Rugby league’s knighthood is a long-overdue recognition of the sport
Billy Boston shows that excellence can come from Tiger Bay, Cardiff, as much as it can from the Home Counties.
ByRugby
Letter from Wigan
In the post-industrial north, a town searches for a sense of belonging.
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Rugby’s dangerous self-delusion
As the Six Nations draws to a close, the sport looks increasingly in denial about its safety.
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Wigan’s underdog spirit
A northern takeover of Wembley, a D-Day tribute, and the greatest try ever.
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Wayne Barnes: How I deal with the death threats
As a top-flight rugby referee, the English lawyer has faced some of the worst abuse imaginable. Now he is lobbying…
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From the NS archive: Talking about rugby
28 February 1959: Many British intellectuals still look down on the sport.
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If the government is committed to our towns, it will save rugby league
With fixtures cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis, the identity, aspirations and social cohesion of the famous towns which play…
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The split between Rugby League and Rugby Union is the story of national class division
The Webb Ellis myth aimed to cement the claim of union’s leaders that rugby belonged to the public school men.
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120 years on, and rugby league is still patronised as “parochial”
Even as Leeds and Hull Kingston Rovers do battle in the 2015 Challenge Cup final, the century-old conflict between rugby…
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