Expanding Super League to 14 teams is unpopular. But it might just work

No one seems to want a bigger league – other than the clubs that will benefit – but it’s not an entirely bad idea

By No Helmets Required

Do you know anyone who thinks expanding Super League to 14 clubs next season is a good idea, beyond the people who voted for it and the Championship clubs with hopes of promotion? Me neither. When almost no one thinks something is the right thing to do, it almost certainly isn’t. But why have nine successful businessmen made such a controversial decision? Let’s analyse the widespread objections to the idea and play devil’s advocate to see if there are valid reasons for making a change.

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‘The dog ate my passport’: All Blacks rookie sorts pet’s mess to rescue debut

  • Leroy Carter sorts shock call-up for Rugby Championship

  • Canine chewed passport he needed for Argentina trip

Leroy Carter was still coming to terms with his inclusion in the All Blacks squad to play in Argentina in the opening rounds of the Rugby Championship when he made the shocking discovery. “The dog ate my passport.”

The utility back with the Hamilton-based Chiefs was one of four uncapped players included in Scott Robertson’s Championship squad. The phone call from Robertson informing him of his selection had come as a massive surprise.

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Rees-Zammit reveals ‘load of interest’ from clubs as he returns to rugby union

  • Former Wales player has ended pursuit of NFL career

  • Rees-Zammit aims to find new team ‘in next week or so’


Louis Rees-Zammit says he has had “unbelievable” interest from clubs following his decision to return to rugby union after 18 months in the NFL.

The former Wales winger spent 18 months in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars, but did not feature for either franchise in a regular-season game.

“I can’t name teams, but I’ve had a load of interest, which is unbelievable. I’m very grateful for that,” Rees-Zammit told Sky Sports News. “The season starts pretty soon. So it’s about finding the right team for me in terms of location, in terms of how quick I’ve got to get into camp, and because the season’s right around the corner, so all of these things that are going to happen, are going to happen pretty sharpish.

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Sport England to meet RFL over concerns with rugby league funding at stake

  • RFL under scrutiny after controversial appointment

  • Funding is critical to future of the sport

Sport England will meet the Rugby Football League in the coming weeks to air their concerns over developments at the governing body. It is a move that could affect the sport’s financial outlook.

Rugby league is one of several sports in receipt of millions of pounds worth of funding from Sport England every year. That is critical to the existence of the sport and is particularly important for the RFL, with continued adherence to the code for sports governance essential to maintain it.

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What happened to the rugby league Lions – and could they be revived?

While Andy Farrell’s team are winning matches and fans in Australia, the league Lions remain in hibernation

By No Helmets Required

If the British & Irish Lions complete a clean sweep against the Wallabies on Saturday in Sydney, there will be more talk of Australia no longer being a sufficiently challenging destination for a Lions tour. It’s a mirror image of what has happened to the rugby league Lions over the past 15 years, with Australia deciding that neither Great Britain nor England brought the jeopardy, ticket sales or eyeballs required to justify an incoming tour. Instead, the Kangaroos will visit London, Liverpool and Leeds later this year to play England.

It has been 33 years since Great Britain toured Australia. Martin Offiah lit up that series in 1992, scoring seven tries in six Tests against Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. Offiah, who won 33 caps for Great Britain, as well as five for England, cannot believe the Rugby Football League and Australian Rugby League have allowed these showcase events to fade from view. “As a nation we’ve got to have regular fixtures against Australia,” says Offiah. “Not playing them since the World Cup final in 2017 is crazy. When you’re trying to get across that bridge and match them, that’s a massive gap. And we should have been Great Britain for this series – then gone back to England for the World Cup.”

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Super League votes to add two clubs and return to 14-team competition for 2026

  • Top-flight clubs agree to expansion for next season

  • Bradford Bulls and London Broncos could go up

Super League will become a 14-team competition again in 2026 after rugby league’s elite clubs opted to expand by two teams for the start of next season.

The league has operated with 12 teams for the last decade but clubs agreed to the expansion on Monday at a meeting in Leeds which opens the door for at least two Championship teams to join the elite ranks for 2026.

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Ray French, former BBC rugby league commentator, dies aged 85

  • Played internationally in union and league

  • Led BBC coverage for 38 years

Ray French, the former rugby league commentator, has died at the age of 85. He had been living with dementia.

He played internationally in union, winning four caps in the second row for England in 1961, before moving to league and joining his home town club, St Helens, that year and helped them win the Challenge Cup in 1966. He appeared four times for Great Britain, in 1968.

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Judge criticises solicitor acting on behalf of players with brain injury lawsuits

  • More than 1,000 players from both codes taking action

  • Solicitor under ‘misapprehension’ about responsibilities

The judge presiding over the two brain injury lawsuits in rugby league and union has issued an extraordinary criticism of the solicitor acting on behalf of the injured players, saying that he had been under a “misapprehension” about his responsibilities and that “he seems to have a problem with the English language”.

Senior master Jeremy Cook said that Richard Boardman, whose firm Rylands Garth is representing more than 1,000 players across both codes, had failed to disclose material to the defendants, World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union, the Welsh Rugby Union, and Rugby Football League.

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