Daily Mirror columinst Jamie Peacock celebrates the fact three-match Test series with Australia are back on the new-look international calendar as part of plans through to 2030
It’s a really positive news story that we’ve got a World Cup in place for 2026, the Ashes are back again and we have an international calendar through to 2030.
It’s something for all players and fans of the game to look forward to. You want to see the best versus the best, country versus country, and we now have a dedicated schedule for that now which is outstanding. It’s the one thing we’ve been lacking in rugby league for a long, long time: a planned international calendar. If we stick to that plan – and there’s no reason we shouldn’t – the game will gain momentum and more people will watch it as it becomes a self-fulfilling cycle. It’s exciting news for the sport.
I know people who are already excited by the Ashes 2025 down in Australia and planning to go there before the Kangaroos come here in 2028. It’s great that England will have New Zealand touring in 2027 but we’ve not played Australia in the Ashes for 20 years. We improve internationally when we play regularly against Australia. We’ve not been able to do that. I think the gap has widened and it will be a challenge for us to get closer to them over the next two years before heading down there.
But regular games against Australia – and New Zealand – creates that. The Ashes is one of the oldest sporting rivalries in the world and we’ve just seen that with the cricket how that’s brought to life. The 2025 men’s World Cup has been reduced in number to ten nations but ten is good. You always imagined it’d be a smaller competition with the way France pulled out of hosting in 2025. I know 2026 is still a few years away but it’s still a bit last minute to run a World Cup so it’s the right decision to reduce it from 16 nations.