114-728: Townsville Stingers Rugby League Club are an Australian rugby league football club based in Townsville formed in 1998. The team played in the Queensland Cup before exiting in the 1998 season. Former Top-Flight Competition: Brisbane Rugby League premiership Rugby league Rugby league football , commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby XIII in non- Anglophone Europe and South America, and referred to colloquially as football , footy , rugby , or league in its heartlands,
228-600: A 23–6 win in the third test at Headingley . However, the Australians were defeated by the French team in both tests played at the end of the 1978 tour. This was the last defeat of the Kangaroos in a series until 2005. The 1980s was the decade in which Australia began to truly dominate world rugby league. Along with the emergence of State of Origin football came a new crop of superstar players who led Australia throughout
342-681: A British team. By 1907, Sydney club rugby games were attracting up to 20,000 people, with all profits going to the Southern Rugby Football Union , as the sport was officially an amateur one. This caused discontent among players, and in 1908 the New South Wales Rugby Football League and Queensland Rugby League were formed. An Australian national rugby league team was first formed during the first season of rugby league in Australia ,
456-649: A Kangaroo Tour since Tom Gorman in 1929/30. Australia crashed to a defeat on Tuesday 21 July 1987, when the Kangaroo dominance of the international game suffered a setback. New Zealand were their opponents in a match at Lang Park in Brisbane , which had been arranged to fill the gap created by the non-appearance of France. New Zealand won the game 13–6. The next four internationals between Australia and New Zealand were all staged in New Zealand, and all were won by
570-529: A bad start for the Kangaroos when Great Britain shocked Australia to win the first test 19–12 at Wembley Stadium in front of a new record home crowd of 54,567. The second test at Old Trafford in Manchester was a tight, thrilling affair that saw two of the most famous tries scored in test match football. Debutante 5/8 Cliff Lyons second half try came after the Kangaroos kept the ball alive through 13 sets of hands before winger Andrew Ettingshausen raced down
684-560: A breakaway faction of England's Rugby Football Union (RFU). Both organisations played the game under the same rules at first, although the Northern Union began to modify rules almost immediately, thus creating a new simpler game that was intended to be a faster-paced form of rugby football. Similar breakaway factions split from RFU-affiliated unions in Australia and New Zealand in 1907 and 1908, renaming themselves "rugby football league s" and introducing Northern Union rules. In 1922,
798-577: A cold night in Parkes with Mal Meninga taking over the captaincy from Wally Lewis who was unavailable with a broken arm. They then played a single test against New Zealand in Wellington , winning 24–6. With Wally Lewis controversially ruled unfit for the 1990 Kangaroo tour , his Queensland teammate Mal Meninga, making his 3rd Kangaroo Tour, retained the Australian captaincy. The Ashes got off to
912-580: A decree by the RFU banning the playing of rugby at grounds where entrance fees were charged led to twenty-two clubs (including Stockport, who negotiated by telephone) meeting at the George Hotel, Huddersfield , on 29 August 1895 and forming the "Northern Rugby Football Union". Within fifteen years of that first meeting in Huddersfield, more than 200 RFU clubs had left to join the rugby league. In 1897,
1026-405: A four-yearly cycle in the 2010s; as of 2023 , the holders are Australia . A short-sided version of the sport, rugby league nines , using modified rugby league rules also exists, and is comparable to rugby sevens . Wheelchair rugby league is a mixed-gender sport using heavily modified rugby league rules for disabled and able-bodied players. Unlike wheelchair rugby which adopted its name after
1140-523: A good working relationship with Wally Lewis and the players. The now harmonious Australians swept New Zealand 3–0 in a mid-season test series played in Australia. During the 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France a then record northern hemisphere crowd of 50,383 attended the first test of the Ashes series at Old Trafford with the Walle Lewis led Australians winning 38–16. On 16 December 1986
1254-608: A late Laurie Daley field goal. Daley had captained Australia for the first time in the match following a two-game suspension to Mal Meninga. The Kangaroos then won the second test 16–8 at the very wet Palmerston North Showgrounds before wrapping up the series with a 16–4 win at Lang Park in Brisbane. On 4 July 1994, Australia defeated France 58–0 at the Parramatta Stadium in Sydney, their only test on home soil for
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#17327722222431368-437: A mix of the two sports' rules. Much more so than rugby union, rugby league shares significant similarities with North American gridiron codes. Although described as evolving from both rugby and association football , the basic structures of American and Canadian football are remarkably similar to rugby league through a process of parallel evolution: a try-and-goal based scoring system, a set number of plays before handover of
1482-633: A professional level. 45 national teams are ranked by the RLIF and a further 32 are officially recognized and unranked. The strongest rugby league nations are Australia , England , New Zealand , Samoa and Tonga . The Rugby League World Cup is the highest form of representative rugby league. Countries that have contested are Australia , Cook Islands , England , Fiji , France , Ireland , Italy , Jamaica , Lebanon , New Zealand , Papua New Guinea , Russia , Samoa , Scotland , South Africa , Tonga , US and Wales . The 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which
1596-453: A result play stops much less frequently in rugby league, with the ball typically in play for 50 out of the 80 minutes compared to around 35 minutes for professional rugby union. Other differences include that there are fewer players in rugby league (13 compared to 15) and different rules for tackling . Rugby union has more detailed rules than rugby league and has changed less since the 1895 schism. Since rugby union turned professional in
