Tdia tampil menonjol di babak pembukaan tahun ini Piala Tantangan mungkin sesuatu yang tidak biasa bagi pengamat liga rugbi biasa, dengan Royal Air Force menghadapi Angkatan Laut dalam urusan angkatan bersenjata di RAF Cranwell. Tepatnya, pertandingan-pertandingan seperti itu menjadi tajuk utama putaran pertama tahun 2024 karena tahun ini menandai peringatan 30 tahun pencabutan larangan anggota tim untuk diperbolehkan bermain olahraga tersebut, apalagi berkompetisi di kompetisi terbesarnya.
Pertandingan hari Sabtu akan disiarkan di BBC tetapi, jika bukan karena upaya orang-orang seperti Pemimpin Skuadron Damian Clayton, hal itu tidak akan terjadi. Clayton bergabung dengan RAF pada tahun 1987 setelah bermain liga rugbi di Brighouse saat remaja, tetapi tiba dan menemukan larangan menyeluruh terhadap liga rugbi di seluruh angkatan bersenjata.
“Upaya perubahan Rugby Football League tidak diterima dengan baik karena banyak tokoh senior tim saat itu semuanya berasal dari tempat yang tidak bermain liga rugby,” ujarnya. “Para pengambil keputusan hanya mengatakan hal itu tidak diperlukan dan tidak ada minat terhadap liga rugbi.” Namun Clayton, selain karier militernya, memiliki misi untuk mengubahnya. Dia menghabiskan waktu bertahun-tahun untuk mengajukan kasusnya kepada RAF tetapi sering diberitahu bahwa dia bisa bermain rugby apa pun – kecuali 13 tim.
Hal ini menyebabkan dia berperan penting dalam membentuk apa yang kemudian dikenal sebagai “Blue Bombers”, sebuah tim liga rugbi RAF tidak resmi yang bermain secara pribadi untuk tim lawan di dalam dan luar negeri pada awal 1990-an. “Kami harus meminjam perlengkapan dan kami memainkan tim komunitas bernama Oulton Raiders di pertandingan pertama kami,” katanya. “Kami tidak memiliki siapa pun yang memenuhi syarat untuk melatih kami, dan kami akan bermain melawan tim sektor publik, pegawai negeri, layanan penjara, siapa pun. Tapi kami tidak pernah putus asa untuk mendapatkan persetujuan untuk bermain dengan baik.”
'Pembom Biru' di Fontainebleau sebelum pertandingan melawan Angkatan Darat Prancis di awal tahun 90an, sebelum larangan tersebut dicabut. Gambar: Tidak ada kredit
Clayton bergabung dengan Martin Coyd, yang juga berjuang dalam pertempuran yang sama di Angkatan Darat untuk mendapatkan lampu hijau untuk liga rugbi, dan pada tahun 1994 mereka menyampaikan pesan mereka ke parlemen setelah presentasi di depan anggota parlemen utara. Dan pada tanggal 29 April 1994, menteri negara angkatan bersenjata saat itu, Jeremy Hanley, berdiri di House of Commons dan mengumumkan apa yang Clayton impikan untuk didengar selama bertahun-tahun: liga rugbi akhirnya diizinkan dimainkan di angkatan bersenjata.
Pertumbuhan sejak hari itu sungguh luar biasa. Liga Rugbi Angkatan Bersenjata Inggris kini berada di dewan komunitas Liga Sepak Bola Rugbi dan pada tahun 2000 tim diberikan izin masuk ke kompetisi olahraga paling bergengsi, Challenge Cup. Karena mereka memiliki waktu latihan bersama yang terbatas dan para pemain datang dari seluruh negeri, seringkali menjadi sebuah tantangan untuk bersaing dengan klub komunitas terkenal selain Clayton – yang menjadi kapten tim RAF hingga pensiun pada tahun 2006 dan telah membawa mereka dalam tur. dari Rusia dan Australia, bahkan bermain di pertandingan pembuka State of Origin – tidak memiliki ilusi tentang pentingnya kelanjutan kehadiran tim.
