Rugby league is not usually seen as an international sport, more often it seen as a British sport, however in recent years it's popularity has increased abroad and many other countries have formed international teams are taking part in the game. In fact more than 30 countries worldwide now take part in the game and it is truly considered an international game. Australia and New Zealand have already become stalwarts of the game and France have recently created some teams that play in various leagues. It is also the national sport of Papua New Guinea.

Australia are commonly seen as the toughest international team, having won every cup since 1975 and only lost an international competition once when they lost against New Zealand in the 2005 Tri-Nations. Many other countries are creating international teams in an attempt to get involved with rugby league, these include Jamaica, Argentina, Malta, Estonia, Serbia, Georgia, Germany and the Netherlands amongst many others. France already plays a number of teams including the Catalans Dragons who made it to the Challenge Cup in 2007, the first non-English team to do so.