Headingley no-show: England miss chance to connect with place they call home
In recent years, the iconic Headingley has really re-established itself as the home of England Rugby League.
Those were the words used by the Rugby Football League to generate excitement for the third Test of a long-awaited Ashes series in Leeds.
Earlier in the year, Rugby League Commercial managing director Rhodri Jones declared Headingley "the best ground in Super League".
England head coach Shaun Wane, meanwhile, gave the venue choice a ringing endorsement, saying he was "really happy" to finish the series at the home of Leeds Rhinos in a repeat of previous autumns.
And yet for all the pre-Ashes pleasantries, the national team will be nowhere to be seen in the build-up to Saturday's final Test against Australia, preferring to be anywhere but in fact – no open session, no community visits, no visible connection with the stadium they are supposed to call home.
Whereas the Kangaroos arrived in Leeds late on Monday night ahead of a full week in the city, including a captain's run at Headingley on Friday morning, Wane's team will not visit the stadium once before the game.
Wembley held the series launch, England trained at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium last Thursday – yet Headingley has been snubbed altogether.
Wane has stuck with his policy of not arranging a captain's run at the venue on the eve of the match – a decision that is open to criticism after consecutive defeats – but to skip any visit to the ground in the days leading up to a Test is highly unusual for an England side.
While it must be acknowledged that they are based in Worsley, near Manchester, and train at Robin Park, in Wane's hometown of Wigan, there has been no attempt to engage with the Yorkshire public.
Both of this week's media and promotional activities are taking place in Wigan, meaning there hasn't been a single official visit to Yorkshire all series.
In sharp contrast, England's rugby union side held open training sessions at York's LNER Community Stadium in the last two Six Nations campaigns.
The football team, meanwhile, regularly took their work beyond the pitch under Gareth Southgate – opening community hubs, holding public engagements and sharing the national badge with young fans.
The lack of any visible presence of England's rugby league side in the build‑up to an Ashes Test is all the more glaring, depriving the local community of even a glimpse of their national heroes.
Yet Headingley itself needs no introduction: a venue steeped in Ashes history on both sides of the stadium and long synonymous with the rugby league rivalry.
Leeds staged 13 Ashes Tests from 1921 to 1982, when the tourists secured a 3-0 whitewash.
A repeat scoreline may be on the cards after defeats in London and Liverpool but that hasn't dampened local enthusiasm.
Tickets for Saturday's Test were snapped up months ago, highlighting the city's enduring passion for rugby league and the pride fans take in seeing England at Headingley.
The roar of a sold-out crowd will greet England this weekend – but the silence in the build-up has spoken louder than words.