Rugby Reloaded

What's the point of rugby league's salary cap? Rugby was was the original salary cap sport when it banned payments to players in 1886, which led directly to rugby's great split in 1895. Super League introduced the game's first salary cap in 1998 wth the aim of equalising competition and protecting clubs from themselves. But has it achieved its goals? The new 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to former St Helens' CEO Sean McGuire about the history of wage control in the game and future of the salary cap. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony

In the wake of the BBC's excellent 'Once Were Lions' documentary, we look back on the 1986 Kangaroo tour of Britain with Mark Flanagan, author of 'The Invincibles: The Inside Story of the 1982 Kangaroos, the Team That Changed Rugby Forever'. Was the 1986 side the greatest touring team of all time? What did their success tell us about the state of British rugby league, or the future direction that rugby league would take? Two parts historical analysis, one part nostalgia, this episode of 'Rugby Reloaded' looks back at the origins of the modern era of rugby league. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony

It's the England versus Wales rugby union showdown on Saturday, the latest instalment in a rivalry that stretches across nation, class and playing styles. To discuss the roots and the history of a contest that dates back to 1881, this week's guest is Huw Richards, rugby historian, journalist and author of 'The Red & The White: A History of England vs Wales Rugby'. Huw examines the myths, legends and realities of rugby's most complicated rivalry. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony

In the second part of our wide-ranging interview with Mark Evans, the former Harlequins and Melbourne Storm CEO who is now head of Global Rapid Rugby, we talk about at the state of the two codes in the northern hemisphere and look at the prospects of South Africa joining the Six Nations, the difficulties of private ownership in rugby clubs, and the way forward for rugby league in Britain. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony

This week's episode is the first of a wide-ranging two-part interview with Mark Evans, the former Harlequins and Melbourne Storm CEO who is now head of Global Rapid Rugby, the Asia-Pacific rugby union competition. This week we look at the state of the rugby codes in the southern hemisphere, starting with the emergence of rapid rugby, then examining the consequences of the end of Super Rugby, before looking at how the NRL has come out of the pandemic better than its rivals. Along the way, we look at how the historical cultures of the different codes have shaped their decision-making today - and why we can't unwind 1895. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony

Gus Risman was one of the greatest of Cardiff’s rugby codebreakers. The son of immigrants who grew up in Tiger Bay, he played top-class rugby league for more than a quarter of a century, was a Championship and Challenge Cup winner with two clubs, and captained the 1946 Lions. Not only that, but he also captained the Wales in war-time rugby union internationals while a rugby league player. This week’s ‘Rugby Reloaded’ looks at his career and argues that he was not just one of the greatest rugby players of all time, but one of the greatest footballers in any code. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony

You often hear talk about the 'Corinthian Spirit' in sport. But who were the Corinthians? And why has the club's name passed into the folklore of almost all the football codes? This week's 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to Professor Dil Porter about his book 'English Gentlemen and World Soccer: Corinthians, Amateurism and the Global Game' (co-written with Dr Chris Bolsmann) which looks at the history of Corinthian FC and examines the myths which surround the club. Could they really defeat professional soccer clubs very easily? Did they always refuse to take penalty kicks because they considered it 'ungentlemanly'? Dil digs deep into Corinthian history to separate fact from fiction. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony

This week's episode talks to award-winning journalist Carolyn Hitt about the BBC's 'Rugby Codebreakers' documentary on the Welsh rugby players, many of whom were black, who left Wales to play rugby league. We talk about the personal journey she went on as the presenter of the programme, the history of Welsh players 'going North', the differing responses of league and union fans, racism in rugby, and how things have changed over the past thirty years. To discover more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony

135. Brian Carney on rugby league & Gaelic football by Tony Collins

This week’s ‘Rugby Reloaded’ talks to Helena Byrne, web archive curator at the British Library’s Web Archive Unit, about sports history web archiving and her work with the Mapping Irish Women’s Football Project, which charts the history of women’s involvement in all football codes in Ireland. Helena also talks about her fascinating research into the unique story of women’s indoor football in Ireland in the 1960s. For more on the history of the football codes take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony

On Friday the Super League clubs deferred a decision whether Toronto Wolfpack could take part in the 2021 competition. But what can be learnt from British rugby league's attempts to expand beyond northern England since the 1900s? Is it doomed to failure or are the lessons going unheeded... and why might Canada offer an answer? For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

Rugby's relationship with television is starting change. As the Rugby Football League annouces that it is putting its TV rights out to tender, this week's 'Rugby Reloaded' looks at the game's historic relationship with the BBC. Over-dependency on TV money, concerns about the style of presentation and a constant comparison with other codes - just as in 2020, these were the same problems that faced the sport in 1970... For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

On 14 September 1980 Fulham rugby league club ran out for its first match at Craven Cottage and the professional game returned to London. But the history of London rugby league stretches back to 1908 and Fulham were the latest attempt to establish a pro club in the capital. So what does the past forty years tell us about rugby league expansion in London? The new 'Rugby Reloaded' explores the struggle to keep the league flame burning in London and the lessons for future expansion. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

The new Premier League season starts this week so, as Leeds Utd once again take their place in the top flight, the new 'Rugby Reloaded' looks at the secret history of the origins of professional soccer in Leeds. It's a tale of intrigue, double-dealing and concealed conflicts of interest of businessmen and journalists that led to the death of a rugby league club and the birth of commercial soccer. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

Last week marked the 25th anniversary of rugby union abandoning amateurism and legalising professionalism. To mark the occasion, we chat with former Wallaby prop and CEO of Gainline Analytics, Ben Darwin. Ben played before and after 1995 and experienced rugby as an amateur and a professional, so he brings his personal insights as well as a deep knowledge of both rugby codes to our discussion about the reality of amateurism, the problems of professionalism, and the real differences between union and league. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

This week's special edition marks the 125th anniversary of the founding of rugby league, with guest presenter Dr Kevin Moore interviewing me about my new book 'Rugby League: A People's History' which is published this week by scratchingshedpublishing.com. We talk about the origins of the sport, the strengths and weaknesses of its culture, and its prospects in the 21st Century. In 13 questions, we dissect rugby league's past, present and future. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

Less than a year after the end of World War 2 rugby league’s Lions toured Australia and New Zealand - a tour made possible thanks to an aircraft carrier, a military train & the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations. This week's ‘Rugby Reloaded’ tells the story of the incredible 1946 ‘Indomitables’, the tour that relaunched international rugby league. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

9 August would have been the closing ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but... The new 'Rugby Reloaded' takes a look at rugby union's early Olympic history, starting with the 1900 tournament where the British team did not bother to turn up for a match and ending with the 1924 final that ended in violence. In between, club teams took part, Cornwall contested a final, and the USA won two gold medals. This was a very different Olympic tradition to the commercial juggernaut of today's Games. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

Whenever there's a debate between Australian union and league fans, someone will very quickly raise the question of World War One. League, so the argument goes, only became the dominant rugby code in Australia because union stopped playing during the war. The implication is that rugby league took advantage of the war to get the upper-hand over union. But nothing in this debate is quite as it seems, so this week's episode looks at how the war-time league/union divide refelcted much deeper divisions in Australian society. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

Roy Francis was the first black athlete to play for Great Britain in 1947. He was one of Wales' great rugby league players. Even more significantly, he was the godfather of modern coaching, taking Hull to the Championship in 1956. It's high time his achievements were recognised, so this week's episode looks at the campaign to rename the Grand Final Player of the Match award as the 'Roy Francis Trophy', and tells the contrasting stories of Roy Francis and Harry Sunderland, after whom the trophy is currently named. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.