1710-415: A team's creative unit or 'playmakers'. During the interactions between a team's 'key' players (five-eighth, half-back, fullback, lock forward, and hooker), the five-eighth and half-back will usually be involved in most passing moves. These two positions are commonly called the "halves". The forwards' two responsibilities can be broken into "normal play" and "scrum play". For information on a forward's role in
1824-487: A tour match against a New Zealand XIII at Huntly . Australia lost the 1972 World Cup Final to Great Britain in controversial circumstances. Australian captain Graeme Langlands was denied what seemed a fair try by being ruled offside by the French referee after catching a kick put up by halfback Dennis Ward . Television footage of the try showed Langlands was approximately a metre behind Ward when he kicked
1938-401: A value of 2 points when kicked from beyond the 40 metre line. Field position is crucial in rugby league, achieved by running with or kicking the ball. Passing in rugby league may only be in a backward or sideways direction. Teammates, therefore, have to remain on-side by not moving ahead of the player with the ball. The ball may be kicked ahead, but if teammates are in front of the kicker when
2052-557: Is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 m (74 yd) wide and 112–122 m (122–133 yd) long with H-shaped posts at both ends. It is one of the two major codes of rugby football , the other being rugby union . It originated in 1895 in Huddersfield , Yorkshire , England, as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) over
2166-474: Is conducted under the direction of the Federation of International Touch (FIT). Though it shares similarities and history with rugby league , it is recognised as a sport in its own right due to its differences which have been developed over the sport's lifetime. Touch is a variation of rugby league with the tackling of opposing players replaced by a touch. As touches must be made with minimal force, touch
2280-432: Is the dominant winter sport in the eastern Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland . The game is also among the predominant sports of Tonga and is played in other Pacific nations such as Samoa and Fiji . Researchers have found that rugby league has been able to help with improving development in the islands. In Australia, and indeed the rest of the region, the annual State of Origin series ranks among
2394-473: Is the fourth oldest national side after England , New Zealand and Wales . The team was first assembled in 1908 for a tour of Great Britain . The majority of the Kangaroos' games since then have been played against Great Britain and New Zealand. In the first half of the 20th century, Australia's international competition came from alternating tours to Great Britain and New Zealand. Australia played host to these teams in non-tour years. Great Britain dominated in
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#17327722222432508-555: Is therefore considered a limited-contact sport. The original basic rules of touch were established in the 1960s by members of the South Sydney Junior Rugby League Club in Sydney, Australia . OzTag is a non-contact form of rugby league, and can be seen as a variation of British tag rugby. Cronulla Sharks and St George Dragons halfback Perry Haddock introduced the sport in Australia while coaching
2622-413: Is worth. One of the main differences is the rules of possession. When the ball goes into touch , possession in rugby union is contested through a line-out , while in rugby league a scrum restarts play. The lesser focus on contesting possession means that play focuses more on powerful running, hard tackling, forward progression and the contest for field position (commonly compared to an "arm wrestle"); as
2736-538: The 1908 NSWRFL Premiership season. The team, which was made of players from the NSWRFL with a few Queensland rugby rebels added, first played against the "professional All Blacks" on the return leg of their tour of Australia and Great Britain . Later that year, the Australian team arranged to go on a tour of its own. The first Kangaroos arrived in England on 27 September 1908, and played their first-ever test against
2850-549: The 1953–54 Challenge Cup Final replay at Odsal Stadium , Bradford , England, setting a new record for attendance at a rugby football match of either code. Also in 1954, the Rugby League World Cup, the first for either code of rugby, was formed at the instigation of the French. In 1966, the International Board introduced a rule that a team in possession was allowed three play-the-balls and on
2964-487: The 1957 World Cup . For the 1959–60 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain, the home nation retained the Ashes by winning the Test series 2–1 by the following results. This was the last British Ashes win on home soil. For the 1960 World Cup no final was held. Still, the last game, which was between the previously undefeated Great Britain and Australia sides, made it the tournament decider. Great Britain won 10–3. Harry Bath
3078-462: The 1978 Kangaroo tour , Great Britain defeated Australia in the second test at Bradford, 18–14, before a crowd of 26,447. It took ten years, and fifteen consecutive test defeats before Britain could defeat the Kangaroos again, starting with Australia's 3–0 whitewash of the Lions during their 1979 Australasian tour. The Kangaroos had already won the first test 15–9 at Wigan and wrapped up the series with
3192-648: The 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia , the British lost the first test 22–6 in Sydney before stunning the Australians when they easily won the 2nd Ashes test 33–10 at Princes Park in Melbourne, but lost the 3rd test 16–10 in Brisbane. The 1992 Rugby League World Cup final at Wembley Stadium set a then international attendance record for a rugby league international of 73,631. The Bob Fulton coached, Mal Meninga captained Australians defeat Great Britain 10–6 to win their 7th Rugby League World Cup title. The WCF
3306-535: The 1999 NRL season . Figure shown is the total attendance which is officially counted for both games. ** The official attendance of the 1954 Challenge Cup Final replay was 102,569. Unofficial estimates put the attendance as high as 150,000, Bradford Police confirming 120,000. Australia national rugby league team The Australian national rugby league team , the Kangaroos , have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since
