Rugby league’s latest attempt to get into America is the NRL in Las Vegas, which is yet another hunt because

Rugby league’s latest attempt to get into America is the NRL in Las Vegas, which is yet another hunt because

Like many gamblers before it, the NRL is charging into the desert in search of the bright lights of Las Vegas. It has huge goals in mind, plenty of cash in its pocket, and a firm belief that it will only support winners.

The thought of rugby league’s imminent American adventure would elicit excitement even from the most jaded of supporters.

The thought of NRL games being played in front of 40,000 spectators at this year’s Super Bowl venue in Las Vegas, or seeing a projected image of Steeden in Times Square, is the kind of thing that makes the heart race, if only a little.

And since this is America, and this is rugby league, it’s easy to get carried away with fantastical ideas of a future in which the land of the free falls in love with the game, even if it’s been tried so many times that the selling points are already known off by heart.

Imagine what people in America would think of a game that is comparable to the NFL but played faster and without pads. They adore the toughness, physicality, and pace of the league.

With 331 million people, only 1% of the nation must participate for the endeavor to be profitable. After that, the only restrictions on the sport’s potential are your own imagination.

Consider all the talented athletes who aren’t selected for the NFL each year; they only need a new opportunity to play. Let’s provide it to them so that America can produce some homegrown heroes.

The Yanks will adore this game; all they need to do is watch it, and they’ll be hooked. They’ll buy jerseys, subscribe to streaming services, and wager on the games like they do everything else. TV deals will be signed, and games will be streamed from San Diego to Boston until rugby league is as glamorous as Ol’ Glory itself. Finally, the game can revel in its newfound wealth.

The gambling point is significant, which is the primary reason for the initial American attempt.

The amount of money involved is so great that even a small portion of the revenue, which is all the NRL is pursuing because that is all they can reasonably hope for, will be sufficient to justify taking another stab at the stumps.

Americans have embraced sports gambling with characteristic zeal since it was made widely legal in 2018. The American Gaming Association reports that wagering on sports reached about $120 billion in 2023, up 27.5% from the previous year.

That’s a lot of action, and there’s more to come. It makes sense that the NRL would want a piece of it given that gambling and sports are already closely related.

Even for the most pessimistic among us, this American venture feels fresh, bright, and pretty exciting—even when the betting focus is taken into consideration. But for nearly a century now, rugby league has been following its own version of this playbook and logic, chasing its American dream.

In 1933, the renowned administrator Harry Sunderland wrote to George Halas, the owner of the Chicago Bears, suggesting an exhibition game in Chicago between the Kangaroos and the team that would tour the country the following year.

Legendary American football player and Bears founder Halas wasn’t simply open to the concept; he suggested that the Kangaroos and his side play a game with one half played under league standards and the other half played under American football regulations.

It was a really good idea, and it’s exciting to consider the opportunities it might have brought. However, so were the 1953 American All Stars tour, the 1987 fourth State of Origin match, the 2004 Philadelphia game between the USA Tomahawks and the Kangaroos, and the Denver.

These efforts were one-offs with little to no follow-up by the authorities, albeit they had differing degrees of success (the Denver Test was badly done, while the Philadelphia match felt like the beginning of something).

Rugby league could never truly get a handle on America because it was always too huge, too expensive, too expansive, too wild, and too sprawling. In other words, America was simply too American.

The World Cup campaign in 2013 and the 2004 match, two of rugby league’s biggest triumphs in the US, were not the result of flashy marketing campaigns but rather of years and years of selfless grassroots development by real believers on the ground. It’s quite another matter entirely when an approach is taken top-down, like the NRL is trying to do.

Persistence is essential if they are to succeed in America and overcome the overwhelming dominance of their home games. Rugby league has seldom been a sport willing to make the sacrifice of spending a lot of money before it starts to make any.

Early indications from Vegas are encouraging. There has allegedly been a lot of interest from Australia, and ticket sales are slowly approaching the 40,000 threshold.

However, it’s important to keep in mind how low rugby league started and how high the bar is for it to reach in America.

There are currently only about 3000 American users of the WatchNRL app, most of them are expat Australians. It’s worth debating how many of the spectators at Allegiant Stadium on game day will be die-hard fans of the team and how many will just be interested bystanders.

The marketing’s claim that there are “no pads” seems obsolete.

Through rugby union, which has been established in the US via college sports, sevens events, numerous Test matches that have been played in America over the past decade, and the confusingly-named Major League Rugby competition, there is an greater awareness of a contact sport with no protection gear than ever before.