13 weird and wonderful things that have happened since last Rugby League Ashes Test in 2003
Plenty of time has passed since we were last treated to a Rugby League Ashes Test: and plenty has happened, too
It’s been far too long since we last saw an Ashes Test in rugby league, but this weekend, one will finally arrive!
It’s been very well documented that the last Ashes Series came in 2003, when Westlife were top of the charts with Mandy, and Arsenal’s ‘Invicibles’ were on their way to lifting a golden Premier League trophy.
Jamie Oliver hadn’t ruined school dinners yet, and Barrack Obama was still a good few years off being elected as the President of the United States.
But what else has happened since the last Ashes Series? Well, here’s a look at 13 – and some might (will) make you feel old…
8,008 days
That’s right… more than 8,000 days have passed since we saw the Kangaroos beat Great Britain 18-12 in Huddersfield. That game – on November 22, 2003 – saw the Aussies complete a 3-0 series whitewash. 21 years, 11 months and 3 days ago by the time Saturday’s clash at Wembley gets underway!
Two new Super League champions
That’s right, just two clubs have won a Super League title for the first time since then, Leeds in 2004 and then Hull KR this year! Bradford, Saints and Wigan had all won it at least once prior to the ’03 Ashes, which came a few weeks after the Bulls beat the Warriors 25-12 in the Grand Final at Old Trafford.
Ten different NRL champions
So five Super League winners in the last 21 years, and in that time, there have been ten different NRL champions: Canterbury Bulldogs (2004), Wests Tigers (2005), Brisbane Broncos (2006 and 2025), Melbourne Storm (2007*, 2009*, 2012, 2017 and 2020), Manly Sea Eagles (2008 and 2011), St George Illawarra Dragons (2010), Sydney Roosters (2013, 2018 and 2019), South Sydney Rabbitohs (2014), North Queensland Cowboys (2015), Cronulla Sharks (2016) and Penrith Panthers (2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024).
Notably, Storm were stripped of two of their titles (2007 and 2009) in 2010 having been found guilty of systematic salary cap cheating, but that’s a tale for another day.
Australia won three World Cups
The Kangaroos went on to lose the 2008 World Cup final to New Zealand, but have since triumphed in each of the last three showpieces. Crowned world champions in 2013 after beating the Kiwis in the final, they repeated the feat on home soil against England in 2017 (don’t remind us) and then again in 2022 at Old Trafford against Samoa.
Shaun Wane led Wigan to six major honours and became England’s head coach
Now 61, Wane took charge of Wigan ahead of the 2012 following the departure of Michael Maguire, who he had worked under as an assistant. Three Super League titles, a World Club Challenge, a Challenge Cup and a League Leaders’ Shield followed before the end of the 2018 season, when he left and took up a role with Scotland’s rugby union side.
Appointed as England rugby league’s new head coach in February 2020, the rest is history.
Kevin Walters coached in Super League, NRL, State of Origin and got Kangaroos job
Walters – who turned 58 earlier this week – only hung up his boots in 2001, and first became a head coach when he took charge of Super League outfit Catalans Dragons in 2009. Leaving in 2010, his next leading role took a while to come, but was a big one. Handed the reins of Queensland at the back end of 2015, he went on to head up four Origin series, winning two and losing two.
Resigning in 2020 as he took charge of NRL outfit Brisbane Broncos ahead of the following season, Walters departed at the back end of 2023 and was appointed as Mal Meninga’s successor with the Kangaroos earlier this year, handed a contract just for this Ashes Series. Can he deliver?
4,228 episodes of Neighbours
We admit, this is an estimate, but the long-running Aussie soap opera has just been revived – taking the tally above the 4,000-mark, for definite! Everybody needs good neighbours… but we reckon they’re probably all sick of the sight of one another by now!
400 new Coronation Street characters
Again, it’s an estimate, but we had to bring in the G.O.A.T of UK soaps once we’d mentioned Neighbours. Since the Ashes in ’03, the likes of Richard Hillman, Pat Phelan PC Craig Tinker come and go from Weatherfield.
Eight Prime Ministers in the UK
Tony Blair was in the midst of his ten-year stint at Downing Street during the ’03 Ashes. Gordon Brown eventually replaced him in 2007, with David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak all assuming the post prior to incumbent PM Keir Starmer, who took over in July 2024.
Launch of the iPhone
The Apple iPhone wasn’t a thing until 2007. Now, the majority of us have one in our pockets daily and they’re onto the iPhone 17 now!
Facebook arrives
Social media’s boom really began with Facebook, which went public for the first time in 2006. Created by Mark Zuckerberg and initially meant to be used as a communication platform for college students in the United States, it had been around since 2004.
A global Pandemic
COVID-19 arrived in early 2020, and changed plenty of things. Working from home became a thing, as did lockdown quizzes, virtual conferences, Zoom, Microsoft Teams. ‘Normality’ eventually resumed in the UK midway through 2022, but some would argue life will never be the same again.
Luke Littler born and achieves first World Darts Championship triumph
We thought we’d end on something a little more light-hearted. Warrington fan and darting superstar Littler was born on January 21, 2007 (we’re all old, we know!) and went on to clinch his first world title on January 3, 2025. He became the youngest-ever world champion in the sport at 17 having lost out in the final of the worlds to Luke Humphries 12 months prior
