Of all the things to adopt from soccer’s international game, use of the term ‘friendly’ for international matches falling outside specific tournaments is one everyone should rail against!!

Guardian Sport@sport.theguardian.com · 4w ago

‘No one can take it from me’: the rugby league players with one England cap

Thanks @collinstony.bsky.social for sharing this with me months ago. No longer behind a paywall, so sharing on here! Enjoy (especially @ancientandloyal.com I suspect!) www.nytimes.com/athletic/626...

How many games have Manchester United actually played? (Published 2025)

nytimes.com

One of my favourites in a good while. Love a good origin myth buster and no-one does it better than @collinstony.bsky.social

Tony Collins@collinstony.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Where did the term 'Derby Match' come from? And is the St Helens versus Wigan match the 'Original' Derby? This week's 'Rugby Reloaded' digs deep: on.soundcloud.com/mYcbBmim1oL2...

Wigan come out on top in the battle of the fascist voters. Not good news for Wire, who now face what looks like an insurmountable double hurdle of beating the quad holders AND overcoming their final pie-eating nemesis to win the cup. #alwaysouryear

Sub-2... Just mind-blowingly, staggeringly, utterly incredible. I don't think the enormity of this means that much to most folk, but Sabastian Sawe's performance today must surely be the peak of human sporting performance (so far!)

@ancientandloyal.com From The Golden Penny, 06 January 1900

Puts my complaints of the pain of filling up the car earlier into perspective when hearing that Artemis burns 5,500 litres of fuel a SECOND on launch 🤯

Repping the 96 kit today. Half they made them baggy back then: still fits 😊

They make it hard to love this game sometimes. I've been a big advocate of the Championship clubs getting a home tie against SL clubs. But what's the point when they just switch venues? Was looking forward to a day out in Sheffield and a new ground. Will find something better to do now instead.

"The only clue to what man can do is what man has done" 'Nuremberg': brilliant. Best film I've seen this year. Watch it!

Am I the only one finding the rage-baiting on Sinfield not becoming the 4th RL player to be knighted rather irksome?

A fog bound,sodden pitch looking like the battlefield of Towton 1461 ,a true Classic as witnessed by renegade #RugbyLeague correspondent #TheManInTheStand for #LeedsOtherPaper

First time uploading a video to YouTube & you have a binary selection to make on whether content is made for kids; intrigued as to whether I should say yay or nay, I read the guidance. Forgive me for being rather confused what to do given that my video falls into the chasm between the illustrations

Putting aside its American saviour narrative and factually inaccuracies, Band of Brothers is still an incredible watch, even third or fourth time around. ‘Why we Fight’ especially is a masterpiece, and Ron Livingstone’s performance exceptional. Feels more poignant relevant now than ever before 😢

AI is about to revolutionise our productivity &/or destroy humankind apparently Yet at a micro level my iPhone can’t play a podcast via BT in the car whilst I have another phone connected via AA Am I wrong to doubt the grandiose statements of nirvana/annihilation because of this daily experience?

So Championship fixtures announced and a 10 team play-off confirmed. But seemingly no-one knows how it will work?! Am I missing something?

This is the kind of stat I could spend a while digging into…

@miketyl.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Batley going for “most Neil’s in an RL team” award there?

Patience required at this stage. Need to wait for water parameters to settle, then first fish will go in - hopefully this weekend 🤞 But tank now all set-up and IMHO looking good 😊

1st of December delivers reminders of past Christmas memes on other social media platforms. "I never truly feel the Christmas spirit until I see the 'Tony Blair being held back from attacking you in the pub' card."

Wonder how much RLC has paid to 'partner' with eCal to allow fans to sync fixtures to their calendars for next year. Bearing in mind that this service is already available from @rlrecordkeepers.bsky.social and was available to them for free if they'd only bothered to respond to me 🤔

If you haven’t yet read “Roy Francis: Rugby’s Forgotten Black Leader” a certain major online retailer is offering the hardback for just £6.99 - it also makes a great Xmas gift (or so I’ve been told).

This. I don’t think the genie will ever go back in the bottle now, but as my reserves GF experience proved, the game is soooo much better without unnecessary off-field interventions. It’s also contributed to a major increase in ‘simulation’ and appeals as players stand there like Christ the Redeemer

Phil Lowthian@phillowthian.bsky.social · 8mo ago

For me it slows the game down. Games now routinely 20 minutes longer (ie slower) than say 20 years ago. Not a good thing in my opinion. Especially as controversial decisions have not been eradicated.

I saw the anniversary yesterday, and said to my youngest: “I was your age when that happened; she had been the Prime Minister since I’d been born”. She replied, quick as a flash “Jeez, I’ve had about 10” 😂

Parody Nigel Farage@parodypm.bsky.social · 9mo ago

On the anniversary of the day Margaret Thatcher resigned, let us take a moment to remember what a cruel, heartless piece of shit she was.

Feeling underwhelmed about RLWC26. A combination of remoteness of it, manufactured format giving primacy to money over competitive integrity & lack of hope for England. A WC is supposed to generate global interest; this one is a function of where the sport globally really is & won’t do that IMO

Despite a fragmented day, flying solo with the girls whilst the good lady is away, managed to make more solid progress. Not far of having the set-up finished now (another week I reckon)

Anyone have a better visual metaphor than this?: m.youtube.com/watch?v=vW9T...

Moment Keir Starmer trips while meeting business leaders ahead of G20 summit

YouTube video by The Independent

m.youtube.com

Why do clubs persist in peddling lies over their formation date? All a part of the post-truth landscape I suppose: Wigan 1872, St Helens 1873… I do wonder if Saints didn’t have theirs wrong, whether Wigan would feel the need to stick with their falsehood too?

Ancient & Loyal 🏉 Wigan R.L.@ancientandloyal.com · 9mo ago

For the sake of accuracy, Wigan Warriors do not celebrate their birthday today. They were founded in 1879 Thank you.

Actually, it’s just a great programme. Most clubs can’t be arsed with the hassle of producing one these days. But even if they did there’s no chance Stan Doffish’s article would sneak past the editor/ work experience kid compiling it, for fear of damaging ‘the brand’. And the game is poorer for that

Forty20LIVE@forty20live.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Today in 1987: Wigan beat Castleford 26-16 in the John Player Special Trophy. #RugbyLeague

That’s a great programme cover! Anyone wanna play name the trophies?!

Forty20LIVE@forty20live.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Today in 1987: Wigan beat Castleford 26-16 in the John Player Special Trophy. #RugbyLeague

“What Labour needs to do is to pick a position and argue for it in its entirety” Tbf, this can be applied to pretty much any area of policy, not just immigration.

John Burn-Murdoch@jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 9mo ago

Excellent column from @stephenkb.bsky.social on what @alanmanning4.bsky.social refers to as the “infernal circle” of immigration policy www.ft.com/content/1144...