Rugby Rugby League Ashes 2025

[650lb Sumo]

Ashes Series 2025

www.rugby-league.com

Following a 22-year absence, the famous Ashes Series finally returns this autumn, with England Men playing a three-Test series against Australia.

The ABK Beer Ashes Series will be played on three consecutive Saturday afternoons – October 25, November 1 and November 8 – at three iconic venues, Wembley Stadium in London, Everton's new Hill Dickinson Stadium and AMT Headingley Stadium in Leeds.

The latter two venues are completely SOLD OUT.

Rivalries are set to be reignited between the two nations, and it’s a moment in history you simply cannot miss!

All three test matches will be shown live on BBC.

Australia won 6 - 0 in 2003, but the centre of gravity of world rugby has been shifting northwards...

 

[650lb Sumo]

Ruthless Australia sweep England aside in one-sided Ashes Test at Wembley

Australia ran out comfortable 26-6 winners over England in the first Ashes Test at Wembley, with Reece Walsh the star

www.theguardian.com

England 6 - 26 Australia

Player of the match Reece Walsh dives over for Australia’s first try.

The pre-match talk from an England perspective going into this first Ashes series for 22 years focused on how the hosts were not short on motivation. However you can have all the motivation in the world but in the end, in the pressure cooker that is international rugby league, there is simply no substitute for class.

How the hosts were taught that in a brutal lesson to leave Wembley feeling flat, and this series feeling as though it is heading only one way. The suggestion had been that England’s best chance was to catch the Australians cold in game one, with it almost certain they will improve over the next fortnight.

England can take heart from the fact that for the opening half-hour, they went toe to toe with the Kangaroos and matched them in most areas, but not the one that really mattered. The better chances came the way of the hosts during that period, but on multiple occasions they failed to make any pressure count.

Unsurprisingly, when the Kangaroos had their first real chance they scored. That proved the theme for the whole afternoon. Australia’s class shone in the most clinical moments, with their outstanding full-back Reece Walsh at the heart of everything they did well at both ends of the field.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Kangaroos made to sweat before class tells and wounded England kiss Ashes goodbye | John Davidson

Australia were well-matched in the first half of the second Test but outclassed their hosts after the break to clinch a 14th successive Ashes series

www.theguardian.com

England 4 - 14 Australia

Fans arrived at Everton’s resplendent Hill Dickson Stadium to the sound of the Black Eyed Peas’ 2009 hit I Gotta Feeling, the lyrics “I’ve got a feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night” reverberating around Liverpool’s docks. And boy was it for the Kangaroos, but only just.

The green and gold won their 14th Ashes series in a row, the first since 2003, with a solid second-half response that decided the second Test in their favour. But a display for the ages from Australia – a routine or one-sided victory most expected – it was not. England played with fire, matching the Kangaroos and frustrating them at every stage in an eye-catching first half. But, as the last 55 years have told us, it was still Australia holding the trophy aloft.

A minute in an all-in brawl erupted after Jez Litten and Harry Grant got involved in a scuffle. The result was Dom Young and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui being shown yellow cards. Nathan Cleary nailed the ensuing penalty. A minute later and another fracas erupted, this time involving George Williams and Grant.

The home team’s best chance seemed to be to niggle, frustrate and get under the skin of Australia. It worked, Smith’s penalty goal tying it up at 2-2 after seven minutes. Reece Walsh threw a forward pass and England were camped on the tryline. Young went close to scoring in the 14th minute, but was forced into touch.

Walsh had hit Young high in the try-saving tackle, however he escaped a yellow card. England had all the field position and possession, but did not make it pay. The Kangaroos looked sluggish and were forced into errors. In the 19th minute Williams dinked a little grubber in behind, Walsh fumbled it and Morgan Knowles got it down, but the video referee deemed it was not a try.

The Kangaroos were under the pump. With a raucous crowd behind England they rose to the occasion. Australia went 4-2 ahead from another penalty goal, after Smithies dived at the knees of Cameron Munster, before Smith evened it with a penalty.

Enter the magician Munster. The Storm star dummied his way over for the first try. Australia went 8-4 ahead and England could not respond. Five minutes later Tom Johnstone mishandled Cleary’s bomb, with Hudson Young scooping up the crumbs for the Kangaroos’ second try.

The contest was as good as done. Australia switched gears and the Hill Dickinson Stadium mood went flat. Even when Walsh was sent to the sin-bin for a late shoulder charge on Young, England could not break down a 12-man defence. The Ashes were waved goodbye.

