Rugby League News
Australia have reasserted their status as the heavyweights of international women’s rugby league, thrashing New Zealand 24-4 in the Pacific Cup final as revenge for last year’s decider.
The pressure was on the Jillaroos this Pacific Championships following that shock loss to the Kiwi Ferns in the 2023 final, and some controversial selection calls since.
Continue reading...The dual code rugby international on stigma, sexual health and inspiring the next generation
By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required
Gareth Thomas played 100 times for Wales at rugby union and four at rugby league. He spent the last few years of his career hoping to illuminate the subject of sexuality. He retired in 2011 after his club – Wrexham-based Crusaders – withdrew from Super League and injury ruled out leading Wales against England, New Zealand and Australia in the Four Nations. He was the only “out” gay male player from around 3,500 first team professionals at nearly 150 British rugby, football and cricket clubs. That figure still remains at one. Progress is glacial.
The former Bridgend, Cardiff and Toulouse centre first spoke publicly about having HIV five years ago. Now 50, and physically well, Thomas was taken to court by a former partner who accused him of infecting him with HIV. Thomas settled in early 2023 but maintained his innocence and said he settled without any admission of liability due to the costs involved of fully defending himself.
Continue reading...Tonga have reigned supreme in one of the greatest rugby league Test matches of all time, holding on to beat New Zealand 25-24 and qualify for their first ever tier-one final.
In an Auckland epic that sent Tonga through to the Pacific Cup final against Australia, the visitors led 24-0 in the first half before the Kiwis drew level with 13 minutes to play. Isaiya Katoa then nailed a 75th-minute drop goal from 30 metres out to put Tonga ahead again, before the Kiwis missed several chances to win and draw level.
Continue reading...Rugby league can mirror Jacksonville’s London annex as they push to make Las Vegas move make financial sense
By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required
Wigan Warriors will not get to defend their world title in a rematch with Penrith Panthers because they are both going to Las Vegas. Yes, the World Club Challenge (WCC) is off because the two teams in it will be in Sin City together … playing against other teams. Very rugby league. But the NRL’s increased interest in the British game should see the WCC soon given a suitable stage.
While it is unfortunate two teams heading to Vegas went and won the NRL and Super League titles (again), it brought an elephant to the room. The WCC has been axed in 2025 because Vegas is a vastly bigger proposition. And it is the club and leagues’ own fault.
Continue reading...Josh Addo-Carr has been sacked by NRL club Canterbury with immediate effect after failing a roadside drugs test in September.
Addo-Carr’s fate was sealed on Thursday when the Australian Test winger was forced to front the Bulldogs board of directors and explain why he should not have his contract torn up.
Continue reading...Australia, the reigning world champions, are set to tour England in 2025 – the first time in more than 20 years – after late talks were held about switching the location of the next Ashes series.
There has not been a traditional three‑match series since 2003, when Great Britain lost 3-0 at home despite leading with less than five minutes remaining in all the games. That wait looked to have ended after confirmation last year England would tour Australia. But the series now appears to be taking place in England.
Continue reading...NRL and England forward on World Cup heartache, the challenge of Samoa and loving life in South Yorkshire
There are not many who would be willing to swap Bondi beach for the outskirts of Barnsley in mid-October but for Victor Radley, his annual month-long excursion to England is not so much a chore but rather than the highlight of his year.
The 26-year-old NRL regular raised eyebrows two years ago when he decided to represent his Sheffield-born father and pledge his allegiance to England instead of push for an Australia call-up. Some wondered if it would be a mere one-off, with the chance to play in a World Cup too good to refuse. But for the third straight year, Radley is back in England colours.
Continue reading...Australia have exacted revenge on New Zealand for last year’s heartbreaking Pacific Cup final with a 22-10 win that propels the Kangaroos into the decider of this year’s tournament. Nearly a year after the Kiwis handed Australia their biggest loss, a try-scoring double to Zac Lomax saw off the chance of another defeat before a hostile Christchurch crowd on Sunday.
