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Who are the contenders for 2026 Super League place?

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Jay Freeman

BBC Sport England
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The Super League season might be over and the Ashes series on its way, but there is still the matter of who will take top-flight spots in 2026 to be decided.

Earlier this year, Super League’s 12 current clubs voted to expand the competition to 14 teams from next season – the first time the league will have operated with that number since 2014.

Clubs will continue to be graded under media giant IMG and Rugby League Commercial’s “Reimagining Rugby League” initiative, with the top 12 clubs under that criteria named on Thursday (10:00 BST).

Meanwhile a further announcement will be made on two further successful teams on Friday (10:00 BST) based on the decision of a seven-person panel – chaired by Lord Caine.

The panel will judge applications against each club’s financial performance in 2025, as well as their financial performance and sustainability forecasts for 2026 to 2028 and their ability to “field a competitive team in 2026 and beyond”.

With financially-stricken Salford Red Devils unlikely to be able to retain their place in Super League next term, it would appear that three Championship sides will take to the top flight in 2026.

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York Knights

Championship League Leaders’ Shield winners York Knights certainly look like a club which could compete in Super League.

The club have gone from strength to strength in recent years and call the recently-built LNER Community Stadium home.

York have never played in Super League before and they were ranked 15th in last year’s IMG gradings, but are on an upward trajectory having finished top of the standings at the end of the regular 2025 Championship season.

The Knights have already made an eye-catching signing for 2026, when they announced in July that Warrington’s Paul Vaughan would join.

It is not only the men’s side of York’s operation which have performed well.

Toulouse Olympique

Toulouse Olympique celebrate winning the 2025 Championship Grand Final against York KnightsSWPix

Toulouse Olympique might have stunned York Knights in the Championship Grand Final earlier in October, but Sylvain Houles’ side have recent Super League pedigree.

Houles oversaw their promotion to the top flight in 2021 and their subsequent Super League campaign the following season.

They could not maintain their top-flight status, however, coming straight back down to the Championship for 2023 having finished bottom of Super League.

Toulouse are a well-funded and well-supported club which opens up the sport further to the French market in combination with Catalans Dragons, who have enjoyed much success in their 20 years playing in Super League.

Toulouse will want to show that they, too, can compete with the best Super League has to offer in addition to growing the sport outside of its heartlands.

Bradford Bulls

The 2025 campaign began with fabled Bradford Bulls head coach Brian Noble returning to the club, helping to guide them to third in the Championship before his exit.

Kurt Haggerty, who had been set to take over as Salford head coach in 2026, left the troubled Red Devils in order to guide the Bradford ship.

Needless to say, Bradford have had a tough time in the past 10 years with various financial issues, yet their Super League-era heritage alone is enough to put them in the frame for another crack at elite level rugby league.

Bradford are three-time World Club Challenge winners, four-time Super League winners and two-time Challenge Cup winners – all in the Super League era alone.

Former chairman Nigel Wood – who returned to the RFL this year – sold his shareholding in the club following his exit as he has chaired the body’s strategic review panel, which would free the club up from any conflict of interest.

Oldham

Salford’s likely departure from Super League opens the door for a team in the Greater Manchester catchment area.

Oldham, a club not a million miles away, have plenty of rugby league heritage, having won four league championships and the Challenge Cup on three occasions – albeit most of their successes came in the first half of the 20th century.

In 2025, however, Oldham look like a club which could tussle with the best of them.

Under the stewardship of head coach Sean Long, Oldham finished fourth in the Championship this term.

Widnes Vikings

Could Widnes Vikings be a potential sleeping giant that has been overlooked in this competition for places?

Three league championships and seven Challenge Cups in addition to playing in Super League only seven years ago – Widnes know what it is like to play in the top flight.

Not least the fact that at one point they were the greatest side in the world.

The past few years has seen them regroup in the Championship having suffered from financial issues, but the ambition at the club is there.

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Doncaster

Doncaster make their application to join Super League off the back of finishing their second season in the Championship.

Another club which have never played in Super League, Doncaster do have players in their ranks who know what it takes to play in the top flight.

