BILLY ROBERTS is the author of 'The Ashes - Rugby League's Most Important Rivalry'.
In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare could have been speaking about the future of Rugby League:
Throughout life, there are those rare and critical moments that must be seized upon to achieve success.
Rugby League has that rare opportunity to take the road that leads to the uplands of success with the first Ashes series to be played between England and Australia in 22 years this October and November in England.
The Ashes is Rugby League's most important rivalry. Sadly, it has been forsaken in both hemispheres. The last time the two grand rivals of international Rugby League faced off was in 2017 in the Rugby League World Cup Final in Brisbane, when Australia won 6-0 in a game that was pulsating and intense right to the final siren.
The last Ashes series was in 2003, with Australia winning the series 3-0. The last traditional Ashes tour was way back in 1994, when Mal Meninga led the Kangaroos across the United Kingdom and France, winning the series 2-1 after losing the opening game at Wembley that will forever be remembered for Welshman Jonathan Davies's dashing solo try.
Could you imagine Australia not playing England in Ashes Cricket or the All Blacks not playing the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup for eight years?
A lot has changed for both the Australian and British game since the World Cup Final in 2017, and even more so when we look further back to 2003 or to the iconic 1994 extended tour.
In 2025 the British game appears to be facing an existential crisis, having fallen way down the pecking order of British sports. Television revenue from Sky Sports dropped from £40 million in 2021 to £21.5 million in 2024 and Super League clubs now rely on wealthy club owners to sustain them.
Super League currently has no major household names with real star power known to the British public, compared to other major sports.
The Australian game was ripped apart with the Super League war in the mid 1990s and it has been a slow recovery, with governance issues, on and off-field scandals, media wars, country Rugby League's demise, financial issues, challenges from both the AFL and rugby union, and recently, COVID, with the NRL having few assets to fight off any extended absence of games and no television revenue. The NRL was left with no other option but to get the sport back up and running as soon as possible to survive under the leadership of its Chairman Peter V'Landys.
In 2025, the NRL is in far better shape than its British counterpart and has seen both excellent crowds and television ratings. New NRL clubs have been confirmed for both Perth and PNG, the game's finances have improved, the women's game continues to grow, and State of Origin continues to be the jewel in the crown.
Despite the NRL's huge popularity, there is growing concern around the influence of gambling, with integrity becoming a rising concern for many fans, and with rules such as the six-again seeing huge momentum swings in many games. The grassroots and community game also faces major challenges.
But finally, some common sense has been seen with the announcement of the first Ashes Series in 22 years, after endless strategic reviews. The best plan for the code is honouring the grandest tradition in the sport that goes back to 1908. The best against the best always sells, and this series is already capturing plenty of excitement and interest, honouring a long and proud history. Both Everton and Leeds sold out months in advance, and officials are hoping for a big turnout at Wembley.
All that is missing from this once again becoming a mega event on the Rugby League calendar is a successful team from England or Great Britain that can make the Aussies' blood boil.
England or Great Britain has not won an Ashes series in over 50 years. Great Britain's last victory against Australia was in 2006, when they defeated the Kangaroos 23-12 in Sydney. England's last victory is even further back: 1995, when they defeated Australia 20-16 in the opening game of the World Cup.
Only victory for England in an Ashes series can put the code back on the pages of national newspapers, create new household names, unite fans under one cause and one flag, sell out major stadiums, get millions watching on BBC, and create potentially unlimited opportunities in the future.
Despite Australia winning the last three World Cups and having unparalleled success, it has been the worst offender, for not supporting the international game, which includes postponing the 2021 Rugby League World Cup and stalling attempts by the British to revitalise the Ashes rivalry, despite investment in the Pacific Cup in recent years. Many players born in Australia or New Zealand are, in fact, now prefer to align themselves with a Pacific nation to honour their family bloodlines.
Despite the Kangaroos' incredible success, the national team has fallen behind the Wallabies, Matildas, Socceroos and the national cricket team in terms of profile and popularity, and many newer fans of the sport are unaware of the Kangaroos' history and legacy.
The NRL may be the premier Rugby League competition in the world, and State of Origin the jewel in the crown, but the missing layer for the Australian game is the international game and a revival of the most important rivalry in Rugby League, the Ashes.
Many fans forget that in 2003 after England won the World Cup against Australia, there was a strong belief that rugby union would overtake both the NRL and the AFL as the premier sporting code in Australia before it declined in the decade afterwards.
The sad thing is that Rugby League had its own Lions tours with Great Britain Lions. Who can ever forget their 33-10 victory on the 1992 tour in Melbourne? Between 1990 and 1994, the Kangaroos and Great Britain would meet ten times in both England and Australia, and fill major stadiums in both countries.
Australia goes into the upcoming Ashes series as huge favourites. Many players have already pulled out of the tour, such as Latrell Mitchell and Payne Haas, and some pundits would even question whether Kevin Walters is the best qualified man to coach Australia.
Star players such as Nathan Cleary, Cameron Munster, Harry Grant, Isaiah Yeo and Dylan Edwards are all expected to tour and experience their first Ashes series, and there is a belief from many that the slick backline plays and ball movement of the Kangaroos will cut the British to shreds.
The English may be heavy underdogs, but Jack Welsby, Harry Smith, Herbie Farnworth, Dom Young, Junior Nsemba and Mikey Lewis are all terrific players who will get their chance to face the Aussies, and get their shot at immortality.
I am expecting this to be a highly intense, eventful and spiteful series, where emotions could boil over.
It is even more fascinating when many players from both countries have never played against each other.
Fans from around the world are about to get a strong reminder as to why the Ashes is Rugby League's greatest rivalry. The upcoming series could create a whole new and exciting chapter in this grand rivalry.
Good luck to all players and may the best team win.