England v Australia 2025 - coming to the UK!

[sam4731]

25 minutes ago, Hopie said:

England Samoa wasn't finalised until June this year, going to be a long few months...

To be fair, England Samoa flat out wasn't happening this time last year. If both sides are in agreement to make it happen, now, we can start making some progress pretty quickly, you would think.

[WN83]

It would be a disgrace if it took until mid 2025 for anything to be sorted. I don't expect it'll be quick because they'll need to work with football clubs to see when the stadiums will be available and I presume they then get some sort of agreement from the FA to put those teams in away fixtures on the weekends England will use the stadium, so there will be some waiting around. Hopefully a lot of that is down the track by now though and they can get an announcement made before the turn of the year. 

[Hopie]

58 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

To be fair, England Samoa flat out wasn't happening this time last year. If both sides are in agreement to make it happen, now, we can start making some progress pretty quickly, you would think.

I would like that to happen. 

To play devil's advocate, we are in the same position as last year. No confirmation of our next game, and the series we were expecting to go ahead has been cancelled by our opponents. 

[Just Browny]

Half an hour job to call up the stadium they want to use, check the date and book it in.

Four months sequencing which tickets they want to release in what order, seat by seat.

[JonM]

3 hours ago, Just Browny said:

Half an hour job to call up the stadium they want to use, check the date and book it in.

Four months sequencing which tickets they want to release in what order, seat by seat.

There's more to it than that you know. Need to check whether Alex Simmons is doing any weddings or birthday parties that day, whether the Cleckmondwike girls dance academy are available, whether any of the Kangaroos players have distant family members who're getting married.

[gingerjon]

29 minutes ago, JonM said:

There's more to it than that you know. Need to check whether Alex Simmons is doing any weddings or birthday parties that day, whether the Cleckmondwike girls dance academy are available, whether any of the Kangaroos players have distant family members who're getting married.

"You want to book our giant inflatable sumo wrestlers, you say? Now that's an order we haven't had for a looooong time ..."

[Odsal Outlaw]

12 hours ago, WN83 said:

It would be a disgrace if it took until mid 2025 for anything to be sorted. I don't expect it'll be quick because they'll need to work with football clubs to see when the stadiums will be available and I presume they then get some sort of agreement from the FA to put those teams in away fixtures on the weekends England will use the stadium, so there will be some waiting around. Hopefully a lot of that is down the track by now though and they can get an announcement made before the turn of the year. 

This is exactly what should make it quicker/sooner though. Because if we want the big football stadiums they have to know well in advance and plan it in to football fixtures.  No reason it couldn’t be this side of Xmas.

[Gerrumonside ref]

Does football have a full schedule yet for season 2025/26?  Is that the blocker here?

[Bongo1]

1 hour ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

Does football have a full schedule yet for season 2025/26?  Is that the blocker here?

There is no fixtures yet, other events seem to be organised in football stadiums in the football 2025/26 season

[gingerjon]

2 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

Does football have a full schedule yet for season 2025/26?  Is that the blocker here?

International dates are known.

[Damien]

2 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

Does football have a full schedule yet for season 2025/26?  Is that the blocker here?

The 2020 cancelled Ashes tour was announced on the 7th November 2019 so there's no reason we can't do similar:

https://www.rugby-league.com/article/22757?origin=serp_auto

[JonM]

2 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

Does football have a full schedule yet for season 2025/26?  Is that the blocker here?

They are able to block out a certain number of dates, provided they notify the league in late May. Needs to be remembered that revenue for hiring out a stadium for a rugby league game is peanuts to many Premier League clubs, and I imagine involves rather than more negotiation than phoning up the club secretary and asking what their standard rate is and can we book it on such and such date. Wembley is pretty much the only venue that has a standard "pricelist".

[MatthewWoody]

Do you guys think this England side could have beaten Australia this season? 

[Dunbar]

32 minutes ago, MatthewWoody said:

Do you guys think this England side could have beaten Australia this season? 

That’s a good question.

I think the answer is; could they have beaten Australia, yes; would they; don’t know.

What I know is that Australia have not played particularly well in their two games in the Pacific Championships despite an 18-0 win over Tonga and a 22-10 win over New Zealand.

But these two opponents were desperately short of creativity in the spine:

The Kiwis turning to Shaun Johnson, partnered by Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad who is never a stand off.  Keano Kini is a good young full back and Phoenix Crossland a decent (but second choice) club 9.

Tonga had a young Lehi Hopoate in at 1, Tuimoala Lolohea at 6, Isaiya Katoa at 7 and Siliva Havili at 9.  Again, not a spine full of creativity.

What they both had was good forwards and outside backs that could carry the ball well.  But England have those and in Weslby, Williams, Smith and Clark they a far superior spine to either of the two teams Australia have defeated.

Turning to the Kangaroos themselves.