3420-454: The ARL and NZRL . Since rugby league was introduced to Australia in 1908, it has become the largest television sport and 3rd most attended sport in Australia. Neighbouring Papua New Guinea is one of two countries to have rugby league as its national sport (with Cook Islands ). Australia's elite club competition also features a team from Auckland , New Zealand's biggest city. Rugby league
3534-591: The Herb Steinohrt led Australians 8–6. On the 1933–34 tour New South Wales winger Dave Brown played in 32 matches, including all 3 Tests, scoring 285 points, at the time the greatest number ever attained by an Australian player on tour. An exhibition match between Australia and Great Britain at Paris' Stade Pershing in December 1933 inspired the beginnings of rugby league in France . Albert Johnston
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3648-581: The International Rugby League . Rugby league is the national sport of Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands and is a popular sport in countries such as England , Australia , New Zealand , France , Tonga , Fiji , Samoa , Lebanon , Jamaica , and Malta . The first Rugby League World Cup was held in France in 1954, the first World Cup of either rugby code, and has been held sporadically ever since, settling into
3762-555: The New South Wales Rugby Football League was founded at Bateman's Hotel in George Street. Unlike in England, where both codes maintained their own geographic areas of dominance, in Australia rugby league went on to displace rugby union entirely as the primary football code in New South Wales and Queensland , while Australian rules football dominated the rest of Australia. On 5 May 1954, 102,569 spectators watched
3876-634: The Northern Union in December in London. It finished at 22 in front of a crowd of 2,000. The second test in Newcastle in January 1909 attracted a crowd of 22,000, and the Northern Union won 15–5. The third test was played at Villa Park , Birmingham, the Northern Union winning again 6–5 before a crowd of 9,000. The Australians suggested that the series be named 'The Ashes' after the cricket series of
3990-749: The Ottawa Aces were scheduled to join the English league pyramid, becoming the only Canadian team in the system after the Wolfpack were denied re-entry. The club subsequently relocated to Penryn, Cornwall , and are now known as Cornwall R.L.F.C. In 2021, the North American Rugby League announced an attempt to be North America's professional championship, with Canadian club Toronto Wolfpack joining several USA Rugby League clubs, New York Freedom and Cleveland Rugby League to form
4104-598: The Rugby League European Federation and Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation expanding the game to new areas such as Chile , Canada , Ghana , Philippines , Czech Republic , Germany , The Netherlands , Sweden , Norway , Spain , Sri Lanka , Hungary , Turkey , Thailand and Brazil to name a few. The two most prominent full-time professional leagues are the Australian National Rugby League and
4218-746: The Trans-Tasman Test series played in Australia. As they were for the World Cup, only ARL loyal players were selected for Australia which saw several players, including Steve Menzies , Mark Coyne , Terry Hill , Gary Larson , Trevor Gillmeister and Jason Smith make their test debuts during the New Zealand series. Despite having what many described as a second string side without players such as Laurie Daley, Allan Langer , Andrew Ettingshausen , Brett Mullins , Glenn Lazarus , Bradley Clyde , Ian Roberts , Ricky Stuart and Steve Walters , Bob Fulton's Kangaroos won their 8th World Cup (and 5th in
4332-556: The line-out was abolished and in 1898 professionalism introduced. In 1906, the Northern Union changed its rules, reducing teams from 15 to 13 a side and replacing the ruck formed after tackles with the play-the-ball . By this point, rule changes meant the game organised by the RFL was distinct as a sport from its union cousin. A similar schism to that which occurred in England took place in Sydney , Australia. There, on 8 August 1907
4446-474: The 1928 series in Australia and New Zealand by two tests to one. They were presented with the Ashes Trophy by the Australians, which the two countries have competed for ever since. The 1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the fourth Kangaroo tour, and took the Australian team all around England and also into Wales. The tour also featured the ninth Ashes series which comprised four Test matches and
4560-422: The 1968 World Cup but at the time tests and World Cup games were classed differently). Harry Bath again coached Australia to victory in the 1970 World Cup final in a brutal game that became known as the "Battle of Headingley". Bath also coached the team on a tour of New Zealand in 1971. On that tour Geoff Starling became the youngest player to ever represent Australia. He was 18 years and 181 days old when playing
4674-521: The 1980s. Players such as Peter Sterling , Mal Meninga , Wayne Pearce , Brett Kenny , Eric Grothe and Wally Lewis came to prominence on the 1982 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France . Australia's performance was taken into a new dimension by the tourists, also known as ' the Invincibles ', when they became the first team to win every game of the tour (fifteen games) including the first test by 40–4 at Hull in front of 26,771 spectators. After
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4788-526: The 1990s, when News Corporation paid for worldwide broadcasting rights. The media giant's "Super League" movement created changes for the traditional administrators of the game. In Europe, it resulted in a move from Rugby League being a winter sport to a summer one, as the new Super League competition tried to expand its market. In Australasia, the Super League war resulted in long and costly legal battles and changing loyalties, causing significant damage to
4902-518: The 1992 St George Jersey Flegg side. Together with Chris Parkes, the two took the sport to fields across Australia. Today, it is played by over 200,000 players in organised leagues across the country. League Tag replaces tackling with the removal of one of two tags carried on an opponent's hips, attached directly to specific League Tag shorts with Velcro patches, but otherwise retains almost all other rules of traditional rugby league (such as kicking). A number of additional rules are also added relating to
