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After the opening day thriller between Australia and New Zealand, the 2026 World Cup has felt in a bit of a malaise. Until today, with a couple of exceptions, the majority of matches have lacked any kind of jeapordy. There is an irony that Sunday 1st November 2026 saw the group stages close with two games that, on the face of it, had little consequence.  Tell that to the players of Lebanon, France, Samoa and Tonga. Whilst both teams were already out, neither Lebanon or France wanted to end the tournament with a record of zero wins. The rarity of a close scoreline in the tournament brought the excitement, even if the outcome was not too consequential. The sides separated by just one score as the clock ticked past 70 minutes. What followed was one of the most mind-bending 15 minutes of Rugby League you are ever likely to see. Cesar Rouge's try brought France level on 71 minutes before a Lebanon penalty in the 76th minute restored a two point lead. France coach Laurent Fraysinnous rig...

England's 34-12 victory over Papua New Guinea earlier today all but confirmed their exit at the group stage of a World Cup for the first time; having fallen way short of the 68 points that they needed to overhaul to be ahead of Samoa on points difference. It was a win a name only and felt even more hollow than the 82-0 drubbing of France last week. England didn't get the rub of the green with the draw. Though one could hardly express with confidence that, if England swapped places with New Zealand in Pool A, their fate would have been different. Is it really unforeseeable that England would have lost to both New Zealand and Fiji? Ordinarily, I would use this post to reflect on the Papua New Guinea game. But such was its emptiness, there seems little purpose. Instead, I will add my two pence to the ongoing navel-gazing debate in English Rugby League circles about how we can improve our fortunes for next time. I'll give you a little spoiler, tinkering around the edges will do...

Before I launch into my thoughts about week 2 of the World Cup, I thought it might be helpful to set the scene and remind you of the rather unusual group structure we have. We have Pool A, which features Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Cook Islands. This is the most straightforward as each side plays each other and the top two teams qualify for the semi finals. In Pool B, there is England, Samoa and Lebanon. Pool C features Tonga, France and Papua New Guinea. The table for these two pools are combined. The teams in Pool B play the teams in Pool C and vice versa. The top two teams in these combined pools qualify for the semi finals. If the sides finish level on points, the first tiebreaker is head to head record. If the sides have not played each other, the second tiebreaker is points difference. The practical reality of this meant that if England lost their opening match against Tonga, their fate would be out of their hands and qualification for the semi finals was unlikely. Tonga had...

England and Tonga have developed a burgeoning rivalry over the years. Anyone who watched England's match against Tonga in Widnes in 2006, which descended into a mass brawl would attest to that. From a literal fight to a metaphorical one came the 2017 World Cup Semi Final. Widely considered one of the greatest matches and occasions of modern times. Roared on by a partisan crowd, Tonga fought back from 0-20 down to trail 18-20. A contentious knock on call denied Tonga a first win over England and a place in the World Cup final. England also faced Tonga in a test series in 2023. My abiding memory of that was another Alan Partridge-esque accidental moment of hilarity from the-then England coach Shaun Wane. Wane's anger at a perceived slight by Tonga coach Kristian Woolf nearly sent him into arterial compromise. The sight of the customarily cool Woolf stood as stark contrast.  England won that test series 3-0 and, in truth, rarely looked threatened by Tonga. Today's match was ag...

This time last year, England were about to enter their first Ashes series against Australia for 22 years. I was awash with optimism that England were at least going to give it a really good go. That optimism was washed away by half time of test 1 in a series that saw England score just two tries across three matches. The World Cup in 2026 in Australia offers a shot at redemption but achieving that is going to be as difficult as it has ever been. There is a very real chance that England do not make it out of the group stages. For England, that would represent a terrible return and prompt questions about why we are going back in the international arena and not forward. For the wider game, it would be a success story as there are now several teams who have a genuine shot at a semi final spot. The international game has changed. In the last two World Cups, we have seen Australia, England, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga all reach the semi final stage and three of those teams reach a fin...

As I write this we are a little over six hours away from kick off in the most unique of Grand Finals. For the first time ever, the side who finished 3rd will play the side who finished 4th.  For the first time since the 1998 Grand Final, we are guaranteed a new name on the Super League trophy. For just the second time, the sides who finished in 1st and 2nd place have been banished before the Grand Final. For the first time in either 71 years in Warrington's case or 58 years in Wakefield's case will one of these sides be the champions by around 8pm tonight. If you have any memory of either of these clubs being the champions, you would have to be drawing your pension. This time last week, I expected Wigan to beat Wakefield to set up a repeat of the 2013, 2016 and 2018 Grand Finals. From a Warrington perspective, that would have meant a Grand Final which was as low in pressure as could be expected. Very few would have expected Warrington to win. They finished 8th last year! Only o...