PRINCE HARRY was back on royal engagement duties this morning as he made the draw for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
The tournament, which kicks off in October 2021, is being staged in England.
And the hosts will face Samoa, France and Greece in Group A while reigning champions Australia take on Fiji, Scotland and Italy.
Wales, beaten in the 1995 and 2000 semi-finals, were pitted against Tonga, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands.
Finally, New Zealand are in a group with Lebanon, Jamaica and Ireland.
In the women’s tournament, England are up against Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Canada.
And for the wheelchair side, it is Australia, Spain and Norway.
The upcoming tournament is the first time in the sport’s history that the men’s, women’s and wheelchair events will be staged concurrently.
The #RLWC2021Draw is now complete! Here is confirmation of what happened
#RLWC2021 pic.twitter.com/O5iVFdlXiX
— Rugby League World Cup 2021 (@RLWC2021) January 16, 2020
Harry conducted the draw at Buckingham Palace alongside British sporting legends Jason Robinson and Dame Katherine Grainger.
It was the first royal duty for the 35-year-old – who is the patron for the Rugby Football League – since the bombshell announcement that he and wife Meghan are stepping down as senior royals.
Meghan has already flown back to her native Canada as the couple prepare to split their time either side of the Atlantic.
After crisis talks on January 13, The Queen revealed in a strikingly-personal statement she wanted the couple to “remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family” but respected their desire to “live a more independent life”.
The pair are expected to move to Canada part-time, while keeping their Frogmore Cottage.
They have insisted that they will split their time between the UK and Canada–but there are mounting fears that they may not return.
An editorial of Canada’s biggest newspaper said Harry and Meghan were not welcome to live there.
It said any move by the couple would violate laws that keep the once-British-ruled country at arms length from the UK.
The paper said: You are welcome to visit, but so long as you are senior royals, Canada cannot allow you to come to stay. It breaks an unspoken constitutional taboo.”
