BY THE time issue 300 came around in 2006, it was definitely a magazine of the times, and one trying to keep up with the latest trends.
With Wag-mania sweeping the country thanks to soccer’s biggest stars, Rugby League World got on the bandwagon. We might not have had Victoria Beckham or Cheryl Cole, but we did have Gaynor Diskin, wife of Leeds Rhinos hooker Matt, who helped us kick off a brand new feature.
“The Better Half” was our way of getting to know some of our biggest stars through the eyes of those that knew them best – their wife or girlfriend. The series ran throughout the rest of that season and one of the other featured players was Wakefield’s Jamie Rooney. He was pictured alongside baby son Fletcher, who in the final game of last season made his Super League debut for Castleford Tigers.
Another mid-00s phenomenon that was used to learn more about our favourite stars was the iPod (does anyone still have one of them?). Each month we asked a different player to put theirs on shuffle and tell us the first five songs that played. This issue featured Harlequins’ Jon Wells, now a Sky Sports pundit, and he revealed that his first track was “Push the Button” by Sugababes. “I’m not really sure why I have this on, it’s not one I listen to loads but it’s just a good upbeat song,” he said. “Plus I think the Sugababes are all quite fit.”
Other than a mention on the cover, there wasn’t anything commemorating the 300th issue inside, but it does recognise another big piece of Super League history, with five pages reflecting on Catalans Dragons’ first ever game in Super League, which ended in a famous victory over Wigan Warriors.
Bradford Bulls’ World Club Challenge win over Wests Tigers is also covered.
And perhaps not for the faint-hearted, a feature on what it takes to be a rugby league photographer includes a picture of the 1998 Sheffield Eagles squad doing the “Full Monty” with some very strategically placed rugby balls!
ALSO IN 2006
WORLD EVENTS
Social media and networking website Twitter, now X, is launched.
Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond is left with a serious brain injury when he crashes a jet-powered car while filming the BBC show.
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is executed having been found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging.
Pluto is no longer deemed a planet of our solar system after the International Astronomical Union’s decision to downgrade it to a dwarf planet.
BIGGEST SELLING SONG
Crazy – Gnarls Barkley
TOP UK BOX OFFICE FILM
(according to saltypopcorn.co.uk)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
RUGBY LEAGUE WINNERS
League Leaders’ Shield: St Helens
Super League Grand Final: St Helens (v Hull FC, 26-4)
Challenge Cup: St Helens (v Huddersfield Giants, 42-12)
Man of Steel: Paul Wellens
ANOTHER MEMORABLE SPORTING MOMENT
England get as far as the quarter finals of the football World Cup before being knocked out on penalties by Portugal.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 500 (September 2024)
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