5016-587: The 20 man squad after Queensland's second straight 3-0 State of Origin series win over New South Wales. Don Furner had retired from coaching after the 1988 World Cup final with Manly-Warringah 1987 Sydney Rugby League premiership winning coach and 1978 Kangaroo tour captain Bob Fulton taking over from 1989. Fulton's first series in charge of the Australian team saw them sweep New Zealand 3–0 during their 1989 tour. The Bob Fulton coached Kangaroos played two mid-season tests in 1990. They defeated France 34–2 on
5130-515: The 2017 Kingstone Press League 1 in their inaugural season and earned promotion to the 2018 Rugby League Championship. In 2019 The Wolfpack won promotion to the Super League, lasting only a few months before having to withdraw due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic . New ownership is currently trying to revive the club with matches against amateur clubs in the US and Canada. Beginning in 2022,
5244-492: The Ashes that had been lost in 1920. They did not lose again until 1950. The Australian national team first wore green and gold in a hooped design on Saturday, 23 June 1928, when they met Great Britain in the first Test at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground . Britain led 10-2 after 25 minutes, 13-7 at half time, and, after a nervous second half, eventually claimed the Test 15–12. The England team won both
5358-685: The Australian team after Frank Stanton had stood down following the Kangaroo Tour. Although Australia won the first test against New Zealand at Carlaw Park in Auckland , the Kiwis shocked by winning the return match 19–12 at Lang Park in Brisbane . When the Lions toured in 1984, The Kangaroos again swept The Ashes series 3–0 under new team captain Wally Lewis, the first Queenslander to captain Australia since Arthur Beetson in 1974. Beetson
5472-674: The British Super League (with teams from New Zealand and France respectively). Other professional and semi professional leagues include Australia's Queensland Cup (which includes a team from Papua New Guinea ) and NSW Cup , the British RFL Championship and RFL League 1 , the French Super XIII and Elite 2 . The Papua New Guinea National Rugby League operates as a semi-professional competition and enjoys nationwide media coverage, being
5586-412: The Kangaroos set a new record for largest-ever winning margin in a Test match at 52–0 against France . In their two Tests against France, the Australians ran in 96 points and conceded just a single penalty goal. After suffering such heavy losses, France decided to call off their proposed 1987 tour of Australia. This became the second consecutive tour of Europe in which Australia had won all their games. By
5700-475: The Kangaroos. During the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour the Ashes were successfully retained by Australia by winning the first two Tests, however Great Britain won the third test 26–12 at the Sydney Football Stadium , ending a 15-game winning streak between the two teams that stretched back to the third Ashes test of 1978. Later that month, Australia's 62-point win over Papua New Guinea in
5814-466: The NSW country town of Wagga Wagga set a new record for largest winning margin in international rugby league. Australian dual international winger Michael O'Connor also set a new record for most points scored by an individual in international rugby league (30 points – 4 tries, 7 goals). Also in 1988, as part of the bicentenary celebrations , Australia played a one-off test match against Rest Of The World at
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#17327722222435928-534: The National Rugby League, this was reduced to ten prior to the 2008 season and further reduced to eight prior to the 2016 season. If a team has to interchange a player due to the blood bin rule or due to injury, and this was the result of misconduct from the opposing team, the compromised team does not have to use one of its allocated interchanges to take the player in question off the field. The backs are generally smaller, faster and more agile than
6042-630: The Northern Union also changed its name to the Rugby Football League and thus over time the sport itself became known as "rugby league" football. In 1895, a schism in Rugby football resulted in the formation of the Northern Rugby Football Union (NRFU). The success of working class northern teams led to some compensating players who otherwise would be on their job and earning income on Saturdays. This led to
6156-411: The RFU reacting to enforce the amateur principle of the sport, preventing "broken time payments" to players who had taken time off work to play rugby. Northern teams typically had more working class players (coal miners, mill workers etc.) who could not afford to play without this compensation, in contrast to affluent southern teams who had other sources of income to sustain the amateur principle. In 1895,
6270-562: The Sydney Football Stadium, winning the one-off test 22–10. The 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup culminated in the World Cup final against New Zealand at Auckland's Eden Park ground (the home of NZ rugby union). Australia won a brutal World Cup final 25–12 in front of 47,363. Captain Wally Lewis broke his arm during the game. In 1989 the Kangaroos toured New Zealand , taking a record-breaking twelve Queenslanders in
6384-628: The allegations. After the second test win Fearnley made 4 changes to the test team for the third and final test at Carlaw Park with all four players were omitted being Queenslanders. The changes proved disastrous and NZ ran out easy 18–0 winners. Following the tour, the Australian Rugby League decided that from then on the Kangaroos coach could not also double as the incumbent coach of either NSW or Qld. Former Kangaroo Don Furner became Australian coach in 1986 and immediately formed
6498-447: The ball comes into contact with the ground. An attacking team gets a maximum of six tackles to progress up the field before possession is changed over. Once the tackle is completed, the ball-carrier must be allowed to get to his feet to ' play-the-ball '. Ball control is also important in rugby league, as a fumble of the ball on the ground forces a handover, unless the ball is fumbled backwards. The ball can also be turned over by going over
