Key events
Although the Wolves are rallying, Wigan’s first hour was a masterclass…
Regardless of the blow-out scoreline in the Warriors-Wolves game, the match was widely branded as the “biggest game in British rugby league.”
Aaron Bower’s story illuminates how “rare it is for Super League and the NRL to work hand in hand like this, but there is a shared goal of collectively cracking the US sports market and exposing rugby league to the masses worldwide.”
Las Vegas is a town where the numbers fall and for Sam Burgess’s boys they are falling hard. Currently the scoreline sits at Wigan Warriors 42 – 0 Warrington Wolves.
Those numbers will leave Big Sum with a serious hangover…
Will US President Donald Trump attend today’s festival of the boot?
The fact the NRL even invited him has caused no end of drama with one anti-domestic violence charity severing ties with the league over what it called a “tone deaf” offer.
“White Ribbon penned a letter to the NRL this week that ended a partnership dating back to 2008, citing the league’s decision to associate with “well-known perpetrators of abuse and violence against women”.
Here’s how Martin Pegan previewed the NRL’s return to Vegas…
“Now that the league has arrived at its destination, there are more fans in town, more events on the ground, and teams from more countries putting the finishing touches on their own show. Twice as many matches as last year are still to come when all the off-field glitz and glamour are put to one side and the quadruple-header finally kicks off at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday”
Preamble
Angus Fontaine
Greetings sports fans! Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the extravaganza that is Rugby League in Las Vegas 2.0. Angus Fontaine here on the keys and what a day of action we have for you today.
Currently under way on Allegiant Stadium is the clash between Super League giants Wigan and Warrington. Wolves coach and Rabbitohs great Sam Burgess made it onto his flight with four minutes to spare but at halftime, his boys were still grounded at 0-24.
First up, we’ve got the NRL season opener between the Canberra Raiders and New Zealand Warriors at 4:00pm PST / 11:00am AEDT. Raiders coach ‘Sticky’ Ricky Stuart has already been hailed as the game’s “ultimate trash talker” by the US media and I’m not game to disagree.
Next, for their first meeting since the 2017 World Cup, Australia take on England in a women’s international. That match kicks off at 6:15pm PST / 1:15pm AEDT and Megan Maurice will be on the tools with a live call eight years in the making
Finally, it will be four-time defending NRL champions the Penrith Panthers duking it out with the Cronulla Sharks at 8:30pm PST / 3:30pm AEDT. Can Ivan Cleary’s mountain men reign supreme again in 2025 despite losing a galaxy of stars to rivals? Or will the Sharks, with new marquee signing Addin Fonua-Blake, pop their bubble?
Eight mighty teams. Four fierce games. One crazy day. Here we go…
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