While the footballing world prepares for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, rugby league fans are enjoying a blockbuster end to the 2022 campaign as England hosts the Rugby League World Cup. This year’s event is the 16th edition of the tournament, while it is also the biggest ever competition, with 16 teams competing for a chance to win the trophy. With so much at stake and officials trying to grow the 13-man code worldwide, we look at how the tournament started. Origins of the Rugby League World Cup The idea of an international rugby league competition was not suggested until 1951. President of the ..read more

The great sport of rugby league is hoping to have a breakthrough year in 2022, with the Rugby League World Cup on the horizon this winter. The 13-man code is predominately played in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and we take a look at the five best players to play the game. Andrew Johns The former halfback enjoyed an incredible career during the 1990s and early 2000s before hanging up his boots in 2006. Johns won two NRL Grand Finals with the Newcastle Knights, while he also played in two World Cups for Australia. Johns was named as the eighth ‘Immortal’ of rugby league, which are 13 playe ..read more

Since the Six Nations began back in 2000, there have been several players that have participated in the prestigious tournament and the quintet about to be mentioned proved that age is just a number. England are the most successful team in Six Nations history to this day, winning the title a record seven times, while they are one of two teams, the other being Ireland, to have never taken the Wooden Spoon. France are on course to win this year’s title for the sixth time, as they prepare to face England in their final encounter, and victory for Les Bleus would also give them their first Grand Sla ..read more

Rugby is one of the world’s most inclusive sports. Be you short or tall, small or large, there’s likely to be a role for you somewhere on the team. Rugby’s inclusivity doesn’t just extend to a person’s build but also their nationality, with international sides happy to adopt anyone if they can aid their cause. And rugby’s governing body has made it easy for players to swap one nation for another, either via a relative or through a period of residency. The detractors would argue national teams shouldn’t be allowed to pick and choose who they like from the global population but if it benefits th ..read more

We are two rounds into the 2022 Six Nations and while there’s plenty still to be decided in the Championship, the destination of the Wooden Spoon is already known. For the seventh straight year and 17th time in the last two decades, Italy are on course to finish bottom of the Six Nations table, being priced at 1/100 to prop up the table. Since being added to what was then the Five Nations in 2000, Italy have won only 12 of their 110 matches and are currently riding a 34-game losing streak that stretches back to 2015. Italy’s inability to even provide a competitive opponent to the other five te ..read more

The Six Nations is currently in full swing so what better time to look back on some of the tournament’s best-ever players as we pick out the top five try scorers in the history of the annual competition. It’s not always the case that tries win matches in rugby union with often the kickers earning the plaudits and deciding tight encounters. However, there can be no doubting the importance of crossing the whitewash – especially in the Six Nations. This list is littered with Wales stars, and we’ve grouped together those on the same number of tries throughout the history of the tournament, which w ..read more

There have been some huge winning margins in Six Nations history and, unfortunately for Italy, their names cropped up on numerous occasions when scouring through the record books. With the 2022 Six Nations just starting, we have taken a look at the five biggest winning margins in the history of the tournament and there is a familiar feel about the team on the end of most of these thrashings. 4th March 2000 – Ireland 60-13 Italy In the inaugural Six Nations back in 2000, Ireland put on a tremendous display in round three when they thrashed Italy 60-13 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin, a winning margin ..read more

American football coach Vince Lombardi once said “winning is habit” and there are a handful of exceptional teams and individuals who know that better than anyone else. Here is a look at some of the longest winning streaks in sporting history. Eusebio-Led Benfica Excelled in the Early 1970s Jimmy Hagan was a club legend for Sheffield United during his playing days but it is because of his work as a manager that he is in the record books. The Englishman oversaw the longest winning streak by a top-flight European side during his tenure with Benfica in the 1970s, leading them to 29 consecutive win ..read more

The Six Nations regularly produces thrilling contests between rugby union’s European rivals and there have been plenty of big scores racked up by countries down the years in the eagerly-anticipated annual competition. Prior to it becoming a six-team affair in 2000, there were several high-scoring games in the Five Nations, most notably in 1998 when England hammered Wales 60-26. In the earlier years of the Five Nations – and the Home Nations tournament that preceded it – big scores were extremely rare, however, with Wales’ 49-14 victory over France in 1910 one such exception. Here we count down ..read more

While the footballing world prepares for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, rugby league fans are enjoying a blockbuster end to the 2022 campaign as England hosts the Rugby League World Cup. This year’s event is the 16th edition of the tournament, while it is also the biggest ever competition, with 16 teams competing for a chance to win the trophy. With so much at stake and officials trying to grow the 13-man code worldwide, we look at how the tournament started. Origins of the Rugby League World Cup The idea of an international rugby league competition was not suggested until 1951. President of the ..read more