6612-421: The ball is kicked, they are deemed off-side. Tackling is a key component of rugby league play. Only the player holding the ball may be tackled. A tackle is complete, for example, when the player is held by one or more opposing players in such a manner that he can make no further progress and cannot part with the ball, or when the player is held by one or more opposing players and the ball or the hand or arm holding
6726-476: The ball. The French referee Georges Jameau's alleged reason for not awarding the try was that he did not believe anyone could have scored it from an onside position. The World Cup final was tied at 10–10 after full-time and was still locked after extra time. Great Britain were awarded the victory due to a higher points table placing after the pool rounds of the competition. The Final was also highlighted by an 80-metre try to Lions captain, winger Clive Sullivan . On
6840-469: The code in an extremely competitive sporting market. In 1997 two competitions were run alongside each other in Australia, after which a peace deal in the form of the National Rugby League was formed. The NRL has since become recognised as the sport's flagship competition and since that time has set record TV ratings and crowd figures. The objective in rugby league is to score more points through tries , goals and field goals (also known as drop goals) than
6954-522: The country, and rugby quickly became the dominant winter sport for Sydney. In 1888, an English team visited Australasia , playing rugby rules in Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand, and Australian rules football in Victoria and South Australia. In 1899, an Australian team was formed using players from Queensland and New South Wales for the first time. They played a series of Tests against
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#17327722222437068-492: The early years, and Australia did not win a Test against the Lions until 11 November 1911 under captain Chris McKivat . Australia did not win a series at home against Great Britain until 1920 or abroad until 1958. Since 1908, the team has been nicknamed the Kangaroos . Initially only used when touring Great Britain and later France , this has been the official nickname of the team since 7 July 1994. In 1997 Australia
7182-473: The end of the tour, Terry Lamb had become the first player to appear in every match on a Kangaroo Tour. For this tour Wally Lewis, Greg Dowling , Bob Lindner , Gene Miles ( Wynnum Manly ) and Bryan Neibling ( Redcliffe ) became the last players selected to tour from the Brisbane Rugby League competition. By being named as tour captain, Wally Lewis became the first Queenslander to captain
7296-768: The establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission , the Kangaroos are ranked first in the IRL Men's World Rankings . The team is the most successful in Rugby League World Cup history, having won the competition 12 times, and contested 15 of the 16 finals, only failing to reach the final in the 1954 inaugural tournament . Only five nations (along with NZ Maori ) have beaten Australia in test matches, and Australia has an overall win percentage of 69%. Dating back to 1908, Australia
7410-399: The extremely poor showing during their 1979 Australasian tour, the Kangaroos rammed home just how far behind British football had fallen at Boothferry Park . The score was only 10–4 at half time, but after the break Australia's superior fitness showed and ran in six unanswered tries to leave the crowd and British football stunned. In 1983, Arthur Beetson became the first Aboriginal to coach
7524-490: The first test 24–8 in Melbourne in front of 26,900 fans, however a new look Australian side came back to win the second test 44–0 in Sydney and the third test 40–12 in Brisbane. At the end of the 1991 NSWRL season , the Kangaroos embarked on their first (and as of 2017 only) tour of Papua New Guinea , winning all five games on tour including easily both tests against the Papua New Guinea Kumuls. During
7638-442: The first test in Sydney against Australia 27–20 in front of 42,000. They then won the second test in Brisbane 22–17. In Auckland , on 30 July, they defeated New Zealand 52–20. The 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand was the first-ever, and Australia were beaten by the Ashes in two tests, faring slightly better than " Australasia " with two Kiwis added to their squad. The 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain
7752-681: The five years prior to the Second World War , the sport's popularity increased as Frenchmen became disenchanted with the state of French rugby union in the 1930s. However, after the Allied Forces were defeated by Germany in June 1940, the Vichy regime in the south seized assets belonging to rugby league authorities and clubs and banned the sport for its association with the left-wing Popular Front government that had governed France before
7866-547: The football, each play restarting from a set piece position and ended by a tackle. Although the Canadian Football League in particular maintained the word 'rugby' in its name for many years, alluding to that shared past, the introduction of the forward pass and unlimited substitution in North American games created a fundamentally different species of game from either original rugby code. Although
7980-407: The forwards. They are often the most creative and evasive players on the field, relying on running, kicking and handling skills, as well as tactics and set plays, to break the defensive line, instead of brute force. Generally forwards play a more collision oriented game, making ground by pure strength, and tackling near the play-the-ball. Usually, the stand-off/five-eighth and scrum-half/half-back are
8094-406: The fourth tackle a scrum was to be formed. This was increased to six tackles in 1972 and in 1983 the scrum was replaced by a handover. 1967 saw the first professional Sunday matches of rugby league played. The first sponsors, Joshua Tetley and John Player , entered the game for the 1971–72 Northern Rugby Football League season . Television had an enormous impact on the sport of rugby league in
8208-585: The ground, with the ball usually set in a kicking tee , and the opposing team not allowed to directly challenge the kicker. The Super League in Europe and the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australasia are the world's premier club competitions. Globally, rugby league is played internationally , predominantly by European , Australasian , and Pacific Island countries, and is governed by
