England captain Jamie Peacock has called for rugby leagues Ashes to be put on the line when his men take on Australia during this years Four Nations tournament.
Excited by the hype surrounding the current cricket series, the Leeds star said over the weekend it would be a big bonus for league if its version was on the line at Wigan on October 31, a one off game to decide a title Australia has held for 36 years.
“The cricket Ashes this summer has been massive and really captured the imagination of everyone around the country,” Peacock said.
“It’s been a real talking point and the excitement at Headingley a few weeks ago when England met Australia was like something I’ve never experienced before, despite the result.
“I really miss playing Australia in a Test series like we used to and I’d be all in favour of bringing it back.
“Looking at the international calendar for the next few years though, there doesn’t seem much room for a three match Test series.
“For now I think the starting point should be a one off Ashes game each year between England and Australia starting this October with the Four Nations. It would be brilliant to be the first captain from these shores to pick up that trophy since 1970.”
The call was supported by former Great Britain hooker Mike Stephenson, who said: “To take both sets of Ashes off the Aussies all in the space of three months would be sensational and leave those Down Under on a real downer. I know the cricket Ashes aren’t won yet, but fingers crossed we’re nearly there!”
The Rugby League International Federation has no three-Test series between leading countries planned before the next World Cup in 2013, with Four Nations tournaments seen as being more lucrative.
oikee
Guest
Tom, they have the 4 nations next year here in Australia which will include a team from who-ever wins the Pacific cup. The year after that back in England the team who wins the Europeon Cup will be entered at the expence of France. So France still has a lot of work to do to improve their game. I think maybe the next expansion for the NRL should include Wellington so we can improve the NZers even further. And maybe the Bears. Then around the 2018 mark, we should be thinking Perth, and PNG. At least give them a date so they can be ready.
True Tah
Guest
Before State of Origin, when the Poms were a bit more competitive in rugby league (going back to 1970), playing against Great Britain was the pinnacle of rugby league, so this is hardly a brand new idea. Its just that the international scene was not a focus of rugby league for quite a while. The Aussies developed SOO and it helped them get so far ahead of the opposition, who failed to develop anything similar. Credit to the Poms for developing a great competition and one that is improving, but too many other countries rely on Australia to develop players. Many NZers owe a lot of their development to Australian NRL clubs.
Tom Alexander.
Guest
Another one of these crazy post super-league war decisions that left a lot of people scratching their heads. All the other concepts have been hit and miss (tri-nations now to be 4-nations) and therefore, maybe it's tme to bring back the 3 test specific series not just against the Brits but also against the Kiwis, with maybe one of tests against the minnows (PNG, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa etc) in between to help them in their further development. Worth a thought.