Category: Rugby League

• 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

• 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).

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.

• Canadian club folded during Covid-19 pandemic in 2020

• Players receive around £750,000 in unpaid income

Players from the former Super League club Toronto Wolfpack have finally been paid around £750,000 in unpaid salaries following a five-year legal battle, the Guardian can reveal.

The Wolfpack folded in 2020 during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic leaving their playing squad – which included the likes of Sonny Bill Williams – unemployed and without a contract. Some of those players were able to source deals for 2021 and continue playing but others retired from the sport altogether and had to take jobs outside rugby league to make ends meet.

• Leeds half-back won the 2025 Man of Steel award

• First Test against Australia at Wembley on 25 October

The England head coach, Shaun Wane, has said the decision to leave Super League’s Man of Steel, Jake Connor, out of his squad for the Ashes was “not really difficult”. He added that he does not understand the obsession surrounding the exile of the Leeds Rhinos half-back.

Connor is by far the most notable omission from the 24-man squad to take on Australia in the first Ashes series since 2003. It begins on 25 October at Wembley, with Tests at Everton and Headingley to follow on successive Saturdays. There are a number of surprise inclusions, including a returnfor Hull KR’s Joe Burgess after his two-try performance in the Super League Grand Final on Saturday. The winger has been out of the national side for a decade.