“Terkadang kami tidak bersaing; klub komunitas papan atas terkadang bisa mengalahkan tim dengan mudah,” akunya. “Tetapi penting untuk memahami mengapa kami mengikuti kompetisi ini dan apa artinya. Itu lebih besar dari skor mana pun. Setiap orang terhubung dengan tim pada tingkat tertentu dan ini lebih dari sekadar bermain liga rugbi. Hubungan antara tim dan liga rugbi dimulai dari pembentukan olahraga tersebut. RAF bermarkas di RAF Cranwell di Lincoln, tempat para perwira dilatih. Di mana tempat yang lebih baik untuk memberi tahu para pemimpin masa depan kita bahwa liga rugbi adalah olahraga yang dapat Anda mainkan dengan kebebasan dan semangat?”
Upaya Clayton dihargai dengan MBE pada tahun 2002 atas jasanya pada liga rugbi: prajurit pertama yang diberi penghargaan semacam itu untuk hal lain selain pengabdian kepada militer. Sekarang menjadi kepala eksekutif di Halifax Panthers, dia memainkan peran penting dalam layanan tahunan di Cenotaph setiap tahun menjelang final Piala Tantangan, ketika liga rugbi memberikan penghormatan kepada para pahlawan yang gugur. Dia akan menyaksikan dengan bangga pada jam makan siang hari Sabtu saat RAF dan Angkatan Laut bertempur di depan penonton nasional.
“Itu nomor satu dari semua yang telah saya capai,” akunya. “Di sisi lain, dampak dari pengakuan telah memungkinkan saya untuk memiliki pengembangan pribadi yang hebat di bidang lain, tetapi yang lebih penting, hal ini telah memberikan kesempatan kepada seluruh generasi anggota tim untuk memainkan olahraga yang luar biasa ini. Mudah-mudahan RAF dan Angkatan Laut akan memanfaatkan kesempatan ini.”
The chance to finally be given “the keys to the team” was the driving factor behind Jarome Luai’s decision to move from NRL heavyweights Penrith to longtime strugglers Wests Tigers in 2025.
The biggest trade saga of the NRL off-season came to an end on Wednesday when Penrith’s triple premiership-winning five-eighth announced his future plans.
Luai had been linked with the Tigers and Canterbury for months after it became apparent the high-flying Panthers would not be able to match their offer of a seven-figure salary.
Confirming his move to the back-to-back wooden spooners on a five-year deal, Luai insisted the call had not been just about finances.
“People think it would just be [money]; but it was getting the keys to the team, that was the other motivation,” he said.
Luai is untested at NRL level as a week-in, week-out organising half, a point made clear by the Penrith coach, Ivan Cleary, as the Panthers fought to keep him.
But Nathan Cleary’s long-term lieutenant said he had become hungry for more responsibility since serving as a game-manager during Samoa’s charge to the 2022 World Cup final.
“Ever since then, I’ve longed for that,” he said. “Being my own guy, writing my own story, was another big part of [the move]. I can’t wait.”
Luai’s signing is a major coup for the Tigers, who have struggled to attract elite talent amid a 12-year finals drought.
Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai at Panthers training in September. Photograph: Mark Evans/AAP
Luai had also strongly considered a move to the Bulldogs, whose Penrith alumni include coach Cameron Ciraldo and players Stephen Crichton, Viliame Kikau and Matt Burton.
“That’s why the process has dragged on for quite a while … that was a tough decision,” he said.
“I’ve got a lot brothers there already, and Cam Ciraldo is like my second dad.”
The Tigers coach, Benji Marshall, Luai’s childhood hero and a similarly flamboyant five-eighth in his playing days, was influential in the playmaker’s decision making.
“I’ve had a great connection with Benji,” Luai said. “I’ve seen a few headlines that [I will] go from the top to the bottom, that sort of thing.
“It resonated with me because I always back myself to win, no matter where I go. I’m really excited about it, I’m excited about the challenge.”
Under the NRL’s new transfer rules, Luai was required to give the Panthers a 10-day window in which they could try to convince him to stay put.
Penrith waived that right but will have him back at training on Thursday after he took the week off before Christmas amid the contract saga.
Luai’s halves partner for 2025 is yet to be determined, with veteran Aidan Sezer and young guns Jayden Sullivan and Latu Fainu likely to jostle at the selection table.
“[Luai’s] experience as a genuine premiership-winning playmaker will be great for us and the future of our club,” Marshall said.
“We love the way Jarome plays his footy and even better, he is a great person. We very much look forward to welcoming Jarome and his family to our club in 2025, but right now season 2024 is our focus.”
