RFL invites England legends from across the sport to discuss national sides’ international future

Some of the greatest players in England's modern history will convene to help map out a future for the national game, including further analysis of the pyramid, from grassroots and pathways to the player pool for the international stage.

After the disappointment of seeing England miss out on the World Cup semi-finals across both the Men’s and Women’s competition, recently-appointed RFL Chief Executive Ian Nolan has decided to call upon the knowledge of a raft of stellar quality to form an in-depth discussion on national performance.

Former Great Britain captain Paul Sculthorpe MBE and iconic forward Adrian Morley are among the names of those who will now get together to look at what extra can be done to help make the England teams a genuine force.

They will be joined by Gareth Ellis, who played in the last Men’s side from these shores to defeat world champions Australia in 2006 and works as a current assistant coach with York Knights, plus recently retired St Helens and England captain Jodie Cunningham who will bring valuable perspectives for the Women's and Girls' game.

There will be more names confirmed on the panel roster in the coming days with views and opinions sought from key personnel across the sport.

The panel's launch will augment the work started earlier in the year - coined internally as ‘One Game, One England’ - now extending that remit across the whole pyramid, looking at how the player pool in this country is increased and how the game is played.

Nolan, who took up his new role with the RFL just four weeks ago, said: "In this World Cup, Brian McDermott and his Men’s squad have delivered two wins from their three games and shown signs of genuine quality.

"The 82-0 win over France was as emphatic as anyone could have hoped for and the opening 20 minutes against Papua New Guinea on Friday was similarly impressive.

"Sadly, we couldn't quite maintain that level throughout, but we still emerged with two wins and were unfortunate, in many ways, to not prosper versus Tonga in our opener.

"There are plenty of mitigating reasons why we failed to reach the knock-out stages, many of which were out of our control, such as travel itineraries and format of the competition, but we can't use these as excuses.

“Likewise, we were also criticised for what happened with the TV rights and the tournament going behind a paywall. We had no control over who the rights were sold to. However, television is an important element of capturing the imagination of the next generation.

"This analysis of our national game will be all encompassing, including how we can influence media rights, balancing reach and revenue, and attracting new audiences.

"But on the pitch, we must look at why we have consistently struggled to make our mark on the world stage for more than half a century; this isn't just a recent problem.

"With 'One Game, One England', we have already been in consultation with the Super League clubs for some time with regards a new talent and performance strategy around pathways and academies.

"This will be finalised by the end of the year and the panel will add further value to that aspect of work."

Nolan has also spent time at the RFL’s innovative DiSE programme, where the 2026 cohort of England elite girls were onboarded, and recognises the England Women’s team are genuinely building for the future.

He said: “Grassroots investment in our women and girls' game only started a few years ago. We’ve started that journey.

"Stuart Barrow took a very young side to this World Cup, with 11 graduates from our DiSE programme. We’re very much building for the next World Cups – the average age of or squad was just 21 years old - but the groundwork is starting to pay off.

"The panel will help us form some big decisions and changes. Those decisions might need the support of the entire game, and progress won't be achieved overnight. These will be changes that pay off in four, eight, ten years' time.

“The input from the panel gathered together will be pivotal in giving us some of the answers we need and the thinking required to enable us to reach our on-field objectives."

Nolan will meet with the assembled panel in the coming weeks.