England-Samoa Test clash to be streamed live
THE upcoming mid-season international Test Match between England and Samoa on May 6 will be streamed live across the UK and Europe on www.rugby-league.com
Fans will be able to watch England’s final competitive game before the 2017 Rugby League World Cup for just £3.49 with the game also available for free to any fan who buys a ticket for the Dacia Magic Weekend before 10.30am on May 5. England are likely to select a strong side for the encounter and could include the likes of Sam Burgess, James Graham and Kallum Watkins in what will be head coach Wayne Bennett’s last chance to see his team in competitive action before they take on Australia in the opening game of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.
Samoa, who are ranked fifth in the world, lost narrowly to England in the only previous meeting between the two nations in the 2014 Four Nations tournament and will pose a stern test for Bennett’s England side.
Rugby Football League chief commercial officer and Super League executive director, Roger Draper, said: “The way in which people watch sport is changing and we know that there is significant demand to watch Rugby League and particularly our national team.
“We believe that at just £3.49, the Test Match between England and Samoa offers tremendous value for what promises to be an incredible contest between two top sides. This one-off game also gives us the perfect opportunity to test and learn more about the market for live streaming as we begin to prepare for the future landscape of sports broadcasting and how Rugby League can best take advantage of it. We value all our broadcast partnerships tremendously and terrestrial coverage for our national team is very important to us, which is why we have secured deals that will show all of England’s games in both the 2017 and 2021 Rugby League World Cups live on terrestrial TV but the world is moving quickly and viewing habits are changing and we are excited to explore this opportunity. For this game, we entered into conversation with a number of organisations interested in buying the broadcast rights however the terms that were offered were not considered acceptable for Rugby League. We value the rights for our national team significantly higher than any of the offers and therefore felt that the right decision for this Test Match was to take it into our own hands and stream the game.”
The game will take place at Campbelltown Sports Stadium in Australia, with kick-off at 10.30am (BST). Fans who want to watch the game can register at live.rugby-league.com