SOO Women: 2026

The 2026 State of Origin series went to NSW 3-0. The scores were low but NSW had the edge and were clearly the better team this year. Historically that hasn't been the case. If you click here, you will see that before it was called SOO, Queensland were very much the better state. 

Then in 2018, it became the SOO series and has been much more closely contested. It has also expanded to become a three match seres since 2024. As the SOO, NSW now has a 5 to 4 advantage or a 56% win rate. NSW also now has a 63% game win rate. 

Is NSW going to enter a period of superiority? It would be foolish to assume so, but for now they clearly are the stronger state. The highlights of game three can be seen on the video.

France Elite 2: 2025-26

The regular season of the second division in France has concluded. The nine competing sides go into the six team knock out competition. Green shows the top six. 

The League: The top sides changed places at the top, Villegailhenc Aragon (VARL) this time the winners. Two sides that missed out on the finals last year, made it through in 2025-26. Of course, that means two that did last year failed this time around. 

Photo: VARL Facebook (some of their fans celebrating).

The Finals: The top two teams had a bye and then took on the winners of the first knock out round, Pamiers and Realmont. They progressed comfortably, VARL by 56-6 and Palau 40-12.

This was VARL's third consecutive grand final, having lost both. Palua was in its second consecutive final, defeating YARL last year by 20-17. It was third time lucky for VARL, winning 30-18 after leading 12-6 at the break.   

Women's UK Championship: 2026

The 2026 Women’s National Championship will feature 12 teams competing across 11 rounds. The clubs are in the north of England, except obviously for London and Cardiff. Cardiff in particular impresses me. There are no men's teams currently doing what they are in representing the south of Wales in the code. 

The top four teams will progress into the play-offs. That means entering the semi finals, the winners progressing to the division final. The winner will then progress to a promotion play off final. They will take on the lowest club from Super League to try and earn a place in the Betfred Women’s Super League. So there is a promotion to be aspiring to.