South Africa RL : 2023/24 Season

Rugby League has been in the RSA since the 1950's but for reasons I won't go into here, things haven't worked out. It's been a history of false dawns. Will it ever be different? For a sport that generates all its income from television deals for just two professional leagues, the international game and expansion is overlooked. 

As best I can ascertain, there are two divisions, the first the Rhino Cup and the second the Prote Cup. There is also the Jans Prinsloo Competition which is a regional affair. I will see if all this can be confirmed.

As for the 2024 season, it is as below. It seems they get four points for a win and also bonus points but I don't know how they are earned. First up the league table final results from the official website which can be found by clicking here:

This led into a semi final and final scenario to the right. The Grizzlies narrowly took the title after coming second in the league. 

The regional competition was as follows:

Australia Women's Interstate Challenge : 1999 - 2017

The Women's State of Origin series has been held since 2018. It was a one game series until 2023 when it increased to two and 2024 three matches. Prior to the SOO, there was the Women's Interstate Challenge which started in 1999. Dan suggested I look into that and I've now done that. 

It didn't get as much publicity as the more modern SOO and records of the matches played are not always available. Queensland won every series from 1999 to 2014 which was quite a record. A draw in 2015 led to two New South Wales victories. In fact. they made it four in a row when we take into account the new SOO series. Now Queensland has won four of the last five series held. 

Below are the results. Apart from the win record, there are no scores out there in Internet World that I could find from 2000 to 2004. If anyone can help with that, I'll update the list accordingly. It's a shame that relatively recent matches have become seemingly forgotten. I'm sure there must be a proud Queenslander out there with some or all the info to complete the list. 

PS. Thanks Dan for the 2005 scores. 

The 2014 Interstate Challenge highlights are below. 

You can also catch a video of the 1999 opening game at this site plus text : Simply click here.

NRLW History 2017-23

The women's NRL competition has only been around for seven years and starts the eighth edition now. For the first three years, there were just four clubs. With Covid, the NZ side exited and has not played since but will return for the 2025 season. 

It became six for the next two years and ten in 2023 and 2024. 2025 becomes twelve with the NZ Warriors returning and a new team, the Canterbury Bulldogs. 

By awarding the top four finishers each year, we can see the successful clubs. Of course, there were only four teams in the first three editions held so they are all recognised. Now with ten sides, it's harder to be noticed. 

The clubs yet to register points are the Canberra Raiders, Cronulla Sharks, North Queensland Cowboys and the Wests Tigers. They have all played just one season so far. 

Both NSW and Queensland run state competitions below the national one shown here. 

State of Origin Series History : 1980-2024

Most Rugby league fans in Australia put the State of Origin Series above international matches. No clubs complain about the disruption the series causes when some of them lose many players and the team's form slumps. Not a whisper. Mention an international game or series and complaints about pre-season training being affected has clubs complaining. 

The competition started back in 1980, when it was decided that where a player hailed from should determine which state he represented rather than where he played. The first two series were one match affairs, both surprisingly won by the Queensland side. In fact, they went on the take the first five series!

After that, it became more even except between 2006 to 2013 inclusive. Two drawn series were given to Queensland as the incumbent holder of the trophy. I haven't done it that way. To me, those two were shared. So statistically, can we break it down to get a better picture? 

Series: Qld 26 (58%) NSW 17 (38%) Drawn 2 (4%).

Wins: Qld 70 (53%) NSW 59 (45%) Drawn 2 (2%).

Points: Qld 2,174 (50.4%) NSW 2,138 (49.6%). 

The fact that the points scored are about even shows that Queensland has been better at converting tight games into victories.  

There were also two Super League SOO games and one exhibition game played in the USA. These are not included in the data above but are listed at the bottom of the sheet as an addendum. 

State of Origin : 2024

It's not quite as popular as it once was but it still ranks high on the RL calendar. Queensland went into this tournament with a 26-16 lead in the series and a 69-57 advantage in wins with two draws. Points scored are about even at 2,114-2,076. There is an article on the history up until 2021 which can be seen by clicking here. Now onto the 2024 edition.

Game 1: New South Wales 10-38 Queensland. 

Home town advantage didn't help NSW, the Blues going down in a heavy defeat. It didn't help to have a player sent off in the 7th minute. Queensland took full advantage to lead 20-0 at half time. The second period was only 18-10 to the Maroons but the result was never in doubt. 

Highlights link: Click here.

Game 2: New South Wales 38-18 Queensland. Held in neutral Melbourne, 90,000 live fans witnessed NSW cruise to a 34-0 half time lead. The game got niggly and Queensland came back to win the second half 18-4. Not much comfort in that but the Blues may reflect on losing some focus. 

Highlights link: Click here.

Game 3: Queensland 4-14 New South Wales. Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane offered the Maroons home ground advantage but a 2-0 half time lead was surely less than they hoped. As it transpired, it wasn’t enough for what turned out to be a rousing victory for the Blues. Two moments were needed to seal the win which resulted in two tries.

Highlights link: Click here.

Summary: Queensland still has the lead historically but lost a chance to extend that in this series. Decisively winning the first match in NSW 38-10 laid a platform for cementing another series win. Instead, they got walloped in Melboune and while showing defensive resolve at home in Brisbane barely fired an attacking shot all game. 

Men's Mid Season International: France v England

A one off test for the men was held in France at Toulouse, where a women's equivalent was held as well as a Toulouse club side match. Having a triple header at one ground was I assume cost effective but the 4,500 in attendance wasn't huge. That was as good as the city was likely to attract but maybe having the two tests somewhere further east would have created a larger crowd and the Toulouse club fans would still go to their match anyway. 

Spoiler alert. If you want to watch the game without knowing the score, click on the video below to watch it here at this site (the [ ] makes it full size), or on YouTube by using their logo. Click on the arrow and make your choice.

As for the match, France jumped to an early 8-0 lead but that was never expected to last and so it transpired. England got back to lead 18-8 at the break and went on to win 40-8. 

It's a shame France is at a point where while they challenge England, the result is expected. Jeopardy is why people go to a stadium to watch a test match. They will never be that well supported if the outcome is too predictable. Hopefully, some in the Toulouse area enjoyed their first test match experience.