Broncos and England coach Wayne Bennett on how rugby league could be sold to America
Peter Badel, The Courier-Mail
December 16, 2017 4:30pm
WAYNE Bennett has outlined his plan for rugby league to boom in Donald Trump’s America as the Broncos and England coach turned up the heat on the code’s bosses to grow the sport in the US.
Three decades after being part of State of Origin’s exhibition game in Los Angeles, Bennett is keen to sell the sport to Trump and 323 million Americans by returning to the US next year with the England team.
The England and New Zealand rugby leagues are currently in negotiations to stage a Test match next June in Denver in the first step towards promoting the sport ahead of the 2025 World Cup in the US and Canada.
Bennett’s contract with England expired a fortnight ago following a World Cup that represented a shot in the arm for the British game after the Poms narrowly lost 6-0 to Australia in the final at Suncorp Stadium.
Speaking exclusively with The Sunday Mail, Bennett revealed he wants to extend his tenure with the England team – but only if international league bosses support his dream for the code to take off in the States.
“We have to find ways to grow the game. We need to take rugby league to America,” Bennett said.
“The international bosses need to deliver on some stuff in relation to fixtures and the calendar and then I’ll look to commit to England.
“I’m sick of the game wasting opportunities to grow the game. We can’t do it with the game being played in the NRL, New Zealand and the north of England. That won’t give us a better game in 30 years.
“The rugby league World Cup in America is seven years away. They had the soccer World Cup in America 20 years ago and now look at how soccer has taken off in the US.
“Now it’s time for us to get over to America and make our statement.”
After a superb World Cup, the international game threatens to stagnate next year.
Under the current schedule, the Big Three of Australia, New Zealand and England won’t play again until next October.
Bennett hopes to change that with a mid-season Test between the Poms and Kiwis on the weekend of June 22-24, which coincides with the NRL’s representative weekend and State of Origin II.
The Test is slated for Mile High Stadium, home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos. It would be rugby league’s most significant contest on American soil since 2004, when Australia, then coached by Bennett, beat the USA Tomahawks 36-24 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
Bennett was also Queensland coach when Origin was played in California in 1987 and says he is stunned rugby league hasn’t found its niche in the North American market.
“We have never bought into America in the way rugby league should have,” he said.
“America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Their people love the physicality of gridiron – there is so much scope for rugby league to succeed over there.
“I’m passionate about international rugby league and one of my ambitions is for rugby league to take off in America.
“I’d love to be part of going to Denver but I don’t want to waste my time if we aren’t serious about growing the game.
“The Pacific Nations like Tonga and Fiji have been incredible in recent years, but England and New Zealand won’t get closer to Australia if we’re playing one or two games a year.
“It (the Denver Test) would be played during the week of Origin so it can be done.
“America has more than 300 million people so there is a massive market for us to tap into. Hopefully, I might even meet Donald Trump while I’m there.”
