Category: Rugby League

New arrivals York and Toulouse see a return to a 14-team format that includes former champions Bradford Bulls

Thirty years on from Super League’s debut night in Paris, British rugby league’s premier competition returns on Thursday evening with a bang – and if you look closely enough, there are more themes tying that inaugural season of summer rugby to the 2026 edition than separate it.

Just like in 1996, this year’s season begins with a new structure and new feel. After more than a decade running as a 12-team competition, we are back to 14 this year following the elevation of debutants York Knights and the returning Toulouse Olympique, with Bradford Bulls – more on them shortly – replacing Salford Red Devils after their financial problems finally caught up with them.

Hull KR are the team to beat again, tough times are ahead for promoted trio and Leeds might be back to their best

The former Super League champions are back after a 12-year absence, and Bradford have had to rebuild their squad for a full-time return to the top flight after being a part-time operation in recent years. Most of that recruitment was done late in the day owing to promotion not being confirmed until October, meaning their first year back could be a difficult one.

The clubs are both in the Championship this season but one is minted and the other is playing with a shoestring budget

By No Helmets Required

To get to their Challenge Cup tie on Saturday, Salford fans had to find their way to the end of a dark, long and winding road to reach the lights of Chiswick Rugby. It was a metaphor for their last year. A few months ago Salford’s stay in Super League was ending in chaotic scenes and Hammersmith Hills Hoists were being crowned Southern Conference champions. And yet, when the clubs met by Barnes Bridge on Saturday night, many aficionados expected them to be well matched.

Hammersmith, formed by Aussie backpackers two decades ago and jokingly nicknamed after a washing line, had never seen a night like it: a couple of hundred Salford fans in red and white, chanting and banging drums, circled their 4G pitch to urge on their new team – a bunch of callow youths who would either rise to the occasion or crack. Many neutrals had come down to see a giant-killing.

Former playing great starts new season as an owner in sport’s second tier aiming to rebuild club who would give British game a major lift if they return to Super League

Darren Lockyer has faced some monumental challenges for club and country but this year his trickiest task may be finding the opponents of his new club on a map as he takes on rugby league’s mission impossible.

Throughout his illustrious career, Lockyer faced Melbourne Storm, Sydney Roosters and some of the world’s best international teams. This year, Lockyer’s interests will be centred on places like Goole, Swinton and Batley after taking ownership of London Broncos late last year and attempting to make them a rugby league powerhouse.

• Wane: ‘I believe the time is right to step aside’

• Successor likely to be part-time appointment

Shaun Wane has left his position as England head coach with immediate effect, leaving the national team on the hunt for a replacement for the Rugby League World Cup later this year.

“It has been the honour of my life to coach England Rugby League over the last six years, but after careful reflection I believe the time is right to step aside and allow the programme to move forward into its next chapter,” Wane said in an RFL statement.

Community clubs were front and centre this weekend, with games from Bedford to Banbridge and beyond

By No Helmets Required

On a gloomy and bitingly cold January afternoon, it was a sight typical of many grassroots rugby league clubs. Midway between the M1 and the A1, a few hundred spectators bustled through the busy clubhouse to gather around the pitch. There was a bloke in a Wakefield away shirt, another in a Hull FC coat and someone wore a Castleford hat. The home coach was a Cas lad; the visitors’ delegation was led by a Warringtonian. There were folk sporting their allegiances to Salford, St Helens, Hull KR and Wigan too.

Muddy kids in rugby kit chatted excitedly. One boy asked his mate what all the fuss was about. “It’s the Challenge Cup. It’s like the FA Cup,” said his friend. I heard another explain the difference between union and league – “there’s no lineouts or mauls and they don’t have proper scrums” – which was a reminder we were in Bedford, not Bradford.