Since when did rugby league have its own 'Ashes'?
Some of you may be too young to remember of even know that, along with our cricketers, the men's national rugby leagues of Australia and Great Britain used to complete periodically for their own Ashes in what was usually a three-Test series.
From 1908 through to 2003, sometimes annually and other times with a gap of several years between (such as 1994-2001 or the two world war periods), Australia and Great Britain would usually alternate hosting duties and play three games against one another in the latter months of the year.
Australia won 13 consecutive series from 1973 to 2003 before a significant decline in appetite for international rugby league not only in both countries but globally prompted a significant hiatus of 22 years.
The widening gap in class and talent between the two nations also contributed to the lack of interest in continuing the Ashes beyond 2003, particularly when both Australia and England were working on growing their own domestic competitions and the void was filled to an extent by sporadic Tri-Nations (1999-2006) and Four Nations (2009-16).
The format was due to be revived in 2020 only to be cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, and talks to bring back the competition in both 2022 and 2024 faltered.
The recent success of the Pacific Championships and of England's home series' against Tonga (2023) and Samoa (2024) has spurned a revival in international rugby league that will hopefully be supercharged by a competitive Ashes.
Australia last hosted a rugby league Ashes in 1992 and were due to host this series but instead had it moved to England after becoming the hosts of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup. It is now expected that England will tour Australia in late 2028.
When and where will the matches take place?
The great Wembley Stadium and Everton FC's brand new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium were selected in March as two of the three venues. Leeds Rhinos' Headingley Stadium was also chosen as part of the RFL's desire to stage one match in the rugby league heartland of Yorkshire.
The decision to play at the 19,700-capacity Headingley ground raised some eyebrows given there were larger capacity options available in Hull and Leeds, such as Leeds United's Elland Road, but the RFL expressed a desire to make Headingley a regular home ground for the national team as well as drive ticket sales for the games in London and Liverpool by guaranteeing a sellout in Leeds.
Game 1: Saturday 25 October 14:30 local time (Sunday 26 October 12:30am AEDT), Wembley Stadium
Game 2: Saturday 1 November 14:30 local time (Sunday 2 November 1:30am AEDT), Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium
Game 3: Saturday 8 November 14:30 local time (Sunday 9 November 1:30am AEDT), Headingley Stadium
Squads for both teams
England's only uncapped player is 26-year-old second rower Owen Trout from 2025 semi-finalists Leigh Leopards. There are six NRL representatives in italics.
England squad: John Bateman (NQ Cowboys), AJ Brimson (Gold Coast Titans), Joe Burgess (Hull KR), Daryl Clark (St Helens), Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins), Ethan Havard (Wigan), Morgan Knowles (St Helens), Matty Lees (St Helens), Mikey Lewis (Hull KR), Jez Litten (Hull KR), Mike McMeeken (Wakefield Trinity), Harry Newman (Leeds Rhinos), Mikolaj Oledzki (Leeds Rhinos), Tom Johnstone (Wakefield Trinity), Kai Pearce-Paul (Newcastle Knights), Harry Smith (Wigan), Morgan Smithies (Canberra Raiders), Owen Trout (Leigh Leopards), Alex Walmsley (St Helens), Jake Wardle (Wigan), Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos), Jack Welsby (St Helens), George Williams (Warrington Wolves), Dom Young (Newcastle)
Australia head coach Kevin Walters added eight uncapped players to his touring party of 2024 and selected four of them in the first Test. Uncapped players are marked with a *.
Australia squad: Josh Addo-Carr (Parramatta), Bradman Best* (Newcastle), Blayke Brailey* (Cronulla), Pat Carrigan (Brisbane), Nathan Cleary (Penrith), Lindsay Collins (Sydney), Reuben Cotter (NQ Cowboys), Angus Crichton (Sydney), Tom Dearden (NQ Cowboys), Dylan Edwards (Penrith), Tino Fa'asuamaleaui (Gold Coast), Harry Grant (Melbourne), Keaon Koloamatangi* (South Sydney), Mitch Moses (Parramatta), Cameron Munster (Melbourne), Mark Nawaqanitawase* (Sydney), Jacob Preston* (Canterbury), Gehamat Shibasaki* (Brisbane), Lindsay Smith (Penrith), Kotoni Staggs (Brisbane), Ethan Strange* (Canberra), Reece Walsh* (Brisbane), Isaah Yeo (Penrith), Hudson Young (Canberra)
England Game I (1-17): 1. John Bateman 2. AJ Brimson 3. Daryl Clark 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Ethan Havard 6. Tom Johnstone 7. Morgan Knowles 8. Matty Lees 9. Mikey Lewis 10. Jez Litten 11. Mike McMeeken 12. Mikolaj Oledzki 13. Kai Pearce-Paul 14. Owen Trout* 15. Alex Walmsley 16. Jake Wardle 17. Jack Welsby
Australia Game I (1-17): 1. Reece Walsh* 2. Mark Nawaqanitawase* 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Gehamat Shibasaki* 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Cameron Munster 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Pat Carrigan 9. Harry Grant 10. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui 11. Angus Crichton 12. Hudson Young 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Tom Dearden 15. Lindsay Collins 16. Reuben Cotter 17. Keaon Koloamatangi*
What rule changes can the players expect?
It will mostly be the Australian squad who will have to get used to a few different rules, with England's hosting rights coming with the privileges of being able to play the game their way - at least to an extent.
The 'six again' rule that both sets of players have become used to at club level will not be in use, with penalties being awarded for defensive infringements at the ruck as per the international rulebook.
Similarly, players will not be expected to "immediately" clear the ruck as is the case in the NRL, with Super League referees offering a more lenient approach.
Australia head coach Kevin Walters was playfully gleeful when finding out the Super League 'green card' rule - which banishes a player off the field for two minutes if they are deemed to be guilty of staging for a penalty.
"We have a few boys happy they are not using the green card -- you know who they are," Walters joked in a radio interview.
"I think that's a very strange rule that the RFL use over here, trying to call someone out for faking it.
"Fortunately that rule has been removed from the conversation, and that's good news from the Aussies' (persepctive), because we have got a couple in there- no, I am not going to say that. Our players are very fair, very above board."
Walters also said the Australia squad has been training with Super League referees to adjust to some subtle changes such as the Super League offside rule, which requires players to have both feet behind the referee rather than the one foot required by the NRL.
All-time head-to-head record
Australia lead the series ledger 20-19 after dominating the second half of the 20th century with that aforementioned winning streak of 13 series.
They have an 11-9 series record in Great Britain. This will be the first Ashes that will instead see the home side play under the 'England' banner.
The last time these two nations met was way back in the final of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, won 6-0 by Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Where to watch
Both Channel Nine and Fox Sports will be airing the rugby league Ashes live on their primary channels (9HD, Fox League 502) as well as their streaming services, 9Now and Kayo Sports.
Flashscore will have live scores and stats of all three games as well as the 2025 Pacific Championships.