State of Origin coaches back Australian NRL takeover of England’s Super League

State of Origin coaches Billy Slater and Laurie Daley have backed the NRL’s pursuit of a stake in the Super League, arguing a strong northern hemisphere game is key to the future of rugby league.The NRL’s chief executive, Andrew Abdo, was in England last week exploring the investment opportunity that would involve governance reform in the UK and a potential shift back to a winter season to allow broadcasters to screen elite rugby league year-round.Slater, who coached the Maroons to an Origin series win in 2025, said the sport needed to improve its pathways across the globe to ensure standards remain high.“There’s definitely something over there in the English Super League, and I think [the NRL] can make that work,” he said.While Abdo has said opportunities with the Super League could help grow the value of the NRL’s next broadcast deal, Slater believed the main benefit was to help improve playing standards in Europe and in the NRL, which is expected to grow to 20 teams in coming years

Castleford’s shock win over Wigan shows NRL that Super League still has a lot to offer

The talks have started and the jockeying for position in the boardrooms has begun. In the coming weeks, we will find just how strong an offer Australia’s National Rugby League is prepared to make to invest in Super League and potentially transform the fortunes of the competition.There is a school of thought, perhaps perpetuated more by those in Australia than in Europe, that Super League is flailing and in desperate need of help. In terms of the financials there may be some merit in that, with wealthy club owners losing tens of millions between them each year. As business models go, it is hardly sustainable

England Women are dominating rugby in a way few have done in any sport | Sarah Rendell

Is this England side the most dominant sporting team to have existed? That is the question many are now asking after watching the Red Roses demolish Scotland 84-7 in the Women’s Six Nations, despite having a thoroughly depleted squad, to extend their winning run to 35 games across all competitions.There will be some who will argue the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s, who won six NBA titles in the decade, or Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who won four Premier League titles in a row, or the New York Yankees with their run of trophies in the late 1990s take the mantle. But it is difficult to disagree with John Mitchell who said pre-tournament the team are building a dynasty after already building a legacy with their World Cup win last year.The era in which this title would be bestowed is the four years that have followed the 2022 World Cup final, the last game the team lost. England were dominant before that but not becoming world champions stalled their chance to claim greatest of all-time status

‘This feeling sucks’: $381m Mets, with second-highest payroll in MLB, lose 11th game in a row

The New York Mets are finding that money doesn’t necessarily bring happiness. The second-most expensive team in MLB – with a payroll of $381m – lost their 11th game in a row on Sunday as they were swept for a third straight series, this time by the Chicago Cubs.“Eleven losses, that’s a lot, whether it’s in April or at any point in the season,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. “Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. We’ve got to find a way

James Rew shines with the bat as Somerset set up Hampshire chase – as it happened

End of Day Three Round Up:James Rew held firm for Somerset once more to see his stock rise further and keep his side in the hunt for a final day victory on the south coast. After his first innings 86 the cherubic faced stroke maker was undefeated on 58 at the close of an intriguing day in Southampton. Lewis Gregory bustled his way to a five wicket haul earlier in the piece as Nick Gubbins top scored with 83 in the home side’s second innings effort of 336.Hampshire’s Sonny Baker then had his dander well and truly up and the opposition in trouble by pocketing the Cidermen’s top three of Archie Vaughan, Tom Lammonby and Joshua Thomas, albeit the first two were guilty of being careless on the pull. Rew and Tom Abell then steadied the applecart to leave Somerset needing 148 more to pull off the win

Noah Caluori repeats five-try display as Saracens demolish sorry Sale 85-19

There was a time when Sale were largely unbeatable at home, their uninviting base on the outskirts of Salford inhospitable to visitors and a fortress to Alex Sanderson’s players. Not any longer.Not for the first time this season, Sale were reduced to Mancunian rubble in front of their own supporters as they slipped to a record Prem defeat while Saracens romped to a record victory in the competition. Sanderson is a passionate, engaging rugby man but scrutiny will now increase on a tenure stretching over five years in which Sale’s ambitious owners have spent big without reward.Noah Caluori, Saracens’ supremely talented 19-year-old wing, scored five tries against Sale on his first Prem start last October