Pauli Pauli, Bureta Faraimo and Andre Savelio are some of the names who have turned out for Doncaster to have played top-level rugby league.

London Broncos

London Broncos may have finished a lowly 10th in the Championship on their return to the second tier after playing in Super League last season.

But there is plenty to be intrigued by as the club make their case for a return to the top flight.

Not least their incoming Australian investment – with a proposed new ownership group comprising Australia legend Darren Lockyer, former Leeds Rhinos chief executive officer Gary Hetherington and businessman Grant Wechsel.

Related topics

  • London Broncos
  • Rugby League
  • Toulouse Olympique

New Lancôme beauty gift set gets you three best sellers for the price of one this Christmas

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The new LookFantastic X Lancôme gift set makes the perfect gift for Christmas, and it’s now got £40 off, meaning you can pick up three best-selling products for the price of one

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There’s no greater gift for beauty lovers at Christmas than a great gift set packed with popular products, and the new LookFantastic X Lancôme Beauty Favourites is a top choice. The beauty gift set contains three of Lancôme’s top-selling skincare and makeup items, and for a limited time it’s slashed to such a low price, it works out cheaper than buying one product on its own.

Usually priced at £110, the gift set is now on sale with 40% off, saving you £44 and bringing the price down to £66. Comparatively, the Lancôme Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream 30ml which is included in the set is priced at £67, meaning you’ll not only be saving £1 on the moisturiser, but will still get two additional products for free.

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The LookFantastic X Lancôme Beauty Favourites is touted to include “the best of Lancôme”, and is a curated collection of some of the brand’s best-selling beauty products. There are two full size skincare items inside, as well as a mini 5ml version of the Lash Idôle Mascara, making the set great value for beauty fans or anyone looking to try out some of Lancôme’s products for less.

Inside the LookFantastic X Lancôme Beauty Favourites you’ll get:

  • Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover 75ml – Gently removes all traces of makeup, including waterproof mascara. Suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.
  • Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream 30ml – Targets signs of ageing for visibly firmer, smoother and more radiant skin.
  • Lash Idôle Mascara Mini 5ml – A non-clumping mascara that targets every single lash for instantly longer, lifted eyelashes.

Whilst the Lancôme Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream is worth £67 on its own, the Bi-Facil Eye Make Up Remover is valued at £16. Meanwhile the Lash Idôle Mascara Mini 5ml would set you back £14 on its own, getting you £20 worth of freebies in the set.

The star of the set however is definitely the Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream which not only hydrates your skin, but helps smooth fine lines and wrinkles and boosts radiance, leaving your skin looking brighter and more youthful. Whilst it has yet to accrue any reviews on LookFantastic, Boots shoppers have rated it 4.7 out of 5 stars.

One wrote: “I use this as part of my daily skincare routine and have for about a year. I can tell a huge difference in the tightness of my skin on my face and neck.”

Whilst another said: “You just can’t find anything better for your skin for this price.”

However one mentioned: “The cream is great, but the refill container is horrible – the top is glued on so tight that you have to try to peel it off. I still haven’t been able to get it off – it’s exasperating.”

Meanwhile someone else wrote: “Foundation does not go on smoothly after using this moisturizer. Feels a bit waxy.”

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Other great beauty sets you can get your hands on ahead of Christmas include Boots’ Autumn Warmers Beauty Box for £45 which is worth £206.65. You could also snap up the Marks & Spencer Made for an Icon Beauty Box which is worth over £130 but priced at just £30.

Vernon Kay receives ‘tonne of grief’ after huge blunder live on air

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BBC Radio 2 star Vernon Kay has decided he won’t discuss a popular TV show on air after a huge blunder

Vernon Kay has been on the receiving end of a “tonne of grief” from BBC Radio 2 listeners after he inadvertently let slip a spoiler for their favourite programme. The 51-year-old has since decided to refrain from discussing Celebrity Traitors live on air.

The popular murder-mystery series will continue its run on BBC One tonight (October 15) and will be back tomorrow. The subsequent two episodes are scheduled to air next Wednesday and Thursday.

