Another week ticks by with a multitude of sporting action on display. This week there is a focus on international sports as June often does but there is still club sides duking it out with the club World Cup and Super League providing more drama throughout an action packed midweek.

Wednesday 18th June UEFA EURO U-21 England v Germany 20:00

The Young Lions continue their Euros campaign against the biggest threat in Group B with current leaders Germany hoping to cement their place at the top and push for an early qualification into the knockout stages.

England showed their class in the opening fixture against Czech Republic in which they came out 3-1 winners. Goals from Harvey Elliot, Jonathan Rowe and Charlie Cresswell were the difference on the day with a highly experienced squad of youngsters maintaining their heads despite a second half strike from Fila which could have sent them off the rails.

Germany also got off to a positive start in Slovakia, facing Slovenia who proved to be no match for the young Germans and Stuttgart forward Nick Woltemade who scored a hattrick in what was a demolition in the opening match.

England and Germany were tipped to be the ones battling for the top two in pre tournament predictions. England are the defending champions having beaten Spain in the final while Germany were the 2021 victors.

The group stage of this year’s competition saw the two sides once again put together where England finished as leaders and Germany were embarrassingly dumped out after finishing at the foot of the group. Retribution could be on the cards from a German side that already look to be miles ahead of where they were four years ago.

Date: 18/06/2025

Time: 20:00

Venue: Stadion Pod Zoborom, Nitra

The match will be shown on Channel 4

Thursday 19th June Betfred Super League Castleford Tigers v Hull KR 20:00

Last week we spoke of Castleford’s away meeting with Hull FC and this week the other side from the capital of the East Riding has their chance to take glory away from the west. Hull KR travel to Wheldon Road to try and avenge their fierce neighbours who succumbed at home to the Tigers.

Hull KR are in much better position in Super League than their neighbours who sit perilously in the playoff picture. KR are league leaders with fourteen matches played and have a rather healthy four point buffer to Wigan in second.

With 26 points already, the Robins are flying high in an effort to go one better than their second placed finish in 2024 and have been going about it with relative ease as they have only managed to lose once this campaign which was a 12-28 home defeat to chasers Wigan.

Since that blip in mid April, Hull have gone unbeaten in all competitions. That is a nine game winning streak with most recently a 68-6 mauling of Catalan Dragons. With already a highly impressive campaign, the Robins will be hoping a trip to strugglers Castleford will be no threat to their charge for the league leaders shield.

For Danny McGuires Castleford, this is a chance to continue momentum following a hard fought 14-22 win against Hull FC. That was the Tigers first win against opposition in the top half all season and has surprised many as they put in a solid all round display away from home as they took an early lead but had to dig deep to continue racking up the points whilst battling a late charge from the Black and Whites.

The victory was their fourth of the season and has widened the gap between them and the bottom two, with the Tigers sitting on eight points in tenth spot. Despite that recent pick up in form with two wins from four matches it is doubtful that the run will continue as Hull KR has proven their first placed credentials and the Tiger’s lack of consistency could harm them up against the well oiled machine of the Robins.

Date: 19/06/2025

Time: 20:00

Venue: Wheldon Road, Castleford

The match will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event

Friday 20th June Lions Tour British & Irish Lions v Argentina 20:00

The time is finally here for the British and Irish Lions tour, four years since the Lions last took the field in South Africa in 2021. The last tour ended in a 2-1 victory for the Springboks after the Lions dispatched Japan, DHL Stormers and HollywoodBet Sharks.

This year the tour hits Australia with a plethora of ten matches with Australia being the main centre piece alongside facing the local club sides Western Force, Waratahs, Brumbies and Queensland Reds.

While the Lions are expected to be fairly comfortable against the club sides, with an amalgamation of the best the nations have to offer it will be the other national teams that will pose the greatest threat.

That threat will be put to the test in the curtain raiser against Argentina in Dublin who are rising the ranks of the international game but have struggled as of late with just one win in their last four fixtures with a win over Italy but losses to France, Ireland and South Africa.

The Lions side will hopefully be able to gel quickly, with usual rivals needing to put their differences aside in order to reclaim a tour championship for the first time in 12 years which was their last tour down under in 2013.

This tour is one of firsts as it will be Andy Farrell’s first tour as head coach after three back to back tours under Aussie manager Warren Gatland. It is also the first time since Martin Johnson in 2001 that an Englishman has been selected as captain with Saracens lock Maro Itoje taking on the responsibility of trying to guide the squad into a hopefully historic couple of months down under.

Date: 20/06/2025

Time: 20:00

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin

The match will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event