There will be TWO dates for Rugby League World Cup final in case the Queen dies

Two possible dates have been put in the calendar for the final of the Rugby League World Cup (RLWC) as a contingency plan, should the Queen die towards the end of the tournament.

The final is currently scheduled to be played on Saturday, November 19 at Old Trafford in Manchester. 

However, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, organisers have indicated the final could also take place the following day, should the Queen pass away during the week before the final.

A contingency has been put in place for if the Queen, 96, dies during the tournament

Protocol dictates her funeral must be held on a Saturday, followed by a week of a mourning. Kensington Palace, however, would not object to the final being played on Sunday, November 20 if the funeral was to be held the previous day.

‘When the Queen passes, the funeral has to be on a Saturday with a week of mourning,’ Andrew Hill, strategic advisor for the southern hemisphere for the RLWC, told the Herald. 

‘We’ve been given to understand a final on the Sunday is possible.’ 

Originally scheduled to be held last year, the RLWC was postponed to 2022 after coronavirus caused Australia and New Zealand to withdraw from the event.

When the time comes, the Queen’s funeral must be held on a Saturday (pictured is the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in April 2021)

The Palace would be willing to let the RLWC final happen a day later, if necessary

The tournament has been expanded from 14 teams to 16 and for the first time it will run alongside the Women’s and Wheelchair Rugby League World Cups, both of which will feature eight teams each.

The RLWC gets underway on October 15, less than two weeks after the NRL Grand Final, with England facing Samoa in Newcastle and Australia taking on Fiji in Leeds.

The Kangaroos are hoping to win a third consecutive crown after beating England 6-0 in the final in Brisbane five years ago.