However, many fans will likely catch up with the show on BBC iPlayer over the coming week. This has led Vernon to decide against discussing the show to avoid any potential spoilers for his Radio 2 audience.

While on air, Vernon clarified: “I’m going to avoid Traitors, I’m going to avoid it because people watch it on catch-up don’t they? So I’m not going to talk about it on the radio.

“It’s not like I’m going to avoid it, I’m going to watch it, I’m going to consume it, but I’m not going to talk about it because people get really tetchy.

“I gave away the winner of Dress the Nation on Sunday, [I] congratulated the winner, oh my gosh, I got a tonne of grief.”

Imitating an irate listener, Vernon exclaimed “I’ve not watched it yet”, before adding: “I always forget about catch-up, I’m a little bit old-school like that. I like watching it. There’s a service on your digital broadcasting system where you can pause the football, go make a brew and you pause it.

“You never play it from where you paused it. If you play it from where you paused it, you’re a psychopath.”

On Sunday, retail assistant Casey Dillon, 23, was crowned Dress the Nation champion. The ITV show is presented by both Vernon and AJ Odudu.

It marks the newest chapter in a television career spanning three decades. Vernon secured a position on Channel 5’s The Mag in 1998 before transitioning to Channel 4’s T4 in 2000.

It was during his time on T4 that he encountered his future spouse, Tess Daly, who was hosting SMTV Live on ITV at the time. Vernon subsequently went on to front programmes including All Star Family Fortunes and Splash!

Tess meanwhile hosts Strictly Come Dancing. Tess and Vernon encountered each other at a gathering in the early 2000s before their romance flourished.

They exchanged vows in Horwich in 2003 before having daughters Phoebe and Amber. Tess has previously spoken candidly about their “explosive” beginning to their romance.

Speaking to Fabulous magazine, she revealed: “It was all quite immediate, really, because we instantly had such a blast together. I couldn’t imagine having more fun with anyone else. It was pretty explosive, I tell you.”

Six years ago, Vernon whisked Tess away to the romantic landscapes of the South of France, where, without her knowledge, he had secretly organised a vow renewal ceremony-complete with several wardrobe choices for his unsuspecting wife.

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Speaking about the moment when he appeared on I’m A Celebrity..Get Me out of Here!

, Vernon revealed: “I booked a weekend in our favourite hotel in the South of France and I spoke to her stylist at the time and I said I needed four dresses.”

General Hospital star will be undergoing brain surgery for aneurysm in ‘next two weeks’

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General Hospital star Kirsten Storms announced on her Instagram page she will be undergoing a brain aneurysm coiling procedure in the ‘next two weeks’

General Hospital star Kirsten Storms announced she will be undergoing a brain aneurysm coiling procedure in ‘the next two weeks’ after doctors discovered a cyst in her brain. The 41-year-old star, who is known for her role as Maxie Jones in the ABC drama, first underwent a craniotomy to remove a cyst in 2021.

When she had a follow-up scan in January, she revealed she was “majorly freaked out” when the doctor found a ‘squatter’ cyst on the right side of her brain stem. In a lengthy post shared on her Instagram page, she said: “After my surgery in 2021, my amazing neurosurgeon has been monitoring the cyst that he left on my brain, when he removed one that was causing me problems

“The January scan happened because I had symptoms that the doctors thought could’ve been brain-related. Okay, when I say that I was shocked when doctors told me they found an aneurysm on the right side of my brain… Welp, I basically launched into a standup comedy routine.”

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Kirsten underwent a procedure that same weekend, explaining how the doctor thread a camera from her leg to her brain.

“Anyways, Neurology stuff makes me feel a bit of nervousness, so now – here I am with Emma, in St Louis. And we are crocheting the most beautiful sweaters, while my coiling procedure is being scheduled for sometime in the next two weeks,” she continued after praising her co-star and best friend Emme Rylan for being by her side the entire time.