The 34th edition of Africa’s biggest sporting event was meant to be held in Ivory Coast between June and July 2023 but was moved after somebody realised it rains a lot in the country at that time of the year. So it takes place at the start of 2024 instead and for Mohamed Salah the target is redemption having been part of the Egypt team that suffered the pain of penalty shootout defeat to Senegal in the 2022 final. A host of other big names will also be at the tournament, including André Onana (Cameroon), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) and Victor Osimhen (Nigeria).
2) Australian Open14 January-28 January
Melbourne could be the scene of tennis history given Novak Djokovic will arrive there looking to win a 25th grand slam title, taking him past Australia’s Margaret Court as the single most successful player tennis has seen. Few would bet against the world No 1 achieving his ambition at a tournament where Rafael Nadal is set to feature having been sidelined for 12 months with a hip injury. In the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka will be seeking to retain the title she won with a show of power, determination and class against Elena Rybakina in the 2023 final.
Aryna Sabalenka will be keen to retain the Australian Open title. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
3)Men’s & Women’s Six Nations2 February-16 March, 23 March-27 April
Four months after suffering various forms of heartbreak at the Rugby World Cup, the northern hemisphere’s biggest and best gather to compete for the Six Nations. Grand slam winners Ireland travel to Paris for a mouth-watering opening game while England, minus captain Owen Farrell, head to Rome a day later, when Wales and Scotland will also do battle in Cardiff. A week after the men are done the women get going, and for England that means building on the glory of 2023, when they sealed the grand slam in front of 58,498 spectators at Twickenham, a record crowd for a women’s game.
4) Super Bowl LVIII11 February
The Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada hosts the 58th edition of American Football’s showpiece event. The Kansas City Chiefs, led by Andy Reid and armed with Patrick Mahomes, will be seeking to make it four Super Bowl appearances in the past five years and, more importantly, retain the trophy they won with a thrilling 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Arizona last time out. All eyes will also, of course, be on the halftime show, which in 2024 comes courtesy of Usher. “Yeah!” as his fans no doubt screamed upon hearing the news.
5) Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk17 February
A case of better late than never in regards to the fight everybody has wanted to see and thought they were finally going to get just before Christmas. It didn’t happen, however, after Fury suffered the shock and embarrassment of requiring a split decision verdict to overcome the UFC’s Francis Ngannou in Riyadh in October. A period of regrouping was required and Fury will go again in the Saudi Arabian capital against arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, with both men seeking to become boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999. The location is a shame; the contest should be a cracker.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk facing off after Fury’s controversial victory against Francis Ngannou. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
6) Formula One World Championship2 March-8 December
The new Formula One season will be one of significant change. Firstly, the calendar stretches to a record 24 races, the maximum number the sport believes is feasible for both teams and personnel, and then there is the opening two races, in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, being held on back-to-back Saturdays. F1 has also confirmed there will be six sprint races – in China, Miami, Austria, Austin, Brazil and Qatar. Once the action gets going it is possible little will change: Max Verstappen and Red Bull were imperious in 2023 and everything points to that being the case again in 2024.
7) The Masters11 April-14 April
John Rahm will arrive in Augusta seeking to retain the title he won on an enthralling final day in 2023. The Spaniard, competing at his first major since his controversial switch to LIV Golf, should be full of belief given he was also part of the European team that regained the Ryder Cup in Rome a few months ago, which should be the case, too, for Rory McIlroy as he seeks to win a first major in a decade. From a US perspective, world No 1 Scottie Scheffler is sure to mount a strong challenge, while there could also be the intriguing prospect of Tiger Woods making a return to Masters action.
8) England Women v Pakistan Women Twenty20 series11 May-19 May
It perhaps says something about the growth of English women’s cricket that Heather Knight’s white-ball side have been chosen to open the international summer with a three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan. The fixtures take place at Edgbaston, Northampton and Headingley. There follows a three-match one-day series against the same opponents before three ODIs and five T20s are played against New Zealand. “Next summer’s schedule will see England Women play at more venues and allow more people to see their heroes in action,” said England and Wales chief executive, Richard Gould.
