Episode 28: Super League Grand Final - Men of Steel

“For me, it’s the hardest sport in the world. It takes dedication, discipline and mental strength. You accept constant physical punishment. You push your body right to the limit... It’s too tough for me. Deep down, I would love to be a rugby league player.” - 2012 Tour de France winner and 5-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Bradley Wiggins

Some say it's the last true working class sport, a game of the people, formed in protest to a wealthy elite that insisted working men choose between feeding their families and playing the game they loved. In 1895, 22 Northern rugby teams broke away in protest at being denied so called "broken time payments"; not asking to be paid for playing, just asking to not have to lose precious wages to do so - for a level playing field against the upper and middle classes.

The story of how rugby came to this schism is a fascinating one, a story of myths of 1823, of the example given by soccer, of muscular Christianity that so influenced the amateur ethos. This week, half the episode is focused on where Rugby League came from and the rest on Europe's biggest competition and its Grand Final at Old Trafford this weekend - the Super League.

Expect big hits, relentless work rate and maybe some last second drama as Hull KR look to break the triumvirate dominance Wigan, St. Helens and Leeds have held on this competition for 20 years. Yorkshire vs. Lancashire, Pretenders vs. Champions - 80 minutes of blood and thunder to crown a truly Northern champion.