Can Super League use Las Vegas and NRL to turbocharge English rugby league?
The Super League is venturing to Las Vegas to piggyback on the NRL. But can it help to turbocharge rugby league in England?
“It’s fantastic, I’ve watched a couple of the games. They’re proper hard players, and maybe they deserve that little bit more publicity. They’re spreading the word.”
Those were the thoughts of Manchester United legend Roy Keane on Sky Sports’ Super Sunday following Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City and Etihad Stadium.
Fans would be forgiven for assuming he was talking about a plucky team fighting relegation from the Premier League or a surprise Champions League underdog, but instead Keane – no stranger to the rough and tumble of professional sport – was praising rugby league.
Alongside fellow pundits Micah Richards, Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Carragher, there was what appeared to be genuine excitement for the next round of games.
Viva Las Vegas
Because this weekend 2024 quadruple winners Wigan Warriors host Warrington Wolves in the first of four games in what is a festival of rugby league in… Las Vegas.
The Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium will open a four-game showcase with the Super League clash before NRL giants Canberra Raiders take on New Zealand Warriors, Australian Jillaroos face England Women in an Ashes Test, and the premier Australasian competition’s Penrith Panthers and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks close the show.
This is a huge opportunity for Super League rugby in England at a time of financial uncertainty, with the near implosion of Salford club Red Devils and relegation of southern outliers London Broncos.
And it comes in stark contrast to the good times enjoyed by National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand, which last year confirmed an expansion franchise out of Papua New Guinea – backed by the government in Canberra to stifle Chinese influence in the Pacific – and this month announced record revenues of £377m.
It has reinforced the dominance Down Under when it comes to rugby league, and it’s smart for Super League to jump on the NRL bandwagon in Viva Las Vegas – where an event invitation has been extended to President Donald Trump.
Super League growth
Attendances, on the whole, have been good over the opening rounds back in Blighty – with Leigh Leopards’ 1-0 golden point victory away to Wigan hosting over 21,000 fans, a round one record for this millennium.
But back to the Etihad and Sunday afternoon and it wasn’t just Keane and co discussing rugby league. Half-time adverts were promoting the event on Sky Sports, while electronic billboards advertised the four-match marathon.
Factor in the use of digital advertising on sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings – despite concerns by some critics over rugby league’s decision to go to the most famous gambling destination on the planet and lean into such marketing – and Super League is getting more exposure now than it will at many other points in the season.
The reality is that rugby league should probably be more popular than rugby union; there are less complicated rules, there are a number of dramatically close rivalries, the sport is a community hub for many, the FA Cup equivalent is on the BBC alongside a free-to-air league deal, and there are massive hits and crunching tackles.
Yet it has not been able to gain a captive international audience in the United Kingdom or France – where Catalan Dragons are based despite playing in the Super League – while union attracts 80,000 to Allianz Stadium and the Stade de France seven times per year.
Advertise in the window
But this is a shop window in which to advertise the English sport not only to American viewers but those watching from Down Under. The razzle and dazzle of Sin City could be the spark rugby needs to kick on in the United Kingdom.
And with Australian Rugby League Commission chief Peter V’landys saying that NRL could be a $1bn industry in the United States, and that the commission would look at buying the Super League, there should be no shame in piggy-backing on our sporting rivals.
“That’s if they want us,” V’landys said. “The first thing is there’s always two people to an agreement. If they want us, we’ll certainly look at it. If they approached us, we’d certainly look at it. At this stage they haven’t approached us, but we’re a firm believer in having a strong game in England and we’re a firm believer in the international game.”
There may be no greater sporting contrast between the working class towns of England’s north, the bedrock of rugby league in this country, and the garishness of Las Vegas with its casinos and Elvis impersonators, but this unlikely marriage may be the turbo boost rugby league needs to go stratospheric. Only time will tell.