| The Ashes | |
| Sport: | Rugby league |
| Next: | Upcoming Tournament: 2025 Ashes Series |
| Established: | 2023 |
The Ashes series, similar to the cricket series of the same name, is a best-of-three series of test matches between Australia and England women's national rugby league football teams.
The inaugural tournament will take place in 2025 alongside the men's tournament. The women's Ashes was founded in 2023 alongside the revival of the men's tournament. The original men's series between Australia and Great Britain was contested 39 times between 1908 and 2003. The Great Britain women's team toured Australia twice; in 1996 and 2002.
The original men's Ashes series was a best-of-three series of test matches between Australia and Great Britain national rugby league football teams.[1] [2] It had been contested 39 times from 1908 until 2003 largely with hosting rights alternating between the two countries.[3]
Towards the end of this period, two women's test series took place between Australia and Great Britain, however it is unclear if these were referred to as The Ashes at the time. Both of these took place in Australia, the first taking place during the 1996 Great Britain Women's Rugby League Tour of Australia which saw Great Britain take a 2–1 test series victory over Australia.[4] [5] A similar tour was repeated in 2002, this time seeing Australia take 2–1 victory.[6] In 2024, the 1996 Great Britain team were inducted in the Rugby Football League Hall of Fame.[7] [8]
On 3 August 2023, the announcement of the International Rugby League new 7-year international calendar and long-term strategy for growth of the international game saw the inclusion of the women's Ashes as a regular test series, with the inaugural edition to take place in 2025.[9] [10] Initially, all three test matches of the 2025 series were scheduled to take place in Australia alongside the men's games. However, with the Super League involvement in the NRL's Rugby League Las Vegas event,[11] [12] came the decision to stage the first of these tests matches in the United States as the third of four matches of the 2025 event.[13]