All is not lost for the British game. Green shoots remain. This Test showed there is merit, promise and potential – not to mention an audience – in the sport’s birthplace. Nurture the roots, partner with the NRL and let rugby league flourish in Brisbane and Brighouse. Working together in the boardrooms and leaving the bitter rivalry out on the field has to be the way forward.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Meanwhile in Union:

England 25-7 Australia: Henry Pollock & Ben Earl score at Twickenham

England run in four tries in an ultimately comfortable win over Australia in their opening autumn Test at Twickenham.

www.bbc.co.uk

England 25 - 7 Australia

Tries from warp-speed back-row pair Ben Earl and Henry Pollock helped England see off Australia, as their power-packed bench ultimately swung an untidy opening autumn Test.

After the Wallabies edged a 10-try classic last year, England took revenge with a performance heavy on perspiration, if a little short on cohesion, at the Allianz Stadium Twickenham.

Australia trailed by only three points at the break, after wing Harry Potter's breakaway try had given them a lifeline back into the contest.

But replacement Pollock scampered in just before the hour to restore England's cushion, before a snipe from Alex Mitchell and a rolling maul steered over the line by Luke Cowan-Dickie ensured they could see out the final stages in comfort.

The closing stages were enlivened by raised tensions rather than any scoreboard jeopardy.

A scuffle sparked by Ellis Genge's shoulder on fellow prop Allan Alaalatoa drew in most of the 30 players on the pitch, before Pollock was shown a yellow card in the penultimate passage of the game for an infringement on England's line.

England have won eight successive Tests, a run stretching back to their defeat in the opening game of this year's Six Nations in Ireland.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Rugby League Ashes: Australia beat England 30-8 to complete 3-0 series whitewash

England fall to another rugby league Ashes defeat as Australia add to their misery at Headingley to complete a 3-0 series clean sweep.

www.bbc.co.uk

England (8) 8

Try: Williams Goal: Smith Penalty: Smith

Australia (12) 30

Tries: Addo-Carr, Young, Grant, Walsh 2 Goals: Cleary 5

After scoring Australia's third try at Headingley, where the tourists completed a ruthless 3-0 series victory on Saturday, Harry Grant booted the ball into the crowd.

It was a show of defiance towards the boisterous Leeds crowd, and a symbol of the Kangaroos affirming their authority.

Once again, this was not to be England's day.

More than in any other match in this Ashes series, Australia were made to work hard against dogged and defiant hosts. But the result was the same, a flurry of points came Australia's way late on, and the whitewash was complete.

Having also won 3-0 in the previous series in 2003, this means Australia have completed clean sweeps in successive Ashes for the first time since 1986.

England had more moments of creativity and attacking verve here than they had shown in the previous two matches.

But they also made more mistakes, with the first three Australian tries coming directly from errors.

Defeat at Headingley means England have still not beaten Australia since the 1995 World Cup.

As in the previous two Tests, Australia started purposefully after the interval and thought they had a third try as Addo-Carr shrugged off a Lewis tackle to score, but it was disallowed for offside.

England then played like a side given a new lease of life. Suddenly the play was creative, high tempo and risky.

The partisan Headingley crowd responded, with fans from the rugby league heartland of Leeds showing their appreciation.

Australia were suddenly rattled. Melees broke out and golden boy Walsh claimed contact from an England knee.

But Australia are the number one team on the planet and reigning world champions for a reason. Another England error - Lewis adding to his bad day with a loose tackle - led directly to Grant touching down under the posts.

The final words had to go to Walsh, who has become a global star with his displays against England. He added the final two tries, taking his personal series tally to four and completing a scoreline to firmly put the home team in their place.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Meanwhile this weekend's international union results:

Ireland 41 - 10 Japan
Scotland 17 - 25 New Zealand
England 38 - 18 Fiji
Italy 26 - 19 Australia
France 17 - 32 South Africa

Wales - Argentina coming up tomorrow afternoon. Australia have been very shaky in union lately. NZ play England in a week's time and Wales a week after that, so looking forward to those games!

Since the Six Nations thread Wales extended their run of back-to-back losses to 17, before winning in Japan in July last time out. Has Matt Sherratt finally turned the corner?

 

[650lb Sumo]

Wales 28 - 52 Argentina

Wales's heaviest-ever defeat to the blue-and-whites.

Wales rugby: Apathy reigns as record Argentina loss deepens crisis

Wales continue their struggles with a record loss to Argentina - but the perilous state of Welsh rugby means fans only feel apathy.

www.bbc.co.uk

There were no boos at the final whistle, no howls of anger. Just the muted tones of apathy.

The Principality Stadium is meant to be a cauldron of noise on matchdays, an intimidating arena which visiting players often describe as the best in the world.

It has not been that way for some time. A once proud rugby nation is on its knees.

National and domestic teams are pitifully underpowered, while off the field the game is gripped by interminable existential crises.

After all, Wales have only won one Test match since 2023, while Argentina can count New Zealand among their conquests this year.