“Emotional support when going through times in life that cause worry is crucial. Aneurysms (obviously) can be caused by stress. Brain cysts? I believe that is possible too…

“And since the January scan showed a new, but very small squatter (aka cyst) on my brain stem – it was clear I needed change some things in my life asap. For my own personal reasons, no longer living in Los Angeles was very important to me.”

Kirsten said her daughter Harper, who she shares with ex-husband Brandon Barash, was a huge reason for the move along with her mental heath.

In the caption, she wrote: “I wanted to post this because even though my brain seems to be sorta lowkey rebelling against me, it does allow me to understand that we’ve all got times when things aren’t great. If we can, we will do our best to do what is best for ourselves and loved ones.

“Since I knew what an aneurysm was, the scan in January majorly freaked me out. A few days after I was discharged from the hospital, someone created a blog post that said I was in the hospital that weekend because I tried to “unalive” myself.

“I couldn’t understand why a person would makeup something that terrible, when they had no idea why I was really there.

“There are a few really bad apples out there. We all know that…but there are people in my life who I am truly thankful to know. One of those individuals just made a s**t load of sweaters with me. They are glorious.”

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Four-time Olympic medallist Carlin retires after losing ‘spark’

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Richard Winton

BBC Sport Scotland

Team GB track cyclist Jack Carlin has announced his retirement after feeling unable to “ignite that spark again” after last summer’s Olympic Games.

The 28-year-old claimed team sprint silver and sprint bronze in Paris last August – and the same in Tokyo three years earlier – among a haul of 19 international medals.

However, after taking time to recover and decompress with partner Christie in Australia, New Zealand and south east Asia last winter – following a horrendous crash in his final Olympic event – the Scot found his appetite to go again was lacking.

Carlin – who has had a “creeping realisation” that his career was drawing to a close for some time – says he is “daunted but excited” by his decision and finishes his career “content” with what he has achieved in a “whirlwind 10 years” at the top of the sport.

He plans to spend the day with his phone on ‘do not disturb’, potentially immersing himself instead in his rediscovered love of golf at his local club in Paisley.

“It’s a decision that wasn’t taken lightly, but also it is a relief,” he told BBC Sport Scotland. “Even going into Paris, my motivation was dwindling. I had injuries leading into the Olympics and it took a lot to get to that start line.

“After that, I took myself away from the high-performance environment and tried to search for the fire to go until the next Olympics. But it never came back.

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    • 6 August 2024
    • 30 July 2022

‘Glasgow 2026 is elephant in room’

Less than a month ago, Carlin spoke of his excitement about the Commonwealth Games returning to Glasgow next summer. Not least because he is now living near the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, where the cycling will be held.

But his decision to quit had already been made and retrospective examination of what he said at the time shows a vagueness about his ambitions for that event.

As a potential poster boy for the reimagined event – as a kid he sat rapt in the tribunes in 2014 and won medals at the next two Games – was it a wrench to walk away from the chance of a glorious career conclusion?

“It’s been the elephant in the room,” Carlin said of Glasgow 2026.

“People I’ve told have asked, ‘what about Glasgow?’ but it’s less than a year away and I’d be doing myself and the jersey a disservice if I decided to try and put it round my back again when I’m just not in the shape to do it.”

Carlin does not need that elusive gold medal or one more wave of adoration from a home crowd to validate his achievements.

They are achievements that place him fourth in the list of all-time Scottish Olympic medal winners, behind only Duncan Scott, Sir Chris Hoy and Katherine Grainger.

As he says, plenty of his competitors will leave the sport without ribbons around their neck and precious metal in their hands.

Like him, they will have memories, experiences and friendships, and it is those – as much as the medals – that the Scot will cherish when he reflects.

“It’s rare that someone steps away when they’re still rubbing shoulders at the top,” he adds. “But you have to be able to give 100%.

“I can come away from this saying ‘I gave everything I could, I gave my whole body to this sport, and I’m satisfied’. I couldn’t do anything more. So I can’t be upset.

“I started this journey when I was 14 years old and my mum and dad gave up time and money that we didn’t have to let me chase that dream.

What do you do when you retire at 28?

