The Ashes (rugby league)

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The Ashes
SportRugby league
Inaugural season1908–09
Number of teams3
Countries Australia vs
United Kingdom Great Britain
(–2003)
 England (2020–)
Holders Australia (2003)
Most titles Australia (20 titles)

The Ashes series, similar to the cricket series of the same name, is a best-of-three series of test matches between the English (previously British) and Australian national rugby league football teams.[1][2] It has been contested 39 times from 1908 until 2003 largely with hosting rights alternating between the two countries. From 1973 Australia won thirteen consecutive Ashes series.[3] The series was set to be revived in 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

History[]

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, from the 1911–12 Kangaroo tour until the 1929–30 tour, Australian touring sides had 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 Ashes had not been contested since 2003 when, 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.[4] 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.[5][6][7]

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.[8] The proposed 2020 series was cancelled in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was suggested that the series may be played in 2022 instead.[9]

Trophy[]

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.[10] 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.[10] 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.[11]

Results[]

Year Home Team Result Away Team
Australia Australia vs United Kingdom Great Britain era
1908–09 Northern Union (GB) 2–0 Australia
1910 Australia 0–2 Northern Union (GB)
1911 Great Britain 0–2 Australasia
1914 Australia 1–2 Northern Union (GB)
1920 Australia 2–1 Northern Union (GB)
1921–22 Great Britain 3–1 Australasia
1924 Australia 1–2 The Lions
1928 Australia 1–2 The Lions
1929–30 The Lions (GB) 2–1 (1 tied) Australia
1932 Australia 1–2[12] The Lions (GB)
1933–34 The Lions (GB) 3–0 Australia
1936 Australia 1–2 The Lions (GB)
1937 The Lions (GB) 2–1 Australia
1946 Australia 0–2 (1 tied) The Lions (GB)
1948 Great Britain 3–0 Australia
1950 Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1952 Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1954 Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1956 Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1958 Australia 1–2 Great Britain
1959–60 Great Britain 2–1 Australia
1962 Australia 1–2 Great Britain
1963–64 Great Britain 1–2 Australia
1966 Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1967–68 Great Britain 1–2 Australia
1970 Australia 1–2 Great Britain
1973 Great Britain 1–2 Australia
1974 Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1978 Great Britain 1–2 Australia
1979 Australia 3–0 Great Britain
1982 Great Britain 0–3 Australia
1984 Australia 3–0 Great Britain
1986 Great Britain 0–3 Australia
1988 Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1990 Great Britain 1–2 Australia
1992 Australia 2–1 Great Britain
1994 Great Britain 1–2 Australia
2001 Great Britain 1–2 Australia
2003 Great Britain 0–3 Australia
Australia Australia vs England England era
2020 England Cancelled Australia

Summary of Ashes series[]

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 119 59 (49.6%) 55 (46.2%) 5 (4.2%)
Tests in Australia 57 28 (49.1%) 27 (47.4%) 2 (3.5%)
Tests in Great Britain 62 31 (50%) 28 (45.2%) 3 (4.8%)
Figures up to and including the 3rd Test of the 2003 series

Records and statistics[]

Highest attendance[]

  • Australia – 70,204 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, 6 June 1932
  • Great Britain – 57,034 at Wembley Stadium, London, 22 October 1994

Lowest attendance[]

Highest attended Ashes series[]

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

Lowest attended Ashes series[]

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

Highest score[]

  • Australia def. Great Britain 50–12 at Station Road, Swinton, 9 November 1963
  • Great Britain def. Australia 40–17 at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, 19 July 1958

Biggest win[]

  • 38 points – Australia def. Great Britain 50–12 at Station Road, Swinton, 9 November 1963
  • 23 points – Great Britain def. Australia 40–17 at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, 19 July 1958
    23 points - Great Britain def. Australia 33–10 at Princes Park, Melbourne, 26 June 1992

Most tries in an Ashes test[]

  • Australia
    3 – Reg Gasnier at Station Road, Swinton, 17 October 1959
    3 – Reg Gasnier at Wembley Stadium, 16 October 1963
    3 – Ken Irvine at Station Road, Swinton, 9 November 1963
    3 – Ken Irvine at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, 23 July 1966
    3 – Gene Miles at Old Trafford, Manchester, 25 October 1986
    3 – Michael O'Connor at Old Trafford, Manchester, 25 October 1986
  • Great Britain
    3 – Jim Devereux at Park Royal Ground, London, 12 December 1908

Most goals in an Ashes test[]

  • Australia
    8 – by Noel Pidding at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, 12 June 1954
    8 - by Mal Meninga at Boothferry Park, Hull, 30 October 1982
  • Great Britain
    10 – by Lewis Jones at Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane, 9 July 1954

Most points in an Ashes test[]

  • Australia
    22 (3 tries, 5 goals) by Michael O'Connor at Old Trafford, Manchester, 25 October 1986
  • Great Britain
    20 (10 goals) by Lewis Jones at Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane, 9 July 1954
    20 (2 tries, 6 goals, 1 field goal) - Roger Millward at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, 20 June 1970

Most points in an Ashes series[]

  • Australia
    48 (2 tries, 21 goals) by Mal Meninga in 1982
  • Great Britain
    30 (15 goals) by Lewis Jones in 1954

Most points in all Ashes tests[]

  • 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[]

Most games as captain[]

  • Australia
    9 by Clive Churchill (1950–1954)
    9 by Wally Lewis (1984–1988)
    9 by Mal Meninga (1990–1994)
  • Great Britain
    10 by Jim Sullivan (1928–1933)

Most games as coach[]

  • Australia – 12 by Frank Stanton (1978–1984)
  • Great Britain – 9 by Mal Reilly (1988–1992)

See also[]

References[]

  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. ^ "English chief calls for return of league Ashes". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Ashes brought back to life" skysports.com (4 September 2009)
  6. ^ Steve Mascord (16 September 2009). "Ashes set for 2010?". RugbyLeague.com. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  7. ^ "RFL scrap Ashes plan". RugbyLeague.com. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Revived Ashes series in England cancelled 'with great reluctance'". The Guardian. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  10. ^ a b "RL "Ashes" Cup". The Telegraph. 26 October 1945. p. 8 (CITY FINAL) – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ NMA (22 February 2008). "League of Legends: 100 years of Rugby League in Australia: Conservation slideshow". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  12. ^ "League "Ashes." England's triumph". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29,496. 18 July 1932. p. 6.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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