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Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, says the Prem is benefiting from the proposed global franchise league R360’s delay.

The new league was scheduled to begin the following year, but it has been postponed until at least 2028.

Players participating in the event were told by the majority of global unions and the British and Irish Lions that they would not be eligible to play abroad.

R360 had hoped to hold its inaugural competition in October 2026, which would have eight men’s teams and four women’s teams, but the failure of the organizers to appoint a sanctioned team put pressure on the organization.

According to Baxter, “We want the best players playing in England and in the English clubs to keep our competition as strong as possible.”

“So I have to say that it’s good news for us as a Premiership club, who are playing in the Premiership,” in my opinion.

I believe that the majority of those who were actively involved in the sport were gaining the impression that it would be difficult for them to succeed.

R360 organizers had been contacting a number of well-known international players from around the world in hopes of paying them more money to break away from their domestic matches.

There were concerns that it might make negotiations for players with contracts expiring this year’s end more difficult for well-known clubs around the world.

England center Henry Slade will be the most well-known player on contract for the summer of 2019.

Baxter claims that the R360 delay could benefit his side in upcoming negotiations with the 32-year-old.

Henry seems very settled in this place, according to Baxter, who doesn’t believe any decisions are purely financial.

“Henry would have left anyway, which would have surprised me.” We’re still talking about this, but we’ll probably be finished in a few days.

Under the guidance of manager Sarina Wiegman, the Lionesses won their third major tournament title in a row in Switzerland in the summer.

They held a “homecoming series” in October, November, and December, playing four friendly matches against Brazil, Australia, China, and Ghana.

Isn’t it acceptable to have back-to-back European titles? Ellen White, a former England international, stated on the podcast hosted by 5 Live’s Women’s Football Weekly, “it’s been an incredible year.”

“It’s amazing what the team has accomplished, and how they continue to work hard to expose women’s football.”

Wiegman’s men won the first major football award on foreign soil and won the title with their triumph at Euro 2025.

After finishing third to them in the Nations League group stages in June, they defeated world champion Spain in the final.

England also won one penalty draw and lost four of the previous 12 victories in the Euros final.

In the most recent international window, West Ham defender Anouk Denton and goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse made their debuts this year under Wiegman.

Michelle Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones are just two of the forwards to have breakout years.

Beever-Jones said to BBC Sport, “I wouldn’t believe you if you told me this year that everything that happened would happen,” referring to how incredible a year it has been.

“Everything I’ve learned on the pitch has been true, but I’m still very young and still learning a lot about myself.”

It’s dealing with the pressures of that because I’ve been playing more for club and country. I’m very pleased with my growth.

The Asian champions’ China’s 8-0 thrashing on Saturday demonstrated England’s lack of ruthlessness, which it has sometimes shown this year.

The Lionesses are “building” their way forward in what has been referred to as a “new era” for them in the 2027 World Cup, according to Striker Alessia Russo.

She told ITV, “You can train a little more and try new things and try new relationships when you have friendlies and camps where you can have time.”

England’s next goal is straightforward: to make it to Brazil for the 2027 World Cup.

Along with Ukraine and Iceland, they were drawn in a qualifying group along with 2023 champions Spain, who defeated the Lionesses in the final.

upcoming matches for England:

Ukraine vs. England on March 3rd.

England vs. Iceland on March 7

14 April: England vs. Spain

Iceland and England vs. April 18th

5 June: Spain vs. England

England vs. Ukraine on June 9

The 2035 Women’s World Cup is scheduled to be ratified by a vote in a Fifa congress in 2026, with England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland still holding out.

Wiegman told BBC Sport during their run of games for the World Cup that he never takes anything for granted. I enjoy the group stage because we are familiar.

“We never get rid of each other; it’s Spain and ourselves; we play Spain once more.” It is a game of absolute top quality. However, I’m also eager to play nations that we haven’t played in the previous four years.

The main objective is to qualify for the World Cup, and we want to do really well. In the event that that happens first in the group, play-offs will follow.

England hopes that South America will be a departure with only eight international camps until the end of the year.

Wiegman will be encouraged by the rapid growth of a number of young players this year because it is not very long between her players’ jobs.

Russo has been in a competition with Beever-Jones, and Lucia Kendall, a midfielder for Aston Villa, won player of the match in both of her two starts in October and December.

Maya le Tissier, the captain of Manchester United, impressed at centre-back while Taylor Hinds did well for Arsenal against Australia and Ghana.

England are in good hands thanks to goalkeeper Hannah Hampton’s success at Euro 2025, which earned her the Yashin Trophy at the Ballon d’Or awards.

However, a number of players will be looking to recover from injuries from a grueling 2025.

Since the Euros, Chelsea’s Lauren James missed the previous England camp having only recently recovered from an ankle injury, and Manchester City’s Alex Greenwood is currently out with an injury.

