The Ashes (rugby league)

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This article is about the Ashes in rugby league. For other uses, see The Ashes (disambiguation).

The Ashes
(original series)
Contested by
Australia Great Britain
Sport Rugby league
First edition 1908–09
Last edition 2003
Number of series wins
 Australia  Great Britain
20 19
Draws: None
The Ashes
(modern series)
Upcoming Tournament: 2025 Ashes Series
Contested by
Australia England
Sport Rugby league
First edition 2025
Latest edition Future
Holder (men's) TBD
Holder (women's) TBD
Number of series wins (men's)
 Australia  England
0 0
Draws: None
Number of series wins (women's)
 Australia  England
0 0
Draws: None

The Ashes series, similar to the cricket series of the same name, was a best-of-three series of test matches between Australia and Great Britain national rugby league football teams.[1][2] It had been contested 39 times from 1908 until 2003 largely with hosting rights alternating between the two countries. Since 1973, Australia has won a record thirteen consecutive Ashes series.[3]

In 2023, the series was revived as a best-of-three series of test matches between Australia and this time England national rugby league football teams, starting in 2025. Unlike the original, this would feature both a men's and women's series.[4]

This came after two failed revivals, one in 2020 which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and another in 2022 (set for 2024) as part of a potential Australian tour of Great Britain.[5]

History[edit]

Original series[edit]

The Australia squad of the 1908–09 Ashes
The Great Britain squad of the 1910 Ashes

Several sports and events adopted cricket's Ashes concept and by the beginning of the 20th century it was an "accepted principle" that a series had to have at least three matches to be a true test of which side was the best.[2]

On 27 September 1908, the first touring Australian rugby league side arrived in England, and played their first ever Test against the England side in December in London. Two further Tests were played. The Australians suggested that the series should be called "The Ashes" and the name stuck.

The format used is that three matches are played, with the winning team being decided on the basis of most matches won. If one team has already won two matches the series is already won, however the final game is usually still played. In the 1929–30 Ashes series both the teams won one game and one game was drawn; it was therefore decided to hold a further match to determine the outcome.

The British side has not always been termed Great Britain; in the past the titles "Northern Union XIII", "England" and "The Lions" have also been used. Similarly, the first two tours to Britain (1911–12 and 1921–22), included New Zealand players so were styled "Australasia", though when playing at home they always played as Australia.

Since 1964 the Harry Sunderland Medal is awarded to the best Australian player in a home Ashes series. Since Great Britain's win in Australia in 1970, the series has been very one sided with Australia having won 13 consecutive ashes, 5 of those (1979, 1982, 1984, 1986 and 2003) being 3–0 series whitewashes while the 1988 series had already been won by Australia in the first two tests before the Lions won a famous third test in Sydney 26–12 for their first test win over Australia since the second test of the 1978 Kangaroo tour, a streak of 15 wins for the Kangaroos.

The performance gap between the two teams became wider during the mid-late 1970s and Great Britain struggled to compete with Australia. The 1982 Kangaroos became the first side to go through a tour of Great Britain and France undefeated (something never achieved on a Lions tour, though they came close in 1954 losing just 2 games). This earned the team the nickname "The Invincibles". The 1986 Kangaroos repeated this feat and would be known as "The Unbeatables".

The final Ashes series was contested in 2003.

Planned revivals[edit]

In 2009 with the prospect of not contesting them until after the 2013 World Cup, Britain's Rugby Football League (RFL) challenged the Australian Rugby League (ARL) to play the round-robin stage match of the Four Nations tournament with the Ashes at stake. The one-off game would be a departure from the usual three-match series, additionally the contest would be between England, rather than Great Britain, and Australia.[6] The ARL initially agreed to the proposal but later, facing hostility from former Ashes players and fans who thought the proposals devalued the Ashes, the two governing bodies decided not to proceed.[7][8][9]

In 2016, newly appointed Australian team coach Mal Meninga, who as a player was selected to a record 4 Kangaroo Tours (the last two as captain) and played in a record 6 Ashes series (1982, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1992 and 1994 - playing a record 17 Ashes tests, only missing 1988 through injury), publicly advocated for a return of the Kangaroo Tours which would see The Ashes revived in 2020.[10] The proposed 2020 series was cancelled in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later suggested that the series may instead be played in 2022, however this never eventuated.[11] In October 2022, Meninga stated that talks were underway for a potential Ashes tour of England in 2024.[12]

Modern series[edit]

On 3 August 2023, The revival of The Ashes was announced by International Rugby League as part of their new 7-year international calendar and long-term strategy for growth of the international game. The revamped competition will also feature a women's test series for the first time with the first edition to take place in 2025.[13][14]

Trophy[edit]

In 1928, the City Tattersalls Club in Sydney, Australia donated a trophy to be the prize, the "Ashes Cup".[2] The Cup's inscription reads:[2]

INTERNATIONAL
RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL
Australia v England
(THE ASHES)
Presented by
CITY TATTERSALLS CLUB

The Cup was first presented in 1928 to The Lions, after they defeated Australia 2–1 in the series.[2] Following the 1933–34 series, in which England retained the Cup for the third time since first being presented with it, the Cup disappeared in the United Kingdom and was not found until October 1945.[15] The trophy had been on display at a function in Ilkley, Yorkshire and afterwards was returned to the manager of the Griffin Hotel, Leeds - where the English Rugby League management met - but this was not made clear to the English authorities and instead in laid overlooked in a box for 12 years.[15] During the period it was missing, Great Britain had won each series and the Cup's disappearance was not widely known.[2] The Australian team first won the Cup in 1950.[2]

