Named after to the cricket series of the same name, the series was initially contested between the Australia and Great Britain national teams. The series first took place in 1908, and was contested 39 times until 2003, with hosting usually alternating between the two countries. Since 1973, Australia has won a record thirteen consecutive Ashes series.[3]
After a hiatus of over 20 years, the Ashes series was revived in 2025. The series will continue as a best-of-three test match series between Australia and England.[4]
Origin
The term "Ashes" originated in cricket, with several other sporting events adopting the concept, and by the beginning of the 20th century it was an "accepted principle" that a test series had to have at least three matches to be a true test of which side was the best, leading to the modern day best of five in cricket and best of three in rugby league. For a brief period, the games were known as "Winter Ashes" and "Summer Ashes" reflecting the time of year the two sport's were traditionally play. Before Australia and Great Britain began contesting the Ashes in rugby league, Australia also contested Ashes in rugby union against New Zealand until it was placed by the Bledisloe Cup in 1931.[2]
History
Australia vs Great Britain
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The first rugby league Ashes tour began on 27 September 1908, when the side arrived in England. They played their first Ashes Test against Great Britain (despite being called England) in December in London, with two further tests played. The vast majority of subsequent series were played as a best of three competition.
In 1911–12 and 1921–22, the Australia team included New Zealand players so were styled "Australasia" for these series.
In the 1929–30 Ashes series both the teams won one game and one game was drawn; so a further match was held to determine the outcome.
In 1948, Greater Britain had officially adopted the name after going by "Northern Union XIII", "England", and "The Lions" across previous tours.
Since 1964 the Harry Sunderland Medal is awarded to the best Australian player in a home Ashes series.
Great Britain's last win was in 1970.
Australia won 13 consecutive Ashes, 5 of those (1979, 1982, 1984, 1986 and 2003) being 3–0 series, and saw a record 15 game wining streak between 1978 and 1988 which was ended by a famous third test victory for Great Britain in Sydney by 26–12.
The 1982 Kangaroos became the first side to go through a tour of Great Britain and France undefeated (something never achieved on a Lions tour, though they came close in 1954 losing just 2 games). This earned the team the nickname "The Invincibles". The 1986 Kangaroos repeated this feat and would be known as "The Unbeatables".
The Ashes were contested only twice after this, in 2001 and 2003, both won by Australia.
Hiatus
In 2009 with the prospect of not contesting them until after the 2013 World Cup, Britain's Rugby Football League (RFL) challenged the Australian Rugby League (ARL) to play the round-robin stage match of the Four Nations tournament with the Ashes at stake. The one-off game would be a departure from the usual three-match series, additionally the contest would be between England, rather than Great Britain, and Australia.[5] The ARL initially agreed to the proposal but later, facing hostility from former Ashes players and fans who thought the proposals devalued the Ashes, the two governing bodies decided not to proceed.[6][7][8]
In 2016, newly appointed Australian team coach Mal Meninga, who as a player was selected to a record 4 Kangaroo Tours (the last two as captain) and played in a record 6 Ashes series (1982, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1992 and 1994 - playing a record 17 Ashes tests, only missing 1988 through injury), publicly advocated for a return of the Kangaroo Tours which would see The Ashes revived in 2020.[9] The proposed 2020 series was cancelled in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10][11] It was suggested that the series may instead be played in 2022;[10][11] however, this never eventuated. In October 2022, Meninga stated that talks were underway for a potential Ashes tour of England in 2024.[12]
On 3 August 2023, the revival of The Ashes was announced by International Rugby League as part of their new 7-year international calendar and long-term strategy for growth of the international game. The revamped competition was also scheduled to feature a women's test series for the first time,[b] with the first edition to take place in 2025.[13][14]
Ahead of the 2025 event, the RFL and ARLC announced a new player of the series award, the Fulton-Reilly award, named after Ashes legends Bob Fulton and Mal Reilly.[16]
Trophy
In 1928, the City Tattersalls Club in Sydney, Australia donated a trophy to be the prize, the "Ashes Cup".[2] The Cup's inscription reads:[2]
INTERNATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE FOOTBALL Australia v England (THE ASHES) Presented by CITY TATTERSALLS CLUB
The Cup was first presented in 1928 to The Lions, after they defeated Australia 2–1 in the series.[2] Following the 1933–34 series, in which England retained the Cup for the third time since first being presented with it, the Cup disappeared in the United Kingdom and was not found until October 1945.[17] The trophy had been on display at a function in Ilkley, Yorkshire and afterwards was returned to the manager of the Griffin Hotel, Leeds - where the English Rugby League management met - but this was not made clear to the English authorities and instead in laid overlooked in a box for 12 years.[17] During the period it was missing, Great Britain had won each series and the Cup's disappearance was not widely known.[2] The Australian team first won the Cup in 1950.[2]
In preparation for the Legends of League exhibition at the National Museum of Australia in 2008, marking a Centenary of Rugby League in Australia, the Ashes Cup underwent preservation work.[18]
1 2 3 4 The Australasia rugby league team competed in the 1910, 1911–12, 1921–22 Ashes series instead of the Australia national team. The side was made up of mostly Australian players but bolstered by a number of players from New Zealand. Despite this, all appeance and scoring statistics went towards the Australian national team.
↑ There had been previous women's Ashes test series, but this was never an established regular competition.
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Australia (21st title)
