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Headingley was chosen as venue for the third Ashes Test specifically to give England an advantage should the series go to a decider, Britain’s Rugby League Commercial has admitted.
Coach Shaun Wane and Rugby League Commercial managing director Rhodri Jones on Wednesday held a virtual media conference for UK media to announce and discuss the first traditional Anglo-Australian series since 2003, with Tests at Wembley on October 25, Everton on November 1 and Headingley on November 8.
Squad sizes, refereeing appointments, attendance forecasts and the role of Warrington owner and famed rock promoter Simon Moran were among the topics discussed.
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An historic rivalry resumes!
Headingley is by far the smallest of the venues, even after its 2019 redevelopment, at 19,500. It has not hosted an Ashes Test since 1982.
“There’s a little bit of trying to help Shaun here … Headingley’s been successful over the past two series in terms of finishing off on a high,” Jones said, in reference to a 34-16 win over Samoa last year and a 26-4 success against Tonga in 2023.
“Leeds is well supported. It’s the best ground in Super League.
“There’s a bit of method in the madness. If we expect Headingley to go (sell out) first, it then pushes people towards Wembley, towards Everton.”
Wane seemed in no doubt the venue would be to his advantage.
“We played the Second Test against Samoa, Third Test against Tonga at Headingley. We were there last Saturday with the Wigan team. The atmosphere … is second to none. The pitch is great," he said.
"How they looked after my team for that second and third Tests was impeccable. The staff behind the scenes, the detail they go into - it’s fantastic. I 100 percent get it and I’m really happy that third Test is there.”
Meanwhile, Jones said each squad would be made up of 24 players and would be named after the Super League grand final on October 11. Selections from outside the squads would only be permitted in the event of series-ending injuries.
“Our assumption is that they will be three English referees,” he said. “However, we’ve not had that conversation with the ARLC, who I’m sure will want to promote one of their referees to come and control one of the Test matches as well.”
It was Moran, who promotes some of the biggest concerts in Britain each year, who called Peter V’landys late last season asking if the Ashes could be switched to the UK. But Jones said Moran would not be the “promoter” of the series in the sense that he was taking on financial risk as he does with his shows.
“Simon has been in the background with us helping us with venues," Jones said.
"Obviously he’s got very good connections and a link with Wembley with his Oasis and Coldplay activities this summer. We’ve used him and his team around ticket pricing. You will have seen that the window is open this morning around priority.
“We’ve taken some business advice, I guess, from Simon and his team. He’s helped us with ticket modelling. He wants this to be a massive success ... and is happy to have given up some of his team’s time and his team’s time.
"They’ll help us with how we market the games, in London in particular. Me being at Rugby League Commercial, it’s the first time that a club owner has come with [something like] that.
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Intent on winning: Meninga wants Kangaroos to make Ashes statement
"I guess I liken it to Wigan and Warrington going to Vegas. He’s an amazing person to spend time with, his brain just works differently.
“I feel sorry for his calculator, having watched him tapping into his calculator but yeah, he’s an expert in his field and why wouldn’t we tap into that to make this a success.”
Discussing attendances, Jones offered: “For us, the first target is to break that 50,000 barrier [at Wembley], which means the lower bowl and that middle tier is full.
“I think back in the 2013 World Cup there was just over 60,000 in the stadium (67,545) for that double header so that’s a natural target for us to overcome.
“Everton is a 50,000-seat stadium. Our ambition is to sell Everton out - absolutely 100 percent.
“And Headingley, we expect that to probably sell out the quickest with it being such a reduced capacity at 19,500.”
Club, provincial and other internationals were all mooted during the planning stages of the tour but Jones said: “We understand the framework, let’s call it, that the NRL players have to work to around the RLPA and the release and the number of games they can play. So, from our perspective it was only ever about a three match Test series.”
He said the gazetted Kangaroo Tour for 2028 would not be affected by this year’s series being switched to the Northern Hemisphere. “We were due to go to Australia this year. There’s a World Cup next year. New Zealand in '27, Australia back here in ’28.”
Wane ruled out any warm-up fixtures, saying: “I’m happy with the get-togethers off-feet. Hopefully with the blessing of the Super League clubs, owners, CEOs … we might get a couple of two-day camps with the players.
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We're in a good place: Wane confident his side can match Kangaroos
"They’re not being physically smashed up but there’ll be a lot of England methods drilled into the players - what we need to win this Test series.”
And the Ashes trophy, which dates back to 1928, was handed over in Las Vegas and currently resides at RFL headquarters in Manchester.
Wane declined to bite on Mal Meninga’s intention to “make a statement” ahead of the World Cup with Australia’s Ashes performances, saying: “I’ll be really keen on doing that myself.
“Every minute of every day I’m thinking about how we can improve and put Australia in a bad place at Wembley.”
