WHEN does history become significant?
Towards the end of every year in our sister publication League Express we run a series of articles setting out the most historic and/or significant events that have occurred during the preceding twelve months.
We list 50 events in what we consider to be their order of importance.
Inevitably there is a certain amount of subjectivity that we have to bring into play when we assess which events should be included and how we should order them.
That thought occurred to me when sitting down to write this column, because I think it’s fair to say that March 2025 will be a truly historic month for rugby league in the northern hemisphere.
It will be historic because, when the final hooter sounds at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in the match between Wigan and Warrington, for the first time a Super League match will have been played in America.
Of course, the same two clubs played a game in Milwaukee in 1989. But that was a pre-season clash in June of that year with nothing at stake.
The clash between the two clubs will be the first game of four at the Allegiant Stadium, kicking off at 1.30pm local time, which equates to 9.30pm GMT. Wigan and Warrington will each take several thousand supporters to Las Vegas and when you consider the fans who will support the four NRL clubs that are also making the trip, I would be disappointed if the attendance didn’t comfortably surpass last year’s figure of 40,746.
And let’s not forget the Jillaroos playing England, which will be the third game in Allegiant Stadium, kicking off at 2.15am GMT. And given how prominent women’s sport is in the United States, I’m prepared to have a bet that the Americans will be intrigued to see two teams of young women playing a collision sport, probably more than seeing teams of male players.
Opportunities for women to play contact sports in the USA are quite limited and there are few chances for fans to watch elite female athletes in a sport as physical as rugby league. For that reason I think that the women’s test match could be the standout game in terms of making an impression on the American public.
“There’s such an untapped market over there and at the moment the only option to play contact sports is to play rugby sevens,” says Jillaroos centre Tiana Penitani, who first travelled to Las Vegas for the US round of rugby union’s World Sevens Series in 2017. Women’s contact sports have grown exponentially in the eight years since.
“We’ll be able to show them another brand of rugby and they’ll see how big it is in Australia.
“Being able to draw on that connection is only going to grow our game and it would be exciting if we could turn rugby league into a genuine global game.
“There’s so much opportunity for us. Rugby league is the best game in the world so we want to be able to share that with every part of the world and get people on board.”
And that brings me to the significance of the weekend in Las Vegas.
I said at the start of this article that we list the events in rugby league that are both historic and significant. And they are two quite different qualities.
The entry of Super League to North America is certainly historic, but it will only be significant if there are developments for our sport that result directly from the event.
That’s why the game in Milwaukee in 1989 was historic but not significant, because it wasn’t followed up by anything.
In 2025 the ultimate goal is for the American national side, both men and women, to grow to a level that sees the team among the sport’s global powers and regularly challenging for the World Cup.
It may be a few years away and it will need some smart and detailed planning, but there does appear to be a pathway to making it happen.
“I would love to be able to play the USA rugby league team in a Test match,” Penitani said.
“It would draw such a big American crowd and would help us get even more exposure and take our game to another level.”
The key thing from the point of view of those of us who dearly want the venture in Las Vegas to be regarded as significant when we look back on it in future years is that the NRL has a five-year agreement to play matches in America.
Unlike when Wigan and Warrington went to Milwaukee, this isn’t a one-off event. It is building on last year’s inaugural Las Vegas event.
Who knows what the ultimate benefits might be?
Rugby league hasn’t always taken advantage of the opportunities it’s been given. But maybe this is the time when we will see the game really taking its chances.
And we might even see some wealthy American investors inquiring about buying British rugby league clubs.
The Rugby League International Board, in its wisdom, rejected an application from the United States to participate in the inaugural World Cup in 1954.
Maybe this time we’ll get it right.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 506 (March 2025)
