Case for the defence
Defence was at the forefront on Super League’s opening night, when St Helens posted a 6-4 victory over Leeds Rhinos at, what we must now refer to as, the...
Eye on Rugby League
Sweet Cas’s line
Good times never seemed so good at Castleford, the Tigers sitting top of the Betfred Super League more than a third of the way through their regular-season fixtures.
The latest...
Stung by Wasps?
Late on Sunday the BBC broke the news that according to chief executive David Armstrong Wasps rugby union club – late of London and now of Coventry – were...
International rugby league – some positives
The announcements made by the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) after a meeting in Sydney included a four-year international calendar to be unveiled later this year, an England tour...
From the sublime to the ridiculous
Rugby league as a whole has managed to shake off the pre-season blues which plagued the sport, with an interesting and entertaining start to Super League, British wins in...
World Club Series resuscitated
Warrington and Wigan breathed life into the beleaguered World Club Series with their respective wins against Brisbane Broncos and Cronulla Sharks over the weekend.
If it seems strange to think...
Super League needs the salary cap
Ever since the unedifying spectacle of the World Club Series people have proposed solutions to the obvious gap that exists between the playing strength of Super League and Australia’s NRL. ...
McNamara has laid foundations for England success
McNamara turned things around, organising the England set-up in a far superior way to before, including more team events and training, trying to instil a “two team mentality” to overcome ...
The defence rests
While a high-scoring game is certainly thrilling in its way, it doesn’t show rugby league at its best. We miss out on strong defence and tough tackling that should be ...
Rugby league fans can learn from non-league football
At the moment there are too many rugby league fans creating a miserable atmosphere around the sport which can only serve to put anyone off who might otherwise take an ...
World Club Series a partial success
The World Club Series represents a partial success, and is worth persisting with.
A cautious welcome for the new era
It’s difficult to have a straightforward, ‘good’ or ‘bad’ opinion of the restructure, as there are so many changes and innovations in the new structure of the game…
Obstruction objection
It’s nothing new for the rugby league community to be left scratching its collective head over what does or doesn’t constitute an obstruction. The latest bout of confusion stems from ...
Stand by your man
Coaches need to be given a chance, so it’s good to see Marwan Koukash standing by Brian Noble – for the time being at least.
Can’t do right for wrong
Lenagan’s argument is that the rights to broadcast Super League could have achieved a great deal more revenue for the clubs had the RFL handled things differently.
System of a Groan
The fears of many rugby league supporters have been realised as the RFL and the Super League clubs voted for the two-leagues-of-two-splitting-into-three-groups-of-eight system.
He’s gone two hundred miles – it’s very far
It’s interesting that people are now of the opinion that a venue is only neutral if it is equal distance between the two clubs. That’s not a view that I ...
Time to scrap rugby league
Last night’s Challenge Cup quarter final was a major disappointment – so much so that the call has gone out (again) to scrap the Challenge Cup and consign the famous old ...
Should Super League Be Ten Teams?
Despite what some have suggested, some have complained about and some have hoped for, there is no completely ideal system that will allow sustainability, competitiveness, expansion, excitement, more income and ...
Cockney captain a small positive for Broncos
The Broncos may have lost a key player in Gower, but the club captaincy has now been taken up by Tony Clubb, from Gravesend in Kent. London are now captained ...
The RFL isn’t always to blame
The most recent situation for which those at Red Hall have taken an unfair degree of blame was today’s shambolic Tetley’s Challenge Cup draw. Yet it’s hard to see why ...
There’s always room at the financial abyss
There was some annoyance last week about the BBC investigation into the finances of Super League.
Stop the international merry-go-round
One of the issues that has dogged international rugby league, especially in recent seasons, is that of players swapping international allegiance and choosing to represent another country.
A disappointing tournament – but was there any option?
A rather disappointing and discouraging season failed to put a smile back on anyone’s face with a typically disappointing and discouraging international series.
Northampton demise provides assurance about new semi-pro clubs
The demise of Northampton Demons does give us more confidence about Gloucestershire, Hemel, Oxford and Coventry.