Australia’s National Rugby League following NFL model in trying to expand its footprint
When Australia’s National Rugby League decided to try to expand its reach to the United States, it used a distinctly American sport as a model.
The NFL annually plays regular-season games in London, is in the midst of a fouryear commitment to Germany and in September will make its mark in Brazil for the first time. The London games often sell out, and tickets were gone for last year’s foray into Germany within 15 minutes.
Now it’s the NRL taking its game abroad to the U.S., following through on a plan that first was discussed in 2020 as Australia and the rest of the world coped with the onset of COVID-19.
Four NRL teams will open their season Saturday night at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, which hosted the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. The games — the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and then the Sydney Roosters versus the Brisbane Broncos — will be televised nationally in the U.S.
“A lot of us buy into the NFL back home and enjoy it and we want the same in America, to fall in love with our game,” said Damien Cook, who plays for South Sydney. “We spoke to a couple of (club rugby) teams down in San Diego who started with four teams and now they’ve got 14, so it’s definitely building over here. Hopefully, this game this weekend will give it a real good boost and America can love the game that we do so much.”
The games Saturday are the first in a five-year deal to bring NRL teams to Las Vegas, with new clubs rotating in over the coming years.
“We see other big sports leagues around the world like the NFL looking at international growth and international expansion,” NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said. “For us, it’s also multidimensional.”
Which, Abdo said, means the NRL is doing more than just playing the two games and going home. It’s also was about organizing a series of events to help promote the league, including a two-day national club tournament and a Thursday night fan fest at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas.
The ultimate goal is to create a U.S. fan base and grow it similar to how the English Premier League has attracted a strong core of American supporters who follow teams such as Liverpool, Manchester United or Tottenham.
To help achieve that aim, the NRL is first working on making inroads on the West Coast, largely because Saturday’s game times come when Australians are awake Sunday. The four teams were sent to train and promote the league in three locations — Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego — before they all gathered together this week in Nevada.
Oscar winner Russell Crowe, who grew up in Australia and is a co-owner of the Rabbitohs, narrated a five-minute YouTube video explaining the rules to American fans. The video has received 1.2 million views on X, formerly known as Twitter. It also is being used on TV broadcasts and on on-demand platforms.