This was Steve Tandy's first game as Wales head coach, a fresh start of sorts, but the attendance was 50,185 - the lowest for a non-Covid-era game since 2016.

It's all relative - many sporting entities would love that kind of support - but it is still a sizeable drop from the capacity crowds of close to 75,000 which the Welsh Rugby Union has come to rely on for much of its income.

Whereas sell-outs used to be a given, there is now an acceptance of Wales' new reality.

And more striking than the empty seats was the way in which that acceptance manifested itself in such a flat and passive atmosphere.

You can't really blame the fans. This was a 10th successive home defeat for Wales, with the two most recent visitors racking up 120 points between them.

Even for a country which has swung wildly from soaring highs to crushing lows throughout its tumultuous rugby history, this is a nadir for the game in Wales.

By now, they are languishing in 12th in the world rankings. Losing has become so routine that people have become desensitised to the humiliation.

There will at least be a little jeopardy when Japan - the only team Wales have beaten in the past two years - visit the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

When New Zealand and South Africa roll into town over the following two weekends, however, it is difficult to shake the feeling that those will be another two foregone conclusions.

 

[LEWIS540]

Ashes Series 2025

www.rugby-league.com

Using an England vs SA rugby union gif to promote England vs Australia in rugby league, eh?

Are you actually a bot?

 

[650lb Sumo]

England pumped up for chance to end 13-year wait against All Blacks

Maro Itoje and company have talked the talk and are hungry to follow through with a first win at home over New Zealand since 2012

www.theguardian.com

International union fixtures this weekend

Italy vs South Africa
England vs New Zealand
Wales vs Japan
France vs Fiji
Ireland vs Australia
Scotland vs Argentina

 

[Concrete]

Great win for England today. Showed real character.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Last weekend's results:

Italy 14 - 32 South Africa
England 33 - 19 New Zealand
Wales 24 - 23 Japan
France 34 - 21 Fiji
Ireland 46 - 19 Australia

Scotland 24 - 33 Argentina

Congrats to Wales! At least there's one team they can beat. I feel this is kind of like a drowning man desperately forcing himself to the surface for a fraction of a second to grab half a breath, just to barely keep him alive a little longer. But it's something.

Northern Hemisphere: 4
Southern Hemisphere: 2

so the general trend of the Northern Hemisphere taking over continues. The NH teams were at home though obviously. Ireland have now beaten Australia five times in a row. Definitely a big result for England though.


Some mouthwatering (union) matches coming up this weekend:

Wales - New Zealand
Ireland - South Africa
France - Australia
Italy - Chile
Scotland - Tonga

England - Argentina

 

[650lb Sumo]

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Nations Championship to feature north v south hemisphere contest

The Twickenham finale of next year's new Nations Championship event will pit the north and south of global rugby against each other.

www.bbc.co.uk

England and South Africa are currently the highest-ranked northern and southern hemisphere teams respectively.

The Twickenham finale of next year's new Nations Championship event will pit the north and south of global rugby against each other in a contest to be the game's dominant hemisphere.

The biennial 12-team event comprises six rounds of matches across the summer and autumn Test windows before three double-header fixture days on 27-29 November at Allianz Stadium to rank nations and crown champions.

The results from the 'finals weekend' will also contribute to a parallel contest, to decide which hemisphere prevails overall.

The Six Nations teams will be the northern hemisphere representatives, with South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Fiji and Japan as their opposition.

Southern hemisphere teams have won nine of the 10 men's Rugby World Cups, with England's victory in 2003 a solitary success for the north. However, the world rankings are split more evenly - with five teams from each hemisphere in the top 10.

The 82,000-capacity Allianz Stadium can draw on London's large southern-hemisphere population for the finals of the inaugural edition.

More than 80,000 watched a Rugby World Cup warm-up match between South Africa and New Zealand there in August 2023.

However, there is an ambition to take future finals to new destinations.

It has been speculated that a host in the Near East in 2028, and in the United States in 2030 would strike a balance between maximising revenues and spreading the game into new markets.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Weekend gone's results:

Wales 26 - 52 New Zealand
Ireland 13 - 24 South Africa
France 48 - 33 Australia



Italy 34 - 19 Chile

Scotland 56 - 0 Tonga
England 27 - 23 Argentina

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South Africa visit Wales on Saturday, which probably won't be pretty. Still iron sharpens iron they say, even though it doesn't, stone sharpens iron, and you can't get a good edge on iron either, it's steel that holds a good edge.

 

[650lb Sumo]

South Africa visit Wales on Saturday, which probably won't be pretty.

 

[650lb Sumo]

Australia and New Zealand in the same group!
England and Wales
Ireland and Scotland

Be interested to see how the USA and Canada do, they have reasonable groups.