We have said for years that every generation is not as good as the last… but one day that will be true.  Moses and Dearden in the halves are good but not great, Harry Grant is a genuinely world class #9 while Dylan Edwards is a solid full back (I personally think that there are better full backs in the NRL Tedesco and Ponga the main two) but Edwards plays a key and specific role for the multi Premiership winners and so got the nod.

What Australia will always have is good players from 1 to 17, they don’t have weaknesses, just some players better than others across the team.

What I find interesting is that we always assume that the Kangaroos are the consummate professionals. But when we look at some of the key indicators from the two games that each side has played, we see:

Errors: England 16, Australia 28

Penalties conceded: England 5, Australia 11

Completion rate: England 86%, Australia 67%

Now, there are loads of variables, I get that but those stats almost always stack in Australia’s favour.

I really don’t know if England can beat Australia.  But do we have the players, yes.  Do we have evidence that we will not be blown away by Australia being too professional for us, yes.

I would liked to have seen it.

[Archie Gordon]

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/update-on-possible-ashes-venues-as-img-make-bold-state-of-origin-comparison

I'm sorry, but more Dwyer bashing from me.

I just don't think he has even half a clue about the UK game. He manages to make it sound as if taking a game to London is a risky step into new territory which should only be considered after we've satisfied the demand of SL club fans.

If Wembley is too big, try the Etihad. Eh? Tell us about your plans for developing the game in London again? 

Edited November 5, 2024 by Archie Gordon

[MatthewWoody]

I think they could, and maybe would have. 

Thanks @Dunbar for your answer, interesting stats and points.

It's a shame that the generation of the Burgess, Widdop, Graham, Roby, etc. didn't beat them. Though I believe they would have from time to time if they played them more often. 

[17 stone giant]

7 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/update-on-possible-ashes-venues-as-img-make-bold-state-of-origin-comparison

I'm sorry, but more Dwyer bashing from me.

I just don't think he has even half a clue about the UK game. He manages to make it sound as if taking a game to London is a risky step into new territory which should only be considered after we've satisfied the demand of SL club fans.

If Wembley is too big, try the Etihad. Eh? Tell us about your plans for the developing the game in London again? 

Wembley probably is too big if you're only going to get 50000. He was just making the point that you should aim for stadiums that are appropriate for your expected attendance. Spurs or Arsenal would be ok if you're going to get 50000 plus.

I'm confident that London will get an Ashes test.

[MatthewWoody]

Let's hope, it's needed. 

Imho if you publish the calendar right now, you have the time to properly market the games. 

[Archie Gordon]

Just now, 17 stone giant said:

Wembley probably is too big if you're only going to get 50000. He was just making the point that you should aim for stadiums that are appropriate for your expected attendance. Spurs or Arsenal would be ok if you're going to get 50000 plus.

I'm confident that London will get an Ashes test.

I get that. It was the switch from Wembley to the Etihad - not Spurs or Arsenal - that made me despair.

I'm also confident that London will get a Test but that's partly because I don't think Dwyer will be closely involved.

[Bull Mania]

51 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

 

Turning to the Kangaroos themselves.

We have said for years that every generation is not as good as the last… but one day that will be true.  

Well the last generation was Slater/Inglis/Thurston/Cronk/Lockyer/Smith. It's a wonder we got near them. 

We CAN bear them. With the carrot of playing on a home ashes series, I'm hoping many of the English boys go up a level with their performances this year. Players like Welsby need a big year. 

[17 stone giant]

18 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

I get that. It was the switch from Wembley to the Etihad - not Spurs or Arsenal - that made me despair.

But that's only because he had chosen the 50000 figure, so he used the Etihad because that would be the best fit (capacity of 53400).

If he'd chosen 60000 instead, he probably would also have said Wembley was too big, only this time he would have used Spurs or Arsenal as they would have been the best fit.

The above is my opinion, I should add. I don't know for certain that this was his thought process. But I genuinely don't think his intention was to ignore London.

[Eddie]

On 03/11/2024 at 15:00, gingerjon said:

International dates are known.

So are the dates of every round of the league and cups, they just haven’t drawn the teams yet. 

[gingerjon]

5 minutes ago, Eddie said:

So are the dates of every round of the league and cups, they just haven’t drawn the teams yet. 

I hadn't checked but looks like you're right.

[Hanover XIII]

1 hour ago, MatthewWoody said:

I think they could, and maybe would have. 

Thanks @Dunbar for your answer, interesting stats and points.

It's a shame that the generation of the Burgess, Widdop, Graham, Roby, etc. didn't beat them. Though I believe they would have from time to time if they played them more often. 

I still wonder, looking back 20 years, how we capitulated so badly in the tri nations final with a pack of Fielden, Newton, Morley, Peacock, Farrell, Sculthorpe. 

[JohnM]

50 minutes ago, Hanover XIII said:

I still wonder, looking back 20 years, how we capitulated so badly in the tri nations final with a pack of Fielden, Newton, Morley, Peacock, Farrell, Sculthorpe. 

Me too. I mean  "wonder",  not that I was in the pack.

Edited November 5, 2024 by JohnM