The end of the Four Nations rugby league tournament?

There’s a chance the Kangaroos could be the last ever side to hold the Four Nations trophy, with the tournament’s future in doubt as officials contemplate the future of international league.

Australia beat reigning champs the Kiwis on Sunday (Monday NZ time) at Anfield in England, and there’s no word yet on whether another tournament will be held, or when, with none currently scheduled. The Four Nations could be replaced by an eight-team tournament, the Rugby League International Federation’s chief executive David Collier told Britain’s Press Association.

However, he said, that was unlikely to happen before 2023.

"I think eventually the eight nations will become the Four Nations on steroids, so it has a growth spurt to it,’’ Collier said.

‘‘We want a second major event and we made a decision on Saturday that we will play that in 2023 and we will go out to tender fairly soon for a destination.’’ New Zealand and Australia will jointly host the next League World Cup next year, with future world cups scheduled for 2021 in England and 2025 in North America, but there were no other events set down for the intervening years.