International RL Blog

The  Rugby  League Ashes The Ashes  is the name given to the trophy awarded to the winner of a Rugby League test series between Great Britain and Australia. The format used is usually that three matches are played, with the winning team being decided on the basis of most matches won. The team representing Great Britain were originally known as the  Northern Union  after the sport’s govorning body and the team representing Australia were and still are known as the  Kangaroos First Ever Ashes Test Match December 12 1908                    Northern Union  22  Australia  22            London England  dominated the match early on and led by 14-5 at half-time. They seemed assured of victory when leading 17-5 early in the second half but  Australia  fought back with tries from ...

30th October 1982         Great Britain 4  Australia 40     Hull Australia's side for the first Test was built around the new breed of young players  Grothe, Pearce, Meninga, Kenny and Sterling. Great Britain included five players aged over the age of thirty and they were competitive in the first half although A ustralia led 10-4 at half time. In the second half, the Kangaroos demonstrated their superlative skills including pace, guile, teamwork and fitness and scored six stunning tries in the process. The Great Britain team, the crowd and the game in  the UK were stunned and have not really recovered to this day.

6 th  July 1975                     Papua New Guinea    12     v     England    40        Port Moresby Papua New Guinea  is the only country in the world where Rugby League is regarded as the national sport. The national team nicknamed  The Kumuls  played their first international match in 1975 against the returning England World Cup squad although they lost 40 -12. Two years later they thrashed  France  37 -6 and made their first overseas tour to  Europe  in 1979

13 November 1954              France 12    Great Britain 16      Parc de Princes, Paris The First Rugby League World Cup was organized by the French RL under Paul Barriere and took place in  France  in 1954. This was 33 years before the first RU equivalent.  Australia ,  France , GB and NZ took part and t he teams were evenly matched although GB were forced, through injuries/withdrawals, to select an inexperienced squad led by Scotsman Dave Valentine. It was a pleasant surprise when they made the final against the home team. France led early in the second half due to a try from Cantoni but Great Britain fought back with their their dominance in the forwards and centre Phil Jackson playing a starring role. France had played a tough match against Australia in Nantes two days earlier. The  BBC  broadcast the match live in the UK which was a novelty for the time...