League: No World Cup matches in Dunedin

The Rugby League World Cup World Cup draw has been announced this afternoon, with seven games scheduled to take place in New Zealand, although none in Dunedin.

The Kiwis are set to play their three pool games in New Zealand, along with their quarterfinal and semifinal should they progress that far. They open their campaign against Samoa on October 28 at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, before taking on Scotland and Tonga in Christchurch and Hamilton in the following weeks.

Hamilton also hosts Samoa's encounter with Tonga.

Christchurch and Wellington were both awarded quarterfinals, while Mt Smart Stadium was awarded a semifinal.

Australia, England, France and Lebanon form another pool, while the final two pools are yet to be completed as European qualification is not complete. However, Papua New Guinea will be one of three teams in Pool C, while Fiji and USA will be two of the three teams in Pool D.

Other host cities for the event are Melbourne, Port Moresby, Townsville, Cairns, Canberra, Sydney, Perth, Darwin and Brisbane.

The final will be hosted in Brisbane on December 2.

The World Cup will take place in Australia, New Zealand and Papau New Guinea from October 27 to December 2 next year.

The tournament will involve 14 nations playing a total of more than 25 matches.

Earlier Forsyth Barr Stadium was believed to be a contender to host a game.

International league was played at Forsyth Barr Stadium in 2014 when England played the Kiwis.

The home side prevailed narrowly, in front of a crowd of just under 16,000.

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