| The Ashes | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby league football |
| Inaugural season | 1908–09 |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| Countries |  Australia United Kingdom |
| Holders | Australia (2003) |
| Most titles | Australia (20 titles) |
The Ashes series, like the cricket series of the same name, was a best-of-three series of test matches between the British and Australian national rugby league football teams.[1][2] It was contested 39 times from 1908 till 2003 largely with hosting rights alternating between the two countries.
Contents |
History [link]
Several sports and events adopted cricket's Ashes "concept" and by the beginning of the 20th century it was an "accepted principle" that a series had to have at least three matches to be a true test of which side was the best.[2]
On 27 September 1908, the first touring Australian rugby league side arrived in England, and played their first ever Test against the Great Britain side in December in London. Two further Tests were played. The Australians suggested that the series should be called "The Ashes" and the name stuck.
The format used is that three matches are played, with the winning team being decided on the basis of most matches won. If one team has already won two matches the series is already won, however the final game is usually still played. In the 1929-30 Ashes series both the teams won one game and one game was drawn; it was therefore decided to hold a further match to determine the outcome.
The British side has not always been termed Great Britain; in the past the titles "Northern Union XIII", "England" and "The Lions" have also been used. Similarly, the Australian sides had sometimes included New Zealand players so were styled "Australasia".
Since 1964 the Harry Sunderland Medal is awarded to the best Australian player in a home Ashes series. Since 1970, the series has been very one sided, Australia having won 13 consecutive ashes.
The Ashes had not been contested since 2003 when, 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.[3] 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.[4][5][6]
It is hoped amongst British Rugby League fans that Great Britain and Australia will contest the Ashes in Australia in 2012, but the Australian Rugby League are concerned about 'player burnout' with the 2013 World Cup being played for a year later.
Trophy [link]
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.[2] The Cup was found in October 1945.[2] During the period it was missing, the Lions 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.[7]
Results [link]
| Year | Home Team | Result | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908/9 | Northern Union (GB) | 2-0 | Australia |
| 1910 | Australia | 0-2 | Northern Union (GB) |
| 1911 | Great Britain | 0-2 | Australia |
| 1914 | Australia | 1-2 | Northern Union (GB) |
| 1920 | Australia | 2-1 | Northern Union (GB) |
| 1921-22 | Great Britain | 3-1 | Australia |
| 1924 | Australia | 1-2 | The Lions |
| 1928 | Australia | 1-2 | The Lions |
| 1929/30 | The Lions (GB) | 2-1(1 Tied) | Australia |
| 1932[8] | Australia | 1-2 | The Lions (GB) |
| 1933 | The Lions (GB) | 3-0 | Australia |
| 1936 | Australia | 1-2 | The Lions (GB) |
| 1937 | The Lions (GB) | 2-1 | Australia |
| 1946 | Australia | 0-2 | The Lions (GB) |
| 1948 | Great Britain | 3-0 | Australia |
| 1950 | Australia | 2-1 | Great Britain |
| 1952 | Great Britain | 2-1 | Australia |
| 1954 | Australia | 2-1 | Great Britain |
| 1956 | Great Britain | 2-1 | Australia |
| 1958 | Australia | 1-2 | Great Britain |
| 1959 | Great Britain | 2-1 | Australia |
| 1962 | Australia | 1-2 | Great Britain |
| 1963 | Great Britain | 1-2 | Australia |
| 1966 | Australia | 2-1 | Great Britain |
| 1967 | Great Britain | 1-2 | Australia |
| 1970 | Australia | 1-2 | Great Britain |
| 1973 | Great Britain | 1-2 | Australia |
| 1974 | Australia | 2-1 | Great Britain |
| 1978 | Great Britain | 1-2 | Australia |
| 1979 | Australia | 3-0 | Great Britain |
| 1982 | Great Britain | 0-3 | Australia |
| 1984 | Australia | 3-0 | Great Britain |
| 1986 | Great Britain | 0-3 | Australia |
| 1988 | Australia | 2-1 | Great Britain |
| 1990 | Great Britain | 1-2 | Australia |
| 1992 | Australia | 2-1 | Great Britain |
| 1994 | Great Britain | 1-2 | Australia |
| 2001 | Great Britain | 1-2 | Australia |
| 2003 | Great Britain | 0-3 | Australia |
Summary of Ashes series [link]
| Played | Won by Australia |
Won by Great Britain |
Drawn | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All series | 39 | 20 (51.3%) | 19 (48.7%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Series in Australia | 19 | 9 (47.4%) | 10 (52.6%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| Series in Great Britain | 20 | 11 (55.0%) | 9 (45.0%) | 0 (0.0%) |
| All Tests | 119 | 59 (49.6%) | 55 (46.2%) | 5 (4.2%) |
| Tests in Australia | 57 | 28 (49.1%) | 27 (47.4%) | 2 (3.5%) |
| Tests in Great Britain | 62 | 31 (50%) | 28 (45.2%) | 3 (4.8%) |
| Figures up to and including the 3rd Test of the 2003 series | ||||
See also [link]
References [link]
- ^ Hickey, Julia (2006). Understanding Rugby League. UK: Coachwise. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-905540-10-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=GU3ezfInjVwC&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sean Fagan (2009-09-15). "Rugby league's fight for The Ashes". rl1908.com. https://www.rl1908.com/blog/The-Ashes.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
- ^ https://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/03/2675304.htm?site=news
- ^ "Ashes brought back to life" skysports.com (4th September 2009)
- ^ Steve Mascord (2009-09-16). "Ashes set for 2010?". RugbyLeague.com. https://www.rugbyleague.com/rugby-league-news/234. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
- ^ "RFL scrap Ashes plan". RugbyLeague.com. 2009-09-15. https://www.rugbyleague.com/rugby-league-news/205. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
- ^ NMA (2008-02-22). "League of Legends: 100 years of Rugby League in Australia: Conservation slideshow". National Museum of Australia. https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/league_of_legends/preservation. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
- ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6DIQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6pEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7277,5352484
Further reading [link]
- Gate, Robert (1986). The struggle for the Ashes: the history of Anglo-Australian Rugby League test matches. R.E. Gate. ISBN 0-9511190-1-X, 9780951119013. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qMx1AAAACAAJ.
External links [link]
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https://wn.com/The_Ashes_(rugby_league)
Ashes (Kyla La Grange album)
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"Been Better" was released as the album's lead single on 10 July 2011 with "Courage" as its B-Side. "Heavy Stone" was released as the second single on 16 October 2011 with "Lambs" as its B-Side. "Vampire Smile" was released as the third single on 12 February 2012 with the non-album track "Cold Favours" as its B-Side. "Walk through Walls" was released as the fourth single on 20 July 2012 with her cover of "Love You Better" as its B-Side. "Been Better" was re-released on 11 November 2012 with "To Be Torn" and the non-album track "Erased" as its B-Sides. In addition to these singles, "I Could Be" was released as an iTunes Free Single of the Week in August 2012.
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Ashes (Embrace song)
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The songs "Maybe I Wish", "Flaming Red Hair", and a live version of "How Come" are featured on the B-sides compilation Dry Kids: B-Sides 1997-2005.
The song featured on the soundtrack of FIFA 06.
In the late summer of 2010, the track gained American notoriety through use in a commercial promoting the video game Madden NFL 11 that primarily aired on ESPN.
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The song was featured in the Veronica Mars episode "Normal Is the Watchword".
