This has been one hell of a week. Aside from the usual LER and ESL action, The NRL kicked of with a bang with it new concept the NRL Indigenous versus NRL All Stars. The Challenge Cup kicked as did the Northern Rail Cup. Round 2 of the Jamaican University champion ships was played and the Storm are off on an trip!
The NRL All Stars Match launched the season with a spectacular if not controversial display. Controversial only with the different rules on display and certainly they added a bit to the game, though I have to say I am not convinced on the double point try. The Standout performers for me were Thurston and Preston Campbell from the Indigenous All Stars as well as Sam Burgess for the NRL All Stars with some absolutely barnstorming runs and tackles. He has many people down in the antipodes excited that is for sure.
The Melbourne storm fly out today to England for the World Club Challenge against Leeds. They will have another warm up match against the Harlequins.
Super League Continued this weekend with Wakefield showing that their early form is no fluke. Once again there were a few surprise results in the Super League: The talking point this weekend is the Celtic side with their first win of the year over Salford 36 – 16, Wigan had a big win over Hull Kingston Rovers 32 – 06, The Cross city rivals fared better beating Huddersfield 14 – 06, Warrington is looking good with a 28 – 16 win over Castleford. St. Helens smashed Bradford 36 – 6, Harlequins have got back on track with a good win over Catalans 16 – 4 and Wakefield had a surprise win over Leeds 28 – 18, one hopes that the Rhinos are concentrating on the World Club Challenge.
| Team | P | W | D | L | PD | Pt |
| 01. Wakefield | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 6 |
| 02. Warrington | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 4 |
| 03. Wigan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 4 |
| 04. Hull FC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 4 |
| 05. St. Helens | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2 |
| 06. Leeds | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 07. Huddersfield | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 08. Castleford | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 09. Hull KR | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -8 | 2 |
| 10. Celtic | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -40 | 2 |
| 11. Harlequins | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -54 | 2 |
| 12. Catalans | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -20 | 0 |
| 13. Salford | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -38 | 0 |
| 14. Bradford | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -44 | 0 |
One results in the Challenge Cup round 2 so far and that is Blackwood having a successful away trip at Edinburgh winning 32-16 to advance to the next round.
The Northern Rail Cup continued last weekend with round three matches completed. Rochdale 12 -48 Dewsbury, London 0 – Halifax 68, Hunslet 28 – 14 Oldham, Blackpool 74 – 6 Gateshead, Widnes 22 – 20 Barrow, Whitehaven 54 – 10 Doncaster, Sheffield 40 – 10 York, Leigh 36 – 6 Featherstone, Keighley 38 – 10 Workington and Batley 46 – 10 Swinton. The points tables stand as such:
| Team (Group 1) | P | W | D | L | PD | Pt |
| 01. Keighley | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 9 |
| 02. Widnes | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 8 |
| 03. Batley | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 8 |
| 04. Whitehaven | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 5 |
| 05. Blackpool | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 4 |
| 06. Barrow | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 4 |
| 07. Workington | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -14 | 3 |
| 08. Swinton | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -26 | 3 |
| 09. Doncaster | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -54 | 1 |
| 10. Gateshead | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -126 | 0 |
| Team (Group 2) | P | W | D | L | PD | Pt |
| 01. Leigh | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 7 |
| 02. Halifax | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 6 |
| 03. Hunslet | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 6 |
| 04. Dewsbury | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 6 |
| 05. Sheffield | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 5 |
| 06. Oldham | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -18 | 4 |
| 07. York | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -29 | 3 |
| 08. Featherstone | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -30 | 2 |
| 09. Rochdale | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -44 | 1 |
| 10. London Skolars | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -162 | 0 |
In the last of the Discovery Challenge matches Wales u18 12 was defeated by France 34. France is taking some ominous form into their match against the GB community lions this week.
This week the LER continues with matches going pretty much to script. The top 5 is starting to look pretty much set with Lezignan leading the way. Results last weekend were: St Gaudens 12-34 Lezignan, Villeneuve 30-10 Avignion, UTC 26-32 Limoux Table standings:
| Team | P | W | D | L | PD | Pt |
| 01. Lezignan | 13 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 186 | 34 |
| 02. Pia | 13 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 135 | 27 |
| 03. Limoux | 13 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 131 | 25 |
| 04. Carcassonne | 11 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 86 | 24 |
| 05. Villeneuve | 13 | 5 | 1 | 6 | -30 | 23 |
| 06. UTC | 13 | 4 | 0 | 7 | -38 | 19 |
| 07. Avignion | 12 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -132 | 18 |
| 08. Carpentras | 12 | 3 | 0 | 7 | -36 | 16 |
| 09. St Gaudens | 13 | 1 | 0 | 11 | -270 | 14 |
Liban Espoir and the Presidents XIII played their match last week as well. The Local national team ran out convincing winners 48-18. Also last week the first training session with teachers in Northern Lebanon area of Akkar. No results form the Bank of Beirut Championships yet.
The Jamaican University Championships have continued with GC foster College having a good win over the University of West Indies 32 – 24.
| Team | P | W | D | L | PD | Pt |
| 01. University of Technology | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2 |
| 02. GC Foster College | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| 03. University of West Indies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -48 | 0 |
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