International Rugby League announces Ashes tours to resume in 2025
Ashes tours between Australia and England will resume in 2025 as part of an extensive new calendar of events up until 2030 announced by the International Rugby League (IRL) meeting in Singapore.
New Tri-Nations and Four-Nations tournaments which have been scheduled for the Northern and Southern Hemisphere signal the beginning of a new and exciting era for the game.
Men’s and Women’s Ashes Tours will be staged against England in Australia in 2025 while New Zealand and Australia will tour England in 2027 and 2028 respectively.
World Cups will be played every two years.
A stand-alone Women’s World Cup will be staged in 2028, with the next Men’s World Cup, after RLWC2026, to be held in 2030.
Regional Championships and World Cup qualifying tournaments for the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Middle East-Africa will take on greater emphasis, while a new World Series format is also being developed.
“It is no secret that the Achilles heel for international rugby league for far too long has been the absence of an International Calendar, IRL Chairman Tony Grant said in a statement released from Singapore.
“The ad hoc nature of tournaments and international matches, and the absence of any clarity for nations, players, and fans to plan their seasons, is over.
“The International Calendar respects player workloads and importantly also reduces the impact on professional clubs.
“The standards have improved dramatically in recent years regarding player welfare and player workload issues, and they were key considerations in the calendar design.
“After we secure the future of international rugby league, our calendar will help rejuvenate and allow the game to grow globally, recognising the elite in our game and providing pathways for the development of the game across all levels.
“I saw first-hand during RLWC2021 in England last year how much it means for players in each of our three disciplines to be able to represent their country of birth or heritage, put on that jersey, and play with such pride for their family and nations.
“The Ashes return, with England Men’s and Women’s teams to tour Australia in 2025, while international tours are back, with Tonga heading to England in 2023 in an historic start to the new era.
“We have had some well-known legacy issues and world-impacting events that have disrupted and destabilised our best efforts but it’s onwards and upwards from here.
“I want to sincerely thank the Chairs of the Australian Rugby League Commission, England’s Rugby Football League, the Asia-Pacific, and European confederations, and the New Zealand Rugby League for their contributions and coming together for the good of the game to make our calendar a reality.”
ARL representative Peter V’Landy’s praised the IRL’s new calendar saying its focus had been on growing the international game, with a strong desire to the following in in the Pacific region in particular.
“That starts with having an International Calendar for at least the next five years,” he said.
Among the key points to come out of the IRL meeting in Singapore were:
- The return of the Ashes, with England Men and Women to tour Australia in 2025.
- Kangaroo and Kiwi tours to resume.
- International tours for other nations are back on the agenda.
- Dedicated Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere Tri-Nations and Four Nations tournaments.
- Greater emphasis on Regional Championships and World Cup qualifying process, including a new World Series to help nations develop.
- Men’s and Women’s games to grow under the new International Calendar.
- Change to World Cups cycle, with the next World Cup for Men’s, Women’s, and Wheelchair teams to be staged in 2026.
- A World Cup every two years, with a stand-alone Women’s World Cup in 2028, followed by the Men’s World Cup in 2030.
- No World Cup 9s in the calendar as IRL focuses on developing 13-a-side and Wheelchair games.