Heather Knight will captain England against Pakistan in the spring. Photograph: Pankaj Nangia/ECB/Getty Images
9) Women’s Champions League final25 May
The San Mamés stadium in Bilbao hosts the showpiece event of women’s club football in Europe and few would complain if it proved as exciting as the 2023 final, when Barcelona come from two goals down at half-time to beat Wolfsburg 3-2 in Eindhoven. English hopes rest with Chelsea following Arsenal’s shock defeat to Paris FC in the first round of qualifying and what would be the club’s first Women’s Champions League triumph would also represent a fitting way for Emma Hayes to sign off as manager prior to her move to the United States.
10) Men’s Champions League final1 June
Can Manchester City reach Wembley and retain the crown that completed last season’s treble? Current form suggests possibly not, but City tend to get stronger in the new year and will be delighted to have once again been handed a very kind last-16 draw. Pep Guardiola’s men take on FC Copenhagen in the next round, while Arsenal, seeking to win a first Champions League title, face Porto. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are among the other contenders in a competition being contested in its current format for a final time before next year’s less-than-popular switch to the so-called “Swiss model”.
11) Men’s Twenty20 World Cup4 June-30 June
The United States of America hosts a cricket World Cup for the first time. They do so alongside the West Indies in a move designed to extend the game beyond its traditional borders and, as such, it will be intriguing to see how cities such as Dallas and New York take to the event. This World Cup will also be bigger than ever before given the involvement of 20 teams, and for England the aim is to avoid the horrors of the recent 50-over tournament in India and make a decent fist of retaining their 20-over crown.
12) Euro 202414 June-14 July
Germany hosts a major men’s football tournament for the first time since the 2006 World Cup and the hope for all concerned is that this one is as good as that one. It is certainly open in regards to who will be crowned champions at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on 14 July, with England very much a serious contender. Scotland, having qualified for a second successive Euros, face the hosts in the opening game while Wales require a playoff to make the finals. Should they prevail, Robert Page’s men will be in the same group as France and Netherlands.
Scott McTominay was Scotland’s top scorer during qualifiers, netting seven goals including two against Spain. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images
13) Royal Ascot18 June-22 June
Auguste Rodin had a distinctly hit-and-miss three-year-old career but he achieved something that Aidan O’Brien’s last three Derby winners all failed to do when he added a subsequent Group One success to his Epsom victory and finished with a flourish in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. He is the best Ballydoyle Derby winner to stay in training since High Chaparral in 2002-03, and there was even talk of running him in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Even if that proves wide of the mark he will be a fixture in the big all-aged events in 2024, starting with the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
14) Tour de France & Tour de France Femmes29 June-21 July, 12 August-18 August
The 111th edition of cycling’s most prestigious event will be one of firsts, namely the staging of the Grand Départ in Italy (in Florence, to be precise) and the end of the race taking place in Nice, as opposed to Paris. Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard will be seeking to win a third successive title while Mark Cavendish aims to break the record of 34 Tour stage wins he shares with Eddy Merckx having delayed his plans to retire from the sport. The third edition of the Tour de France Femmes, meanwhile, will commence in Rotterdam and has been delayed due to the Olympics.
An emotional Demi Vollering celebrates winning the second Tour de France Femmes in Pau. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images
15) Wimbledon1 July-14 July
The 2024 Championships will have to go some way to match the drama of the 2023 edition given it climaxed with Marketa Vondrousova becoming the first unseeded player to win the women’s singles title via victory over Ons Jabeur and then, 24 hours later, Carlos Alcaraz securing his second grand slam title with victory over Novak Djokovic in an epic men’s final. The ingredients should be there for more of the same, with a host of British players primed to go deep into the second week of the tournament, most notably Katie Boulter and Cameron Norrie.
16) England Men v West Indies MenTest Series10 July-30 July
England’s return to red-ball action on home soil for the first time since the Ashes comes against opponents who last visited the country in the summer of 2020. It was at the height of the pandemic and, as such, there were no crowds, leading to a somewhat sterile series. The atmosphere will be better this time around as the teams do battle at Lord’s, Trent Bridge and Edgbaston, with the hosts sure to stick to their Bazball principals but without Stuart Broad following his retirement from the sport. After facing West Indies, England play three Tests against Sri Lanka, at Old Trafford, Lord’s and the Oval.
17) The Open18 July-21 July
Royal Troon hosts the Open for the first time since 2016, when Henrik Stenson landed the Claret Jug following an enthralling final-round tussle with Phil Mickelson. The hope is for more of that and less of what took place in 2023, when Brian Harman won the Championship at a canter on a rain-lashed last day at Royal Liverpool. Sizzling-hot entertainment, it was not. Those who love a bit of sentiment will be pleased to know Colin Montgomerie plans on competing at a course that is a stone’s throw from where he grew up. “This is where I started playing,” he said. “This is home.”
