising - semi-final defeat at Wembley in 2013 will testify to the drama this tournament can produce.
How does it work?
Rugby league is no stranger to the convoluted format, as anyone familiar with the old Super League play-off system will know.However, this tournament has a relatively sane structure, with 14 teams spread across four groups.
Groups A and B have four teams, from which the top three progress to the quarter-finals, while Groups C and D have three teams, with only the winners going into the last eight.
We are then into the knockout stage, with the final in Brisbane on 2 December as part of a double-header along with the women's World Cup final.
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