8322-411: The historic link between the codes continues to be acknowledged, neither Canadian or American football is commonly considered a rugby code today except in the broadest sense, and are more commonly referred to collectively as gridiron codes, or simply as 'football' within their respective countries. Players on the pitch are divided into forwards and backs , although the game's rules apply to all players
8436-440: The invention of the sport previously called murderball and is not directly linked to rugby union, wheelchair rugby league has grown out of the parent sport, and retains key aspects of that sport such as an egg shaped ball, the forward-pass rule and conversions. While not a Paralympic sport, the sport has its own Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup . A further variation for ambulatory disabled players, physical disability rugby league ,
8550-412: The issue of payments to players. The rules of the game governed by the new Northern Rugby Football Union progressively changed from those of the RFU with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to spectators, on whose income the new organisation and its members depended. In rugby league, points are scored by carrying an oval ball and touching it to the ground beyond
8664-511: The league's inaugural season. Several brand new clubs from Western USA were scheduled to join in 2022 but never played. The new competition is sanctioned by Canada Rugby League , but not yet by the United States governing body. Unfortunately, while some exhibition matches were played in 2021 and 2022, NARL was defunct by 2023 The early 21st century has seen other countries take up the game and compete in international rugby league with
8778-453: The mid-1990s, it has increasingly borrowed techniques, tactics and even laws from rugby league, while high-profile players and coaches from the league game have increasingly gone on to success in the union code in those countries where both codes are popular (e.g. Andy Farrell , Jason Robinson and Henry Paul ). The inherent similarities between rugby league and rugby union have at times led to experimental hybrid games being played that use
8892-537: The most popular sporting events. The Rugby League European Federation are responsible for developing rugby league in Europe . In England, rugby league has traditionally been associated with the historic northern counties of Yorkshire , Lancashire , and Cumberland , where the game originated, especially in towns and cities along the M62 corridor . Its popularity has also increased elsewhere. As of 2024 , only two of
9006-559: The name 'Kangaroos' for the July test against France, since then the team has been officially known by this name. The 1994 Kangaroo tour was also the first (and only) time that the traditional Australian test kit was only worn during test matches. For the tour games, including the friendly against Wales in Cardiff (the first time Australia had played Wales in 12 years), the Kangaroos wore jumpers that had increasing thickness gold hoops underneath
9120-413: The national sport of the country. Five main variant sports of rugby league exist worldwide; Touch , OzTag , League tag , Nines , and Sevens . Touch, OzTag, and League Tag are all non-contact versions of the sport, where as Nines and Sevens are both reduced form (shorter match times and smaller teams) of the sport. Touch (also known as touch football or touch rugby) is a variant of rugby league that
9234-561: The new Super League, although the club was dissolved in 1997. In 2006, the Super League admitted the Catalans Dragons, a team from Perpignan in the southern Languedoc-Roussillon region. They have subsequently reached the 2007 Challenge Cup Final and made the playoffs of the 2008 Super League XIII season. The success of the Dragons in Super League has initiated a renaissance in French rugby league, with new-found enthusiasm for
9348-405: The north of England there have been complaints about its lack of profile in the British media. On the eve of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup final where England would face Australia, English amateur rugby league coach Ben Dawson stated, "we're in the final of a World Cup. First time in more than 30 years and there's no coverage anywhere". France first played rugby league as late as 1934, where in
9462-404: The opposing team's goal line; this is called a try , and is the primary method of scoring, worth four points. The opposing team attempts to stop the attacking side scoring points by tackling the player carrying the ball and denying forward progress. On occasion, where a clear try scoring opportunity has been thwarted by foul play, a penalty try may be awarded without the ball being grounded over
9576-475: The opposition within the 80 minutes of play. If after two-halves of play, each consisting of forty minutes, the two teams are drawing , a draw may be declared, or the game may enter extra time under the golden point rule, depending on the relevant competition's format. The try is the most common form of scoring, and a team will usually attempt to score one by running and kicking the ball further upfield or passing from player-to-player in order to manoeuvre around
9690-400: The opposition's defence. A try involves touching the ball to the ground on or beyond the defending team's goal-line and is worth four points. A goal is worth two points and may be gained from a conversion or a penalty . A field goal, or drop goal, is only worth one point and is gained by dropping and then kicking the ball on the half volley between the uprights in open play. A field goal has
9804-542: The position they play, similarly to association football . Substitutes (generally referred to as "the bench") are allowed in the sport, and are typically used when a player gets tired or injured , although they can also be used tactically. Each team is currently allowed four substitutes, and in Australia and New Zealand, these players occupy shirt numbers 14 to 22. There are no limitations on which players must occupy these interchangeable slots. Generally, twelve interchanges are allowed in any game from each team, although in