Brian Harman won the 151st Open on a gloomy day. Photograph: Peter Powell/EPA
18) Olympics26 July-11 August
“We want a huge party,” declared Étienne Thobois, chief executive of the Paris 2024 organising committee, and the first Olympics to be held in Europe since London 2012 is certainly set to get off to a spectacular start given the plan for the opening ceremony is for competing athletes to travel along the Seine in a huge flotilla. Once on dry land they will take part in the usual sports plus four new ones, including breakdancing and skateboarding. All in all it should be quite the Games, with British hopes for glory, on the Stade de France track at least, resting with the likes of Keely Hodgkinson, Katarina Johnson-Thompsonand Zharnel Hughes.
19) Paralympics28 August-8 September
As was the case in Tokyo three years earlier, there will be 22 sports at the Paris Paralympics, with 4,400 athletes set to be involved across 11 days of competition. Wheelchair rugby gets things going on day one, with Great Britain looking to defend the gold medal they won with a 54-49 victory over the United States at the Yoyogi National Stadium in late August 2021, one of 124 medals, 41 of which were gold, ParalympicsGB secured in Japan. The closing weekend, meanwhile, includes wheelchair fencing under the dome of the Grand Palais.
Aaron Phipps and Ryan Cowling of Team GB celebrate after winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Photograph: Naomi Baker/Getty Images
20) Women’s Twenty20 World CupSeptember-October
Bangladesh hosts the ninth edition of the women’s Twenty20 World Cup and could be where Australia clinch the trophy for a seventh time. They will certainly be firm favourites to do so, albeit the retirement of Meg Lanning ninth months after leading her country to their sixth title in South Africa provides their rivals with hope. England will arrive at the tournament having competed in a decent run of T20 fixtures, including three in India. In total, 10 teams will be at the World Cup, two of which will come through a global qualifier that takes place in early 2024.
21) Solheim Cup10 September-15 September
No, your eyes are not deceiving you – the Solheim Cup returns 12 months after it was staged at Finca Cortesín, the intention from organisers being to permanently shift the event to even-number years in order to avoid a clash with the Ryder Cup. That process begins at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, where Europe will be aiming to lift the trophy for a fourth time in succession. Again they will be captained by Suzann Pettersen, with the US again being led by Stacy Lewis. “It’s such an honour to be asked to captain Team Europe again,” said Pettersen, a 21-time tournament winner.
22) Super League Grand Final12 October
Just when it appeared that St Helens’ grip on Super League supremacy was unbreakable, along came Wigan Warriors to win the Grand Final for the first time in five years. Theirs was a commanding display against Catalan Dragons at Old Trafford in October and the aim for Matt Peet’s men going into the new season will be getting back to the showpiece occasion in 2024. Speaking of showpiece occasions, Wigan host the NRL champions, Penrith Panthers, in the World Club Challenge on 24 February. It is a repeat of the 1991 clash at Anfield, which Wigan won 21-4.
Wigan Warriors celebrate after beating Catalan Dragons to win their sixth Super League Grand Final. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/Shutterstock
23) Cycling World Championships16 October-20 October
The Ballerup Super Arena hosts this event for a third time, having also done so in 2002 and 2010, meaning it should proceed smoothly and successfully. Organisers are confident that will be the case – “Everything is proceeding according to plan” declared project coordinator, Andreas Juul Ingvartsen, in October – with day one action kicking off with qualifying in the women’s and men’s team pursuit. Great Britain will travel to Denmark looking to build on the table-topping 56 medals, 23 of which were gold, they secured at the 2023 Championships in Glasgow.
24) Weightlifting World ChampionshipsNovember-December
Bahrain hosts weightlifting’s premier competition for the first time and the excitement of doing so is tangible among organisers. “I thank the International Weightlifting Federation for their trust and plan on hosting a fantastic event that further contributes to the development of our beloved sport,” said Eshaq Ebrahim Eshaq, president of the Bahrain Weightlifting Federation. Athletes will compete across 20 weight categories – 10 for men, 10 for women – with China the country to beat having won 20 gold medals at the 2023 championships in Riyadh, 15 more than second-place Thailand.
