Oval ball stuff (mainly RL) from @gavinwillacy - https://xitter.cf/t.co/qgRcMnpMdn & BBC Manchester Sport
Purwell, England
Joined June 2013
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As you can see, I’ve started a Substack. It will have a variety of stuff there that’s not found its way onto the Guardian. Follow away folks! It’s free 😊@GridironGents @neilreynoldsnfl @FourthDownFocus @WillGavin @NatCoombs @thencshow @Carlsonsports
NFL games in Manchester and Birmingham? Quite possible… more from @NFLUKIRE 👇🏽 substack.com/@gavinwillacy/n…
No Helmets Required retweeted
Down Syndrome Awareness Month
Down Syndrome is part of my story, but it is not my whole story. I am strong, I am proud, I am a fighter. Just like my @dragonsrfc , I never give up. I am Ryan — and I am so much more than a diagnosis!” – at Earsdon, England
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Exclusive: NRL and Rugby Football League (RFL) executives have held a successful meeting in Sydney as a historic partnership moves closer to being signed off, according to sources.
patreon.com/rugbyleaguelongr…
He seems a decent player so why have Toulouse Olympique, Catalans Dragons, Wakefield Trinity, Castleford Tigers and Hull FC all signed him then let him leave? And why’s he not in the @FFRXIII squad? 🤷🏽♂️
@loverugbyleague Read more 👇 loverugbyleague.com/post/lee…
Two tries for @BedfordTigers Santino Decaro ten years after his last cap!
🇳🇴🆚🇮🇹
@ITALIA_RLXIII got their @EuroRugbyLeague Euro D campaign underway with a 6-40 win over @RLNorge in Sandnes on Saturday!
📰bit.ly/4iaSnnv
#IntlRugbyLeague
No Helmets Required retweeted
Hi Steve,
Sorry to be a pedant but do you mean:
- Australia, 31 Dec 1933, 63-13
- France, 25 Feb 1939, 9-12
- New Zealand, 18 Nov 2000, 6-49
The Aus & France games you listed were GB games, both featuring non-English GB players.
The NZ game was actually an England XIII win.
A first for me: been in an NFL locker room. It was absolute chaos. 😊 @HoustonTexans enjoy their win as Trevor Lawrence & Jags get their food boxes and get out of Wembley.
If you wondered what happened to the old giant Wildcats mouth over the players tunnel at Belle Vue @WTrinityRL in round it 👇🏽
Flying miles under the radar, one of the best USA-eligible players in the world made his @USARugbyLeague yesterday against @WalesRugbyL - ex @England_RL international Tyler Dupree!
Anyone know why they didn’t go Manchester to Singapore to Perth? Seems very bizarre. Surely they didn’t go all the way to Sydney just to meet McDermott and the NRL players there?
The @TheRFL doing their best to set them up to fail.
Did Nigel Wood go economy too??
I think we all know the answer to that.
Absolutely spot on. I think it’s very likely that those who haven’t gone to NRL haven’t fulfilled their potential. Can probably say that for likes of L Farrell, R Hall etc. too.
The elephant in the room of England's defeat to Tonga is what it says about the Super League and its talent pathways.
This is a weak link sport, so if you spent most of your time playing against teams with obvious weak links, you don't get better.
So while top end SL talent is good enough, it's not tested enough.
The best players England had were the ones with the most NRL exposure, not necessarily the best raw talent or skill.
Anyone who celebrates a great young player - Nsemba for example - re-signing with Wigan is choosing a poorer England.
Welsby was the best talent England had in a long time, and has regressed because he hasn't had to get better. What worked as a 19 year old will work in most games he plays.
This could also be Harry Smith, Brad O'Neill or Zach Eckersley - all are at a core level good enough but for whatever reasons haven't moved.
Consider Jojo Fifita and Lehi Hopoate. Talent wise they're not better than Welsby - but they've improved out of sight by repeated exposure to higher competition.
Unless Super League improves - and probably contracts to 10 teams to fit the lower end of the talent pool - or the best 30 English players are in the NRL, nowt changes with England.
Here's a graph of underlying performance from 14 Super League clubs in 2026. 7 good ones, 7 shit ones.
An elite English talent only has to be elite half the time. If a Tongan did that they'd be in reserve grade.
😂 #RLWC26
Thought Hugo Savala was impressive on debut. I think he’s first private schoolboy to play for @England_RL since Ewan Dowes of @TheBrownSSFC 20 years ago.
Any others at any time?
That’s a lot of Australians.
The BIGGEST Rugby League World Cup opener ever!
A monstrous 3.29 million people were reached by the Seven & 7plus coverage of Australia v New Zealand #RLWC26
Big win for @ITALIA_RLXIII in Euro D this afternoon in @RLNorge 😊🇮🇹👏🏽
If you always lose surely you have to do several things differently (not including a new coach, as that’s clearly not the problem as we’ve failed for 50 years).
Seems to me we’ve just done one: get in some good Anglo-Aussies. That’s clearly not enough. No camps, no warm ups… 🤷🏽♂️
🏴 England's World Cup campaign is off to a poor start, and the same old issues are clear to see once again after defeat to Tonga.. here's where they go next. loverugbyleague.com/post/eng…
Good to see @SteveMascord include @ITALIA_RLXIII legendary 2013 win. The game that England try to pretend never happened…
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For anyone wondering about an update list of England Heritage Numbers, below is the list of players awarded during the 2020s.
@Katzo60 @NoHelmetsReq