In preparation for the Legends of League exhibition at the National Museum of Australia in 2008, marking a Centenary of Rugby League in Australia, the Ashes Cup underwent preservation work.[16]

Results[edit]

Original series[edit]

Year Hosts Winner Result Runners-up
1908–09 Great Britain Great Britain 2–0
(1 tied) 		Australia
1910 Australia Great Britain 2–0 Australia
1911 Great Britain Australia 2–0
(1 tied) 		Great Britain
1914 Australia Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1920 Australia Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1921–22 Great Britain Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1924 Australia Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1928 Australia Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1929–30 Great Britain Great Britain 2–1
(1 tied) 		Australia
1932 Australia Great Britain 2–1[17] Australia
1933–34 Great Britain Great Britain 3–0 Australia
1936 Australia Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1937 Great Britain Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1946 Australia Great Britain 2–0
(1 tied) 		Australia
1948 Great Britain Great Britain 3–0 Australia
1950 Australia Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1952 Great Britain Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1954 Australia Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1956 Great Britain Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1958 Australia Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1959–60 Great Britain Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1962 Australia Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1963–64 Great Britain Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1966 Australia Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1967–68 Great Britain Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1970 Australia Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1973 Great Britain Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1974 Australia Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1978 Great Britain Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1979 Australia Australia 3–0 Great Britain
1982 Great Britain Australia 3–0 Great Britain
1984 Australia Australia 3–0 Great Britain
1986 Great Britain Australia 3–0 Great Britain
1988 Australia Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1990 Great Britain Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1992 Australia Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1994 Great Britain Australia 2–1 Great Britain
2001 Great Britain Australia 2–1 Great Britain
2003 Great Britain Australia 3–0 Great Britain

Modern series[edit]

Year Hosts Men's Women's
Winner Score Runners-up Winner Score Runners-up
2025  Australia
2028  England No series due to clash with the 2028 World Cup

Records and statistics[edit]

Original series[edit]

Played Won by
Australia 		Won by
Great Britain 		Drawn
All series 39 20 (51.3%) 19 (48.7%) 0 (0.0%)
Series in Australia 19 9 (47.4%) 10 (52.6%) 0 (0.0%)
Series in Great Britain 20 11 (55.0%) 9 (45.0%) 0 (0.0%)
All Tests 118 59 (50.0%) 54 (45.8%) 5 (4.2%)
Tests in Australia 57 28 (49.1%) 27 (47.4%) 2 (3.5%)
Tests in Great Britain 61 31 (50.8%) 27 (44.3%) 3 (4.9%)
Figures up to and including the 3rd Test of the 2003 series

Highest attendance[edit]

Lowest attendance[edit]

Highest attended Ashes series[edit]

  • Australia – 179,816 in 1954
  • Great Britain – 140,432 in 1994

Lowest attended Ashes series[edit]

  • Australia – 60,000 in 1910
  • Great Britain – 33,000 in 1908–09

Highest score[edit]

Biggest win[edit]

Most tries in an Ashes test[edit]

Most goals in an Ashes test[edit]

Most points in an Ashes test[edit]

Most points in an Ashes series[edit]

Most points in all Ashes tests[edit]

  • Australia
    108 (9 tries, 37 goals) by Mal Meninga (17 tests – 1982–1994)
  • Great Britain
    62 (31 goals) by Jim Sullivan (15 tests – 1924–1933)

Tries in each test of an Ashes series[edit]

Most games as captain[edit]

Most games as coach[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hickey, Julia (2006). Understanding Rugby League. UK: Coachwise. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-905540-10-5. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Sean Fagan (15 September 2009). "Rugby league's fight for The Ashes". rl1908.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  3. ^ McCann, Liam (2006). Rugby: Facts, Figures and Fun. UK: AAPPL Artists' and Photographers' Press. p. 80. ISBN 9781904332541.
  4. ^ "Southern hemisphere to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Ashes to Ashes: Meninga eyes iconic series return for first time in 20 years". The Age. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  6. ^ "English chief calls for return of league Ashes". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Ashes brought back to life" skysports.com (4 September 2009)
  8. ^ Steve Mascord (16 September 2009). "Ashes set for 2010?". RugbyLeague.com. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  9. ^ "RFL scrap Ashes plan". RugbyLeague.com. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  10. ^ Mascord, Steve (20 November 2016). "Four Nations final 2016: Kangaroo Tours are back after success in England". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Revived Ashes series in England cancelled 'with great reluctance'". The Guardian. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Ashes to Ashes: Meninga eyes iconic series return for first time in 20 years". The Age. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Reduced Rugby League World Cup to take place in 2026". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  14. ^ "2026 Rugby League World Cup to be hosted in southern hemisphere". The Independent. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  15. ^ a b "RL "Ashes" Cup". The Telegraph. 26 October 1945. p. 8 (CITY FINAL) – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ NMA (22 February 2008). "League of Legends: 100 years of Rugby League in Australia: Conservation slideshow". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  17. ^ "League "Ashes." England's triumph". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29,496. 18 July 1932. p. 6.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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