Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

I was at the Independent Salford Beer Festival on Saturday afternoon, so I could only take in bits of the third dead-rubber Ashes test; whatever you can on a phone propped-up on the table. I consumed the fallout on a much slower-paced Sunday instead.

A pragmatic but no-less interesting thread on Bluesky regarding the differences between rugby league in the hemispheres has ideas on when Australia diverged. Matt suggests here that in the early 1970s the Australians adapted to the introduction of limited tackles much better than England did. Subsequent results suggest as much. Then you had Australia adopting the full-time professionalism, novel training plans, video analysis, player metrics and so on, leaving England in their wake and playing catch-up.

Surely there has to be a point where those first-mover gains flatten out, assuming a level playing field. Once it becomes a player’s job, once fitness routines are published and nutrition research too, and the software they have you also have at your disposal. I mean, can you get any fitter than Ellery Hanley?

The argument is whether there is a level playing field. Is the NRL that much more advanced than Super League? Is the athlete talent pool that much shallower in the England? And if so, why is England much more successful over Australia in rugby union?