It was held between 26 October and 22 November and was won by New Zealand, who defeated Australia 34–20 in the final in one of the greatest upsets in the sports history.

The tournament ended a year of celebrations commemorating the centenary of the game in the southern hemisphere and was part of the Festival of World Cups.

Wales then faced Lebanon in the repêchage semi-final, where they lost in a surprise 50–26 defeat, to knock them out of World Cup Qualifying.

The draw was put into doubt after the Papua New Guinea team claimed that it was unfair to them and threatened to boycott the tournament should it not be changed.

[citation needed] Each nation competing in the tournament named 24-man squads in the weeks prior to the group stage commencing.

[10][11] In support of the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation, the referees wore pastel pink shirts while officiating matches to raise awareness.

The last part of the ceremony involved a performance of the Rugby League World Cup anthem "Hero" by Natalie Bassingthwaighte.

A curtain raiser to the Australia vs. New Zealand match included an Indigenous Australian squad playing against New Zealand Māori which featured several prominent NRL players and rising stars, including Chris Sandow, Wairangi Koopu, Preston Campbell, Sam Thaiday, Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Carl Webb.

As part of the official opening of the World Cup on 26 October, an exhibition game was played between an Aboriginal selection and a New Zealand Māori side.

[13] The 2008 Rugby League World Cup's eighteen matches were played during October and November in various locations throughout the east coast of Australia.

[20] The RLIF were forced to defend the credibility of the tournament in October 2007 after New Zealand, one of the favourites for the competition, were heavily beaten in a Test match 58–0 in Wellington against Australia.

[21] Another concern was whether there would be enough competitiveness throughout the ten teams, with some fans worried about the possibility of too many one-sided matches,[22] which was a common sight in the Group Stages of the 2000 tournament.

[24] The next morning he had a chance meeting with Ashley Klein, who refereed the final, and Stuart Cummings, the Rugby Football League's director of match officials, at their hotel.

He reportedly abused both officials in front of a number of witnesses, calling Klein a cheat, and behaved in an aggressive and physically intimidating manner.

[28] At the launch, Paul Kind, the World Cup Director of Marketing, explained, "Heroes Here 08 underlines that fact that the international game, and particularly this tournament, will bring out the best in every player who takes part.

[28] Advertising agency MJW, celebrity photographer Garry Heery and production company Engine worked together to combine the latest digital animation with a dark and determined set that highlighted the passion players feel in representing their country on the international stage.

[28] The Heroes campaign featured Mark Gasnier (Australia), Roy Asotasi (New Zealand), Rob Burrow (England), Keith Peters (PNG), Waisale Sukanaveita (Fiji), Nigel Vagana (Samoa), Jerome Guisset (France), Lee Paterson (Scotland), Stuart Littler (Ireland) and Lopini Paea (Tonga).

The only participating country with no television coverage of the matches was Tonga; the RLIF were hoping to secure a deal before the World Cup started, but this never happened.