Category: Rugby League

Australia’s talisman, likened to LeBron James, has left lasting legacy in Ashes series amid gloom of sport’s future

The debrief is yet to begin over the failure of England’s Ashes campaign both on and off the field, and just how big a missed opportunity the past few weeks could prove to be for the game in this country. But amid all the gloom, there has been an unlikely beacon of hope for the sport’s promoters.

As the 52,000-plus crowd filtered away from Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday evening, there was a huge ruckus outside the players’ entrance. Not for any of the home players, who had once again flattered to deceive. Not even for Nathan Cleary, regarded as the world’s biggest star for a number of years and someone with genuine worldwide cut-through.

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The coach says England will not win the Ashes until Super League players become used to ‘really intense games’

By No Helmets Required

Shaun Wane is a bear of a man who has built a hugely successful rugby career on intimidation and rabble-rousing, terrifying his own players as much as opponents and reporters. But being an emotional person works both ways. It would not have been a surprise if the 14-4 defeat to Australia had left the England coach in tears on Saturday but, in fact, he his feelings broke through when I asked him about his grandchildren.

After the final whistle Wane spent some time cuddling his small grandkids by the England dugout, showering them with attention and affection. It was lovely and touching. Their smiles and laughter were clearly infectious. A few minutes later, Wane was telling the press how “devastated” he was by the defeat and how 10 loose minutes from his players after half-time had infuriated him. “That really, really hurts – I’m so disappointed,” he said.

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• Serial prankster arrested for stunt in Liverpool

• ‘He got me an absolute ripper,’ says Kangaroos star Cameron Munster

A pitch invader who lined up alongside Australia’s rugby league players while the national anthem played at the weekend’s Ashes match in Liverpool has been arrested.

Daniel Jarvis, a serial prankster, allegedly escaped the attention of security before kick-off in the second Test against England, slipping undetected on to the pitch to link arms with Kangaroos star Cameron Munster as Advance Australia Fair played.

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• Australia beat Kiwi Ferns 10-4 at Auckland’s Eden Park

• Church scores crucial try and sets up another on Test debut

Australia fullback Abbi Church has produced a spectacular Test debut in a hard fought 10-4 Pacific Championships win over New Zealand.

Church, 27, came into the starting side when No 1 Tamika Upton was ruled out with a calf strain, and set up a try before scoring one herself at Eden Park.

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England will look to Australia-born AJ Brimson to turn their fortunes around in second Test at Hill Dickinson Stadium

All change. In truth, something had to give following the nature of England’s performance at Wembley last weekend but as Shaun Wane’s side look to send the Ashes to a deciding Test in Leeds next Saturday, there are wholesale changes that the hosts hope will provide a reaction both on and off the field.

Wembley was underwhelming last weekend on multiple fronts. England limped to a fairly miserable 26-6 defeat, in which they showed little of what had been promised in the build-up to a first Ashes series in 22 years. But the atmosphere felt flat, in part due to what Wane’s men delivered, but also due to the fact the stadium wasn’t full.

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• Australia women crush Fetu Samoa 60-0 at Suncorp Stadium

• Samoa men’s side turn tables to defeat Tonga 34-6 in Brisbane

Julia Robinson has become the most prolific try-scorer in Jillaroos history with a superwoman effort in a 60-0 drubbing of Fetu Samoa, before the Samoa men’s side turned the tables to defeat Tonga 34-6.

The 27-year-old Robinson notched her 20th Test try with a stunning dive to catch a Jesse Southwell bomb, flying 5m through the air to catch the ball and score in the Pacific Cup double-header at Suncorp Stadium.

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England were easily beaten by Australia in the first match of the series at Wembley

4 mins. Welsby runs a a wide channel on a kick return that nearly allows him to put Farnworth away on the left, but the green and gold door slams shut. There are more jabs and probing runs from both sides as we await the game to break out from the solid start.

2 mins. Australia receive the ball and execute a settling first set of six of the match, the forwards carrying up to their forty metre line before Cleary puts his foot through the ball. A similar story for England’s first set as the teams feel their way into the test match.

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Australia are dominant but Shaun Wane hopes some wise heads and exciting Mikey Lewis could cause an upset

It has been a long time between drinks – 22 years to be exact. The Ashes were last staged in 2003, meaning more than two decades have elapsed without international rugby league’s greatest rivalry, a wait which finally ends on Saturday at Wembley. For Shaun Wane, the wait must have felt like an eternity.

If you were fortunate enough to be there when Wane was appointed as England coach in February 2020, it is easy to remember that he could not hide his delight that his first assignment was an Ashes series that autumn. Of course, within weeks the world had ground to a halt thanks to Covid-19 and the chance of taking on Australia on home soil disappeared.

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First series against Australia since 2003 starts on Saturday and there is no shortage of motivation for the home side

The pantheon of players who have represented England and Great Britain in the past 22 years is a modern‑day who’s who of the game. Sam Burgess, James Graham, Sean O’Loughlin, James Roby … the list is long, storied and impressive.

You could argue there is plenty dividing those players, not least their ferocious rivalries at club level in Super League. But the one thing they have in common is that they were never able to represent their country in the most intense series of them all, the Ashes. Since 2003 the concept has been on hiatus but, finally, on Saturday it returns in some style.

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The Leeds prop moved from Poland 20 years ago. Now he is preparing to face Australia in the Ashes at Wembley

By No Helmets Required

Twenty years ago, a Polish primary schoolboy was getting to grips with life in the Northamptonshire steel town of Corby. His parents had moved from Gdansk, giving up successful careers back home to start a new life in England. Young Mikolaj Oledzki had never even seen rugby league on TV – and yet this week the Leeds prop is preparing to play world champions Australia at one of the world’s most famous stadiums.

“Sometimes I still look around and I can’t believe I’m in this position,” he said at Wembley on Tuesday afternoon. “That nine-year-old boy wouldn’t believe it if you said I’d be playing professional sport, never mind at the top of it. I didn’t know what rugby league was.”

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• Former Wallaby rewarded for breakout NRL season with Roosters

• Australia debutant Reece Walsh to pose threat to England at Wembley

Australia will unleash the dazzling skills of new dual international Mark Nawaqanitawase on England at Wembley Stadium, alongside equally electrifying fellow Kangaroos debutant Reece Walsh.

The duo join Brisbane centre Gehamat Shibasaki and South Sydney powerhouse Keaon Koloamatangi as the four debutants in the opening Test of rugby league’s Ashes series on Sunday (AEDT).

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The England legend and Australian TV presenter agree that hosts should be bold and harness home advantage at Wembley on Saturday in the Ashes opener

By No Helmets Required

At first glance Martin Offiah and Adam Hills make for an odd couple. The east Londoner who has scored more tries in professional rugby than any other Englishman, dressed in all black smart casuals, and the comedian turned TV presenter from Sydney, wearing an old Australia jersey and rather scanty playing shorts, have been riding around the capital on an Ashes-branded red London bus. They were recreating Offiah’s 1994 Ashes promotion, Hills playing the part of Cliff Richard.

But Hills and Offiah have things in common. Both in their 50s, they live in London, watch as much rugby league as they can, are famous in Australia and the UK, and are both world champions. Yes, you read that right. Hills became world para tennis champion earlier this year and Offiah lifted the World Club title with Widnes and Wigan. His 501 senior tries is bettered only by Billy Boston and Brian Bevan, but he didn’t win the World Cup or the Ashes, something that leaves him with that nagging headache.

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