The Ashes are back! 2025 England v Australia thread.

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CLICK HERE TO SIGN AND SHARE: https://chng.it/2Y5TL2QTCj

Australia and England/Great Britain have not played a Test since the 2017 World Cup Final in Brisbane which Australia won 6-0. That is nearly 5 years ago and to date there is no scheduled game in 2023. Alarmingly, the last Test series between them was 2003, almost two decades ago.

This wasn't always the case.

The Ashes was a series of three Test Matches between the nations hosted in alternating fashion every two years or so. In later years this became more irregular and England hosted the last four Ashes series. The last Ashes that was hosted in Australia was 1992.

The tradition of this series has always captured the imagination of fans and brought many new fans to our game. The 2021 World Cup proved that the English national team can draw interest and passion from across the U.K, beyond that of the Super League club game. The Kangaroos can do the same for Australia and the NRL. The Kangaroos are one of the game's most woefully neglected assets. We want to see them restored to a position of prestige.

The recent World Cup also proved that there is a widening gap between the northern hemisphere and the southern. It’s vital that the English team can compete against the Aussies regularly in meaningful and intense contests. In fact, Australia and England won't even face each other during the World Cup tournament.

The NRL is strong and growing, so it is also important that these fans have an entry point into supporting the game in England with Super League. Cooperation and collaboration between the two competitions should be maximised.

So much needs to be done to improve International Rugby League. But the era of half measures, chopping and changing scheduling must end. Let’s return the Ashes to being a big part of our international program.

It’s time for old memories to come alive and for new generations to fall in love with our game when the Kangaroos or England come to town or through the warm glow of television screens early in the morning.

Bring back the Rugby League Ashes!

Wikipedia: More info on the Ashes

Recent article on the Ashes: Ashes to Ashes: Meninga eyes iconic series return for first time in 20 years

Follow us on Twitter: The Mob: Roos Supporters: @theRoosorg

 

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I'm very much in World Cup and IRL mode right now. I'd appreciate any sigs for this.

Very sad to see that we haven't played England in so long.

 

[Titanic]

signed and distributed

 

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signed and distributed

Thanks mate. Happy with the response. More sharing and liking than actually signing but all good. It's a conversation starter.

 

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Great news that the Ashes is back, although it is back to being Australia v England (Not GB).

One Test has already sold out with huge demand for tickets.

 

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Brimson cleared to play for England in Ashes series

Brimson cleared to play for England in Ashes series

An International Rugby League tribunal has unanimously approved an application by AJ Brimson to switch Tier 1 eligibility from Australia to England.

www.nrl.com

An International Rugby League tribunal has unanimously approved an application by AJ Brimson to switch Tier 1 eligibility from Australia to England.

Brimson, who plays for Gold Coast Titans, was born in Australia but is eligible to represent his English heritage through his mother, Vanessa.

The ruling means Brimson is now eligible to play for England against the Kangaroos in the historic end-of-season Ashes series and the 2026 World Cup.

The 26-year-old utility has represented Queensland in four Origins in 2021, 2022 and 2023, but has not played for the Kangaroos at Test level.

IRL eligibility rules state that players who have “elected”, by being named in the 19-player-squad for a Senior International Match or selected in a squad for an official international 9s competition for a Tier 1 nation (Australia, England and New Zealand) are unable to switch to another Tier 1 nation.

Brimson played for Australia in the 2019 IRL 9s World Cup in Sydney and represented the Junior Kangaroos against France in 2019, but he has not been selected for a Senior International Match.

At the time, the 9s World Cup was part of IRL’s calendar planning and it was intended to be held every four years.

However, the tournament has effectively been discontinued and is not part of IRL’s medium term planning.

Therefore, the tribunal, comprising of IRL Chair Troy Grant, Deputy Chair Dean Andrew and Independent Director Emma Young, felt that players who had played in the 2019 IRL World Cup 9s were being unfairly restricted as they elected for their country based on a different set of circumstances to players who elect for a country through a 13-a-side SIM.

This is because SIMs are continuously played but international 9s competitions are not, so players seeking to establish a reputation through 9s performances have been denied the opportunity to do so, particularly debutants who had not played a SIM.

As part of the tribunal process, Brimson’s current elected country, Australia, was consulted and is supportive of his switch to England.

IRL Chair Troy Grant said: “This was a unique case in that a player who qualifies for two Tier 1 nations had elected to represent one of those nations in 9s and was therefore unable to represent the other nation in 13s.

“Yet the player has had no further opportunity to represent his elected nation in 9s, as he had anticipated, and has also not played a Senior International Match.

“The aim of the international eligibility rules is to ensure that the best players are able to represent a nation for whom he or she qualifies but in this case the player had been left sidelined.

“The tribunal therefore felt that player Brimson should be allowed to switch his international eligibility from Australia to England and approved his application to do so.”