NRL CEO responds to suggested return of England vs Australia in Ashes Series by Mal Meninga

Recently, Australia boss and St Helens legend Mal Meninga has expressed interest in the return of the Ashes Series against England.

It is a series which hasn’t happened since 2003 though it was supposed to take place in 2020 prior to the pandemic.

Now, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo has had his say on but seemed to be more interested in the countries in and around Australia rather than an Ashes Series.

However, he did underline a want to ensure that the game is thriving in England and France.

“The commission is right behind international football. We’ve been working with the clubs and the players recently on how that can work,” Abdo told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“Creating a dedicated international window in October-November is critical to that – the right amount of content in the right markets.

“We want to foster what we see in the southern hemisphere a great opportunity to connect with communities across Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and PNG.

“Our focus is on how we foster rugby league in this part of the world. Obviously, we want to see rugby league thrive in the northern hemisphere, England and France and surrounding countries. A tour is a possibility and all of that is going around what the next five years looks like.”

Perhaps England and France should also look to also focus on games against teams nearby to help the development of rugby in the northern hemisphere.

It was suggested last week when the two sides met that the more they meet the closer France will come to being one of the big boys in international rugby and an annual meeting is something IMG have recommended.