Tryline UK

On Saturday night, St Helens were on the ropes against Bradford. They were 4-16 down after 45 minutes. With more accurate goalkicking, it could have been 4-20. They were in a hole. St Helens fought back and led 20-16 after 57 minutes, with Bradford reduced to 12 men courtesy of a red card. But this game was by no means won. It remained in the balance. All it would take was one chance for Bradford to to tip the scales in their favour. On 58 minutes, St Helens get a penalty that Jackson Hastings would easily have kicked. They chose to run and their attack was snuffed out.  They declined the chance to extent a lead to one which would mean Bradford having to score twice to win. A very difficult task with 12 men. They declined the chance to open up a lead greater than anything they had held in the match so far. Rugby League then does what it does. The unexpected. Joe Shorrocks was sin binned, the playing numbers were equalled and Bradford scored to lead 20-22. St Helens declining a...

Sport is cyclical. Or so they say. That's not always true as in some leagues, you have one behemoth that dominates for years. In 2025, Super League crowned only its fifth winner in 30 years. Teams like Wigan and St Helens have peaks and troughs but usually revert to trophy winning before too long. Between 2018 and 2024, these were the only two sides to win Super League.  Leeds had a dominant spell from 2004 - 2017 but have won only one trophy in the nine years since then. Will Leeds bounce back to their post-millennium mean or revert to the Leeds of old that hadn't won a trophy between 1978 and 2003 and hadn't won the league between 1972 and 2004? Hull KR have recently entered the conversation. No trophies in a generation and then three in a single, glorious 2025.  Super League's straight-jacket known as the salary cap in some ways punishes success. As St Helens dominated the latter part of the last decade and the start of this one, their players with average salaries r...

With the Super League fixtures for 2026 being announced this week, we will likely learn whether we will be returning to having a top 8 play off system.  This is the system currently used by the NRL and used by us between 2009 and 2014. In this blogpost, I will explain why I believe this would be a terrible move. It isn't very Rugby League to mention this (as we often value entertainment over equity) but fairness is a real issue under this system. Of course, these things are a balance and many believe it is right to prioritise entertainment.  In my view , any system with an uneven fixture list is also inequitable. As is the side finishing top of league potentially seeing a season's work go up in smoke with one bad performance (which can happen under our existing system). As a sport, we have made the decision to sacrifice elements of equity in the pursuit of entertainment. That is a legitimate aim, even if you do not agree with it. A top 8 system amplifies the unfairness to an e...

It is not a great position to be in when the inquest into England's Ashes performance began after the second of three test matches. Was Wane too loyal to the old guard? How can we expect England to compete when they haven't had a single training session in 2025 until October let along an actual match? How can we replicate the intensity of State of Origin and the NRL to prepare ourselves better? What do we do, or can we do anything, about the fact that there are no competitive international teams for England to face outside of Oceania? And what of England's preparation? Australia have immersed themselves in all the UK has to offer, travelling from Scotland to London and places in between. All too willing to pose for photographs, sign shirts and take time to talk to English fans. Yes, Rugby League players often do this. But they don't have to. We should not take the manner in which Australia has conducted itself for granted. By contrast, when the Ashes series was rumoured...

After last weekend's eye opening and chastening defeat to Australia in the first Ashes test, England fans had every reason to be cautious of what the second test held. Australia weren't flawless in the first test but won handsomely and still could improve, there was going to be Australian referee meaning a faster ruck (which suits Australia) and England were pretty ordinary in first test. Yet for some reason, this England fan woke up with a strangely optimistic feeling on Saturday morning, even though there was no logic behind it. Was it the widely-expected changes to the team? Or recalling how in 1997, Great Britain were thrashed in the first Ashes test at Wembley but won the second? Or maybe I was feeling inspired by Shaun Wane's speech in the latest installment of Chasing The Ashes (a fly on the wall series uploaded to YouTube by England). I’m obsessed with how accidentally Brent this is. pic.twitter.com/lXzw9H8dis — Ross Williams (@RossWilliams_) October 29, 2025 It...

We have waited 22 years for an Ashes test between Australia and England but anticipation soon gave way to reality. England were taught a lesson in how to play Rugby League by a side who appeared far superior in every facet. A defeat so emphatic in its nature means that the first question to ask is not whether England can turn a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 series win, but whether England will be able to compete in the remaining tests. That is not to say it is impossible that England will turn this series around. This is sport. Unexpected things can happen. The evidence of today is that this is very unlikely. Jack Welsby has borne the brunt of criticism from fans. And, whilst it wasn't his best day, I do think some of the criticism was harsh, especially in defence. For the first Australian try, he had a five on one. For the fourth try, it was a three on one. These are situations that are near-impossible to stop, especially when you look at the quality of attackers he faced. The second try...