England exposed as Ashes gulf in class shows need for change

After a week when talks were held between National Rugby League (NRL) powerbrokers and their UK counterparts about a strategic partnership, the Ashes – that most treasured of prizes – remained in Australian hands.

Having dismantled England at Wembley Stadium in last Saturday’s opener, Kevin Walters’s tourists predictably beat England again in front of a sold-out 52,106 crowd to seal a series win with one game to play. Shaun Wane’s men showed a major improvement from last week but could not make their first-half dominance pay.

The opening 40 minutes ended 4-4 after two penalties apiece from England scrum-half Harry Smith, a boyhood Everton supporter, and his opposite number Nathan Cleary.

Australia, though, typically, systematically and clinically moved clear in the second half with tries from Cameron Munster and Hudson Young to leave the home fans with a familiar sinking feeling.

The Kangaroos have now won 14 successive Ashes series against England or Great Britain dating back to 1973, underlining the southern hemisphere dominance in the 13-a-side code.

Much was made of English hopes before this series kicked off but the national side, then in the guise of Great Britain, last won the Ashes in 1970. In the intervening years there have been great players, great contests, the odd very good side and moments for supporters to savour.

More than ever before, the cash-rich NRL is in a different stratosphere from the British game; on and off the field and domestically and internationally. Its players are feted like superstars and get paid the big bucks while the Super League continues to lag behind.

Help, though, could soon be at hand, with speculation growing that the NRL could seize some element of control in the British game and perhaps even buy a stake in the Super League. Given the parochial nature of rugby league on these shores, where it remains largely confined to its northern enclaves, such an agreement will take some doing. Especially when the NRL would demand that a new corporate governance structure be put in place to ensure decisions are made for the greater good and not for clubs’ self-interest. Nevertheless, the argument for getting into bed with the Aussies is beginning to look compelling.

The British game badly needs a financial shot in the arm, with all clubs losing money. Sky Sports have been Super League’s principal broadcaster since the competition’s formation in 1996, but the value of the TV deal has dropped alarmingly, down to just £21.5m this season compared with £40m four years ago.

Peter V’landys, the chair of the Australian Rugby League Commission, met with a number of Super League club owners in London this week. Details of any link-up were thin on the ground and V’landys told reporters: “All we’ve done is analyse the financial viability and I can see a train crash if they don’t get the broadcast revenue that they need to sustain a 14-team competition. It’s not in our best interests ... we want them strong.”

The 2024 NRL season was the most lucrative and successful in rugby league’s 117-year history in Australia. Boasting record revenue, crowds and viewing figures, the competition claimed rugby league is now the most popular sport in Australia and the Pacific.

The NRL launched the 2025 season in Las Vegas for the second year running, with two NRL fixtures played alongside a Super League game between Wigan and Warrington, in addition to a women’s international between England and Australia. Doubling the event in size this season – as part of a five-year deal to open the NRL campaign in Sin City – was a benchmark of V’landys’ ambition.

V’landys also recently outlined audacious plans to take the game to new frontiers. He wants to kick off the 2027 NRL season with games across different continents, with potential host cities including London, Toulouse, Miami, Hawaii, Dubai, Hong Kong and Las Vegas. A “global round” could prove attractive to broadcasters and potential commercial partners.

At the start of that 2027 season, Perth Bears will become the 18th team in the NRL. “The game has to be globalised and you’ve got to have ambition,” said V’landys.

British rugby league is the sport where so much happens but nothing ever really changes. There have been numerous restructures and changes of people in positions of power. Those are usually ripped up a couple of years later without any real progress.

Despite the drop in TV money, and the reduction in central distribution for each team, clubs voted to increase Super League from 12 to 14 sides from 2026. Make sense of that. With the gulf between the Australian and English games clear to see, the mooted link-up with the NRL could be the much-needed wind of change.

Photograph by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images