YOU can never quite know in Rugby League which side is going to win any particular game, subject to the two teams involved being of a fairly similar standard.
It’s a ‘truth’ that’s been verified time and time again over the years and there was another striking example of the syndrome late last week.
England Under-17s have been in France and last Tuesday they were, if not stuffed, at least beaten emphatically (28-6) by the host nation.
The casual observer might have expected more of the same in Friday’s second and final fixture, but he or she would have been mistaken.
Head coach Richard Garbett and his players did their country proud by winning the game 26-22, thanks to a late try by Jack Worthington.
Moreover, England had at one stage looked set for a drubbing at 18-6 down, only to confound their hosts by levelling matters (not once, but twice, after France had restored their lead) before registering the crucial score.
It was fantastic stuff and readers might care to make a note of the team that pulled off such a stunning win. I suspect that, given their resilience and obvious class, the 17 who graced the England shirt three days ago could very well all go on to have successful careers.
Meanwhile, given the sweltering heat I’d anticipated quite a few postponements over the last couple of days. In the event there was only one in the National Leagues, which was the Premier Division clash between York Acorn and Wigan St Judes. I would, incidentally, have publicised the postponement on TotalRL.com if I’d been told about it beforehand. In the event I had to do a bit of chasing when a report didn’t arrive – I emailed the National League itself, Acorn and Judes in an effort to establish what had actually happened – and it was Judes who informed me that the Thanet Road pitch had been ruled unfit for play.
It’s not good enough, is it, that such an eventuality should, in effect, be kept under wraps and I hope that the league (this isn’t the first occasion on which they’ve kept shtum for no reason I can see) can step up to the plate in future. And I hope that relegation-haunted Acorn can begin to enjoy better fortune as this is the second time in a month that they’ve had to call off a home fixture.
There are only a couple of National League fixtures scheduled for this weekend which, otherwise, is a big one for amateur Rugby League.
Or at least that’s how it would once universally have been viewed.
It’s certainly still my opinion, although perhaps I’m revealing my vintage, that knockout competitions – and certainly such as the BARLA National Cup – are paramount.
Saturday brings the second round of the 2026 incarnation and there are, without question, several ties to savour.
Top of the list, I reckon, is the clash between Barrow Island and Orrell St James. The Saints are, of course, the holders (having retained the trophy last year with a comfortable victory over Brighouse Rangers after having seen off Thatto Heath Crusaders the previous season) while the Island pulled off a stunning home win over Hunslet ARLC in the first round and may well fancy their chances on their own Furness patch.
Orrell aren’t the only previous finalists to be on the National Cup trail this weekend.
Skirlaugh and Thatto Heath both know what it’s like to lift the famous trophy and the pair go head-to-head in Hull.
Featherstone Lions – who lost to Thatto in a decider at Rochdale about a quarter-of-a-century ago in a game that, from memory, was played on a Bank Holiday Monday and which was sponsored by League Express – are at home to South Yorkshire’s Bentley while two sides that are no strangers at all to finals meet in Warrington in what could be a fiery clash between Woolston Rovers and Thornhill Trojans.
There’s an intriguing tie in Wigan, where Ince Rose Bridge – who opted to pull out of the inaugural National Leagues and are going well in the National Conference North West – are at home to Rochdale Mayfield, who won their first National League Premier Division game of the season on Saturday by beating Heworth.
Unfortunately, two games have already been postponed, according to the GameDay agency; at Normanton Knights and Leigh Miners Rangers, where West Hull and Brentwood Eels are the scheduled visitors.
Wests have won all their matches to date while Normanton Knights are second-from-bottom of National Conference Yorkshire B. I suspect, though, that as and when the tie gets played the Knights will give the Green & Golds a stronger challenge than those facts suggest, and that a big crowd can anticipate a thriller.
I’m very interested, too, in how the match between Leigh Miners, of National League Division One, and Brentwood Eels, who are bottom of the National Conference South, pans out. At the very least, the Eels will be visiting one of the best clubs in the amateur game and will pick up as much (maybe more) off the field than they will learn on it.
Also diverting is the tie between two clubs whose names carry plenty of historic resonance. Hull Dockers are at home to Warrington’s Crosfields in a clash of National Conference North West and National Conference Yorkshire B outfits. The Dockers are currently propping up their section, while the Soap are in mid-table but, as we all know, league form can go out of the window when cup fare comes around.
My main worry, overall, is how many ties will actually go ahead. The two early postponements are worrying. The 2026 BARLA National Cup hasn’t gone too well in that regard, in all honesty; my hope is that those clubs that remain in the competition will be fully committed, as they should be.
The same concerns can be applied to the inaugural BARLA 1973 Cup, which is contested by teams that lost – after having actually played – in the first round of this year’s National Cup.
Only six teams are involved, which I suppose tells us all a great deal about how things are in the men’s open-age game in the present day, so two sides (Distington and Fryston Warriors) have byes through to the semi-finals, where they will be drawn against the survivors of matches between Stainland Stags and Hunslet ARLFC, and Bristol All Golds and Blackbrook.
There are some top names in there, though, and it’s so good to see the All Golds in the limelight.
I’d like to see this competition grow and grow (especially as it’s named in recognition of the wonderful launch of BARLA 43 years ago in an episode that helped resurrect the whole British game, and not just the amateur section).
The double-header, in late October, at which the eventual winners of both competitions will be determined, should be a great occasion.
So should the Hull Youth League finals at Hull KR’s Sewell Group Craven Park on Sunday. It’s only a fiver for adults to enter – get there if you can.
And also get to Sharlston, if possible, the following Wednesday for the game between German Exiles and the RAF. The match is being played in midweek because the Exiles found out the hard way that games at the weekend can be problematic, last Friday’s scheduled fixture against the Prison Service falling by the wayside as players who also have club commitments (most of them, I’d have thought) are not allowed under the Rugby Football League’s current regulations to play two games in a short period.
I don’t blame the RFL for being strong on player welfare, and I’m sure no one else does. Nevertheless it’s a notion that I struggle with, and I’ve no doubt that many others feel the same way. If someone wants to play a couple of games within two or three days it’s up to them, surely, although I do accept that an element of coercion (which can perhaps be more malign than peer pressure), could be involved. And, moving on a tad, it struck me as odd when looking at last week’s National League fixtures that Rochdale Mayfield are the first home side listed. How often can a team that features some way into the second half of the alphabet be the ‘first’ of half-a-dozen?
I know, I know… maybe this heat is getting to me.