After receiving her first England call-up in October, Katie Reid, a teenager at Arsenal, tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and will need to compete for a spot in the squad.

Agyemang made her Euro 2025 debut with a stunning goal in April, but she also suffered an ACL injury and will need to work up quickly to recover.

The Ashes can end their campaign.

By the time the second Test in Brisbane on Thursday rolls around, it will have been 12 days since England’s crushing defeat to Australia in Perth.

English retribution and reflection for twelve days. Twelve days of being followed by being called haughty around the aquarium and golf courses. Twelve days of contemplating whether or not to play for the England Lions in Canberra.

enough time to accommodate Christmas’s various holidays.

By the following five (or perhaps four, three, or even two days), Christmas will be shaped a lot. The distinction between an Ashes procession with all the appeal of dry turkey and a cracker during the holiday season.

What distinguishes England fans arriving in Australia with hope from those staying at home who won’t bother to turn on the TV or radio on a cold night.

For the entire Bazball project, this test might be the most crucial. Since the third Test of the 2023 Ashes, when England were 2-0 up and teetering on implosion, it is undoubtedly the most crucial.

Now is the time to be defined if coach Brendon McCullum thinks this Ashes series will mark this team’s pivotal moment.

If England loses this week, Australia haven’t lost three home Tests in 37 years. The challenge awaits them. Since the 1954-55 Ashes, Australia has not lost three games in a row.

39 years ago, Stuart Broad’s father Chris was a member of the team, and Sir Alex Ferguson was just two weeks into his time as Manchester United manager.

However, given that England has such poor overall performance in Australia, it seems pointless to focus on particular venues. The winning streak reached 16 games and almost 15 years with the defeat in Perth. The England assistant coach, Marcus Trescothick, has won more Test matches than the entire squad combined.

England must get past a pink ball that resembles a UFO while also balancing the tide of history. In Twilight, Mitchell Starc from Australia performs better than Robert Pattinson.

None of this appears to be heavy on English people’s shoulders. The tourists appear content and at ease in the typical Bazball manner. More training days than the Test could last, which is the only unusual feature of their Brisbane build-up.

Its tranquility is comforting. England adheres to their strategy, whether right or wrong. England has a haymaker and kept their plans intact if everyone has a plan until they are punched in the face. At best, self-assured. Worst case scenario, naive.

The attitude of England seems to elicit so much resentment from their critics as well as attention from the local media.

Ben Stokes, the captain of his team, was correct when he claimed on Tuesday that they had done nothing wrong, aside from not using helmets on their e-scooters.

It is absurd and unreal to request that tourists stay locked in their rooms while playing cricket or to be chained to the nets. The reporting of England’s activities in Australia, not the least of which were hampered by oppressive Covid restrictions, has been incomplete.

Stokes was correct to say that his team could be called “rubbish” but not “arrogant.” Although former Australia pace bowler Mitchell Johnson made the point that England have an arrogance, they were rubbish in Perth.

Unfortunately, reality feeds perception, which is unfortunate for England. They can only do so by winning, which is the only way to change the narrative that surrounds them.

They must do that in a way that is more adaptable to the Gabba than in Perth, especially in the context of the day-night environment.

The Test will be floodlit more often than not because the lights are on at 17:30 local time each day. Instead of slamming into sixth, putting their foot down, and hoping for the best, England must be able to recognize when to change up and down the gears.

Stokes is exerting pressure on himself to be a better leader in light of the noise surrounding England, but that does not diminish his role as a player.

He will once more put on more physical strain while playing the fourth seamer in Brisbane.

Stokes must also find a way to defy Starc, the Test match leader who had let him go first. Stokes and Jamie Smith could change places at six and seven, but that is a valid argument. Stokes might be better suited to marshalling the lower order, while Smith is probably a better batter.

Root, who will be haunted by his lack of a century in Australia until he finally receives one, needs assistance from Stokes’ senior players. Not least of them is

No specialist batter has allowed a ton in this 29 innings of relief work.

Zak Crawley and Archer must show they have the same level of skill as any other Australia pace bowler because Archer has lost more matches than he has won in his previous 14 Tests.

What about Brook’s career high of 56, with a 38 average against Australia? Will Jacks might use his unanticipated recall to create a new Moeen Ali. Perhaps this is the time for Smith, Atkinson, and Brydon Carse to mature as Ashes performers.

Right now, e-scooters are the main focus of England’s influence on Brisbane. Local police were advising the public to wear helmets and follow speed-carrying pedestrians crossing Kangaroo Bridge on Wednesday morning.

Stokes’ men will want their legacy to be a storming of the Gabba, challenging pink-ball experts Australia for a historic and Ashes-levelling victory come next week.

Only an victorie can alter this England team’s perception.

Only a win can secure a peaceful stay in Noosa following the Test and uphold the Canberra decision.

Only a victory will prevent futures questions and prevents supporters from turning against them.