9918-440: The powerful French team inspired by their freakish goal kicking fullback Puig Aubert . The 1954 Rugby League World Cup was the first tournament held in either rugby code. Australia failed to reach the final. For the 1956–57 Kangaroo tour a record eleven Queenslanders were selected in the touring squad. Great Britain defeated Australia 19–0 at Station Road , Swinton , to take the Ashes series 2–1. Australia hosted and won
10032-618: The same name. In 1909, when the new " Northern Union " code was still in its infancy in Australia, a match between the Kangaroos and the Wallabies was played before a crowd of around 20,000, with the Rugby League side winning 29–26. The first British tour of the Southern Hemisphere began on 4 June 1910, when the Northern Union played New South Wales in front of 33,000 spectators in Sydney, losing 28–14. But they won
10146-501: The same way. Each position has a designated number to identify himself from other players. These numbers help to identify which position a person is playing. The system of numbering players is different depending on which country the match is played in. In Australia and New Zealand, each player is usually given a number corresponding to their playing position on the field. However, since 1996 European teams have been able to grant players specific squad numbers, which they keep without regard to
10260-496: The scrum see rugby league scrummage . Forward positions are traditionally named after the player's position in the scrum yet are equal with respect to "normal play" with the exception of the hooker. Forward positions are traditionally assigned as follows: Rugby league is played in over 70 nations throughout the world. Papua New Guinea is the only country to have rugby league as its national sport . Four countries – Australia, England, France, and New Zealand – have teams that play at
10374-733: The second Test at Carlaw Park , Auckland . The Test was a 20,000 sell-out, with all tickets accounted for weeks before the match. The Kiwis dominated long periods of the game but ninety seconds from time the Kiwis lost possession close to half way. John Ribot scored a try and Australia won 10–6. The tour ended in acrimony as tensions between coach Fearley and the Qld players, led by team captain Wally Lewis, reached boiling point with Lewis publicly stating that he had caught Fearnley and team vice-captain Wayne Pearce going over team selections in Fearnley's hotel room. However, both Fearnley and Pearce denied
10488-496: The series 2–1 in Australia. Out of 24 games played Great Britain won 22, drew one and lost one – making them the most successful British tourists so far. The 1970 Lions contained a galaxy of stars including captain Frank Myler , Roger Millward , Cliff Watson and Mal Reilly . Future Kangaroo Tour captain and later coach Bob Fulton made his test debut in the 1970 Ashes series (Fulton had actually played 3 games for Australia in
10602-567: The series in the famous decider, the "Rorke's Drift Test". Australia also went on a tour of New Zealand in 1919. The 1920 Great Britain Lions tour saw Australia win the Ashes for the first time on home soil. Crowds were massive, including nearly 70,000 at the first Tour match versus Sydney. The 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain also included a New Zealander and was ostensibly an Australasian side . In January 1922, an "England" side defeated Australia 6–0 at The Willows , Salford , to win back
10716-524: The sideline. Rugby league and rugby union are distinct sports with many similarities and a shared origin. Both have the same fundamental rules, are played for 80 minutes and feature an oval-shaped ball and H-shaped goalposts. Both have rules that the ball cannot be passed forward, and dropping it forwards leads to a scrum. Both use tries as the central scoring method and conversion kicks , penalty goals and drop goals as additional scoring methods. However, there are differences in how many points each method
10830-526: The specific issues associated with a tag based game. Rugby League played with nine players per team with nine minutes per half, in addition to slight rule modifications to aid the game. Rugby League played with seven players per team with seven minutes per half, in addition to slight rule modifications to aid the game. The top five attendances for rugby league test matches (International) are: The top five attendances for domestic based rugby league matches are: * NRL double header played to open Round 1 of
10944-663: The sport in the south of the country where most of the Super XIII teams are based. In other parts of Europe, the game is played at semi-professional and amateur level. As of 2023, there is no professional rugby league in North America. From 2017 to 2020, the Toronto Wolfpack were North America 's only active professional Rugby League team, competing in the English Rugby League system. They won
11058-559: The third Australian (after Ken Irvine in 1962 and 1963–64, and Sam Backo in 1988) to score a try in each test of an Ashes series. Australia faced New Zealand in a three-game mid-season Test series in 1991. The first test, played at the Olympic Park Stadium in Melbourne (the first rugby league test played in Australia outside of NSW or Qld) saw the Kiwis again defeat Australia after a successful Kangaroo tour. NZ won
11172-466: The third test at Headingley, legendary winger Ken Irvine became the first Australian player to score a try in each test of an Ashes series. The Kangaroos have not lost a series in Britain since. Harry Bath coached the national side to World Cup glory in the 1968 World Cup . He also coached the team on a tour of New Zealand in 1969. The last time that Great Britain won the Ashes was in 1970. They won
11286-482: The try line. In addition to tries, points can be scored by kicking goals. Drop goals (or field goals) can be attempted from the hand at any time for a single point. Following a successful try, the scoring team gains a free kick to try at goal with a conversion worth a further two points. Penalty kicks at goal, known simply as penalties, may also be awarded for general foul play, and are also worth two points. Unlike drop goals, penalty kicks and conversions are taken from
11400-571: The twelve Super League teams are based outside of these traditional counties: Catalans Dragons and London Broncos . One other team from outside the United Kingdom, Toulouse Olympique , competes in the British rugby league system , although not at the highest tier Super League level, but rather in the second tier Championship . Super League average attendances are in the 8,000 to 9,500 range. The average Super League match attendance in 2014
