Predominantly hosted in England and Wales, with additional matches in France and Ireland — the final was at Old Trafford.
Rescheduled a year later than its original 2012 slot to avoid a clash with the London Olympics, the 2013 tournament is widely regarded as the most successful Rugby League World Cup to date on every measure that matters — attendance, media exposure and revenue. The 74,468 crowd at Old Trafford for Australia's 34-2 rout of New Zealand in the final remains the largest crowd ever to watch an international rugby league match. Italy and the United States both won their first World Cup caps in this edition, both fielding squads drawn heavily from players of Italian and American heritage playing club rugby league in Australia and England — part of a deliberate push by the sport's international body to widen the competitive base beyond its traditional core nations. The tournament opened at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium with a 550-strong dancer cast (500 amateur, 50 professional) and cameo performances from former players Martin Offiah and Gareth Thomas, ahead of an England-Australia opener that some commentators felt should have been staged in England itself to guarantee a bigger crowd. Even so, seven venues across the tournament sold out completely and four set new attendance records, including record rugby league crowds in both Wales and Ireland.
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