The Kangaroos still appeared below their best, with Angus Crichton notably bombing an early try and new halfback Mitch Moses spraying a kick and then putting a line dropout out on the full. Regardless, the win over an admittedly understrength New Zealand helps vindicate a raft of changes made to the Australian team following last year’s 30-0 debacle in Hamilton.
Continue reading...Australia have booked their spot in the Pacific Cup final after fullback Tamika Upton starred in a 14-0 defeat of titleholders New Zealand in Christchurch.
Already under pressure from their loss to the Kiwi Ferns in last year’s Pacific Cup final and a handful of controversial selection choices since then, the Jillaroos were made to overcome second-half injuries to Kezie Apps and Olivia Higgins on Sunday. But Upton’s attacking brilliance proved the difference between the sides, despite New Zealand being the better starters and holding firm on their goal line for long stretches.
Continue reading...Super League expanding to 14 teams as early as 2026 appears to be looming after the publication of IMG’s gradings on Wednesday led to Wakefield being readmitted into the competition for 2025 in place of London Broncos, who have been demoted to the Championship.
Rugby league clubs agreed last year to replace conventional promotion and relegation with a gradings system that measured clubs in a variety of on- and off-field metrics. The 12 clubs with the highest ranking would be admitted to Super League, with the gradings reviewed every year.
Continue reading...This all-conquering team have cemented a place in the game’s folklore, but there will be no resting on their clean sweep this season
If there is one man who knows a thing or two about building a sporting dynasty, it is Sir Alex Ferguson. To that end, had we known the legendary Manchester United manager was the one to deliver Wigan Warriors’ motivational speech on the eve of the Super League Grand Final, the result would have felt like a formality before a ball had been kicked.
After all, it is not like this most outstanding of rugby league sides needs any additional help. Matt Peet’s team completed a historic quadruple with victory against Hull KR at Old Trafford on Saturday night. The first clean sweep of the Super League era and only the second in nearly a century.
Continue reading...A touch of French class secured an historic Wigan win at Old Trafford
Harry Smith whomps the ball deep into Hull KR territory and we’re away!
The teams are strutting onto the field serenaded by The Lathums, an indie outfit from Wigan.
Continue reading...Wigan’s last trophy was 22 days ago, Hull KR’s, over 14,000 days. Yet the Robins may still be the ones to beat the Warriors
Masters versus apprentices. History breakers versus history makers. The club that reign supreme over rugby league against the team aiming for the ultimate coup d’etat. However you dress it up, Saturday evening’s Super League Grand Final has all the makings of a classic and more subplots than you could ever imagine.
In the red corner, there is Wigan Warriors. Defending champions and so much more. They currently hold all four major trophies available to win: the World Club Challenge, the Challenge Cup, the League Leader’s Shield and the one they are aiming to defend on Saturday, the Super League title.
Continue reading...Veteran of six Grand Final wins with Leeds seeks a fairytale finale as his current club chase a first trophy since 1985
There have been few stories in recent years quite like the rise of Hull KR from the doldrums of Super League to the sport’s biggest domestic game in only four seasons. And there are few players as eloquent, experienced and in such an ideal position to tell it quite like Ryan Hall.
Hall is not your average rugby league player. He is a qualified accountant, having completed a degree while playing at the highest level. He can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute and is capable of playing several musical instruments. Plus, there is the fact that Hall has played an integral role in one of the most incredible transformations any club have seen for some time.
Continue reading...Isaah Yeo has admitted his disappointment that Penrith will skip the World Club Challenge, after the Panthers officially told the NRL they could not contest the only major trophy they are missing.
By defeating Melbourne in last Sunday’s grand final, the Panthers clinched both a historic fourth consecutive premiership and a date with the winner of the Super League decider between Wigan and Hull KR on Sunday (AEDT). But Penrith’s trip to Las Vegas for round one of the 2025 season has complicated matters, given the clash of premiers usually takes place in either England or Australia just before the NRL regular season begins.
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