The challenge Carlin now faces is in establishing a new identity. As of today – and for the first time in his adult life – he is no longer ‘Jack the cyclist’.

He has not been on a track in more than a year now, and does not miss squatting obscenely heavy amounts in the gym and endless hours indoors on static bikes.

He has, however, rediscovered his childhood love for simply riding a bike – if not quite one with a basket, bell and streamers.

Golf is scratching his sporting itch at the moment – his handicap is down to single figures – and even watching Scotland’s footballers toil against Belarus at Hampden has not unduly affected his sunny disposition.

But 28 is young to retire. So what now?

“That’s the question I’ve been sitting thinking about myself, to be honest,” he says, suggesting a visit to the Jobcentre was not entirely out of the question.

“Sport’s taught me a lot of life skills and given me a lot of experiences. I’ve probably done more in 10 years than some people do in 40 in the normal business world.

Related topics

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  • Cycling

‘New play perfectly depicts being a Brown girl in Western media – I finally feel seen’

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The play is about four brown girls sharing their different experiences, growing up in London, using a mix of spoken word, dance and acting showcasing a variety of emotions but ultimately sisterhood

The media and its portrayal of people of colour (POC) has always been, to some degree, questionable. Throughout the years; shows, movies, news and entertainment, often depict certain POC with negative stereotypes.

POC often depict the side character as opposed to the main character, take Ivy from Disney’s Good Luck Charlie, or Dionne from Clueless. They do not really have their own storyline, but instead support the main character’s development.

In particular, South Asian women are seen rarely in the media, and if and when they are; they are portrayed with “humorous” but often harmful clichés.

The stereotypes vary but can include: the smart and academic best friend with strict parents, like Baljeet from Phineas and Ferb. Or the gossiping Asian Aunty, like Mrs Malik from the hit sitcom, Citizen Khan.

The Asian that’s forgotten their roots, in other words, a “coconut”. A step further, is the white saviour trope, where the brown girl needs rescuing by the white man, ultimately liberating her. An example of this, is the Nadia-Guzman relationship from the Spanish series, Elite.

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All of these damaging notions of colonialism, inferiority and exoticism are flipped on its head with this powerful play, ‘Brown Girl Noise’. The play that tackles these clichés whilst educating and celebrating British South Asian culture.

I watched the show at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. Kaya Uppal, wrote and starred in the play intertwining comedy, drama, love and more all in one.

The play begins with four South Asian girls waiting in a casting room, to audition for the role of Priti Patel. As they wait to be called in, they share their opinions on the labels that have been placed on them throughout their careers.

The quartet are four distinct characters all with contradicting personalities. All characters that resonate with brown girls in society.

Like, the comedic brown girl, hiding her upset with abruptness and wit; the timid brown girl not wanting to step out of line; the sassy, spiritual brown girl concealing her feelings of “not being brown enough” with rudeness; and the outgoing, sociable brown girl who wants everyone to feel welcome, whilst battling her own traumas.

The play then continues from the girls bonding and disagreeing over the typecasts they have faced, to introducing multiple chapters of different underrepresented South Asian stories.

Some of the chapters include: Snow Brown, reimagining the Disney tale Snow White. The characters allude to the problem of unrealistic, Western beauty standards in this chapter.

They also perform their own version of Love Island; highlighting the use of POC in the show as mere tokenism. In addition, they take on Horrible Histories; spotlighting unknown but yet powerful brown women in history.

Behind every chapter was a moral and message to the real issues that brown girls face, like colourism, tokenism, and racism. One emotional chapter was on consent and trauma with the concept of shame and silence interwoven in that segment.

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Whilst every chapter had its own message, the transitions between the audition room and the role play could have been tighter. The audience at times were left a bit confused with some of the underdeveloped chapters. The ending was met with a realisation from the four heroines, but did feel slightly rushed.

However, the piece still delivers a compelling and essential outlook. The performance embraced the highs and lows of British South Asian culture. The consistency was clear with brown girls needing to let go of negative stereotypes and reclaim their identity with strength and hope.

Whilst the show has now finished, I do hope it returns for another run.

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