11514-415: The twin gold chevrons. The Australian team that contested and won the 1995 Rugby League World Cup consisted only of players from clubs that remained loyal to the Australian Rugby League during the Super League war . This meant several Super League-aligned clubs that were already well-established internationals were not selected for the World Cup squad. During 1995, the Kangaroos defeated New Zealand 3–0 in
11628-580: The war. The sport was unbanned after the Liberation of Paris in August 1944 and the collapse of the Vichy regime, although it was still actively marginalised by the French authorities until the 1990s. Despite this, the national side appeared in the finals of the 1954 and 1968 World Cups, and the country hosted the 1954 event. In 1996, a French team, Paris Saint-Germain was one of eleven teams which formed
11742-492: The wing and centre kicked for Lyons to score. With the scores tied at 10-all going into injury time and the Kangaroos pinned just 15 metres from their line, Ricky Stuart set off on a 75-metre run before passing to Meninga winning try only seconds from full-time to give Australia a 14–10 win. The Kangaroos then wrapped up The Ashes with a comprehensive 14–0 win in the third test at Elland Road in Leeds. Meninga as captain became just
11856-555: The year. The 1994 Kangaroo Tour was the last time the Australian national team played matches against British provincial teams, in addition to the Tests. Australia continued its dominance, winning both Test series against Great Britain and France, suffering only one loss (again, against Great Britain in the First Test at Wembley), and remained undefeated against British club outfits in a streak stretching back to 1978. Australia adopted
11970-472: Was 8,365. In 2018 average Super League match attendance was 8,547. Ranked the eighth most popular sport in the UK overall, rugby league is the 27th most popular participation sport in England according to figures released by Sport England ; the total number of rugby league participants in England aged 16 and over was 44,900 in 2017. This is a 39% drop from 10 years ago. While the sport is largely concentrated in
12084-408: Was a national selector in 1946 and coach of the national side for the 1946 first post-WWII Anglo-Australian series. Australia's 1948-49 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France was their seventh tour to the UK. They played the Ashes series against a side officially called Great Britain. During the 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand , Australia lost the three-Test series to
12198-522: Was a tight game with the Lions leading 6–4 with less than 20 minutes remaining before an on debut Steve Renouf crossed for the only try of the game and along with Meninga's sideline conversion gave the Kangaroos a famous victory. Australia again played a mid-season test series against New Zealand in 1993. The first test at the Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland ended in a 14-all draw thanks to
12312-550: Was also represented by a Super League Australia team, drawing on players from that year's Super League competition. Rugby football has been played in Australia since the 1860s. In 1863, Sydney University became the first rugby club to be formed in Sydney, and played games amongst themselves or against the crews of visiting British ships. The Sydney Football Club (1865) and the Wallaroos (1870) followed, and inter-club competition commenced. By 1880, there were 100 clubs across
12426-497: Was created and had its first world cup in 2022 to coincide with the rescheduled 2021 Rugby League World Cup competitions. Rugby league football takes its name from the bodies that split to create a new form of rugby, distinct from that run by the Rugby Football Unions, in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand between 1895 and 1908. The first of these, the Northern Rugby Football Union , was established in 1895 as
12540-479: Was hosted by England during October and November 2022, staged the Men's , Women's and Wheelchair competitions together for the first time. The competition formerly featured 16 teams, but has been cut down to 10 for the upcoming 2026 Rugby League World Cup . The Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation 's purpose is to spread the sport of rugby league throughout their region along with other governing bodies such as
12654-536: Was replaced as coach in 1984 by a returning Frank Stanton. In 1985, Australia made a six-match tour of New Zealand under the coaching of Terry Fearnley who before the tour had coached NSW to its first ever Origin series win over Qld (the tour actually took place between games 2 and 3 of the Origin series). The Kangaroos won five of those matches, and the Test series 2–1. Australia won the first Test in Brisbane 26–20. On Sunday 30 June 1985, Australia met New Zealand in
12768-473: Was selected manager, coach and as the sole selector for the Australian national team's 1962 Ashes series. After ten previous tours of Britain, the 1963–64 Kangaroo tour saw Australia's first ever Ashes victory on British soil. The Arthur Summons coached Kangaroos won the first test at Wembley Stadium before rampaging to a famous 50–12 win in the second test at Station Road in Swinton . Although they lost
12882-402: Was undertaken by an ' Australasian ' squad that included four New Zealanders. They won the Ashes for the first time, and for the next half century, no other touring team did do so on British soil. The 1914 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand was the second time the British toured down under. The Australians, captained by Sid Deane for all three tests, got one victory but lost
12996-511: Was won by Great Britain. The first test of the 1932 Ashes series between Australia and Great Britain drew a world record international rugby league attendance of 70,204 to the Sydney Cricket Ground . This attendance stood as the world record until the 1992 World Cup final played at Wembley Stadium , and as of 2013 remains the record attendance for a rugby league test played in Australia. The Jim Sullivan led Lions triumphed over
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