Bevan French details Wigan Warriors ambition and Super League’s Las Vegas opportunity

Bevan French has revealed the lofty ambitions that Wigan Warriors hold are one of the reasons why he committed his long-term future to the club.

Wigan are riding the crest of a wave under head coach Matt Peet, with the Warriors currently holding all four trophies available to them: the Super League title, League Leader’s Shield, Challenge Cup and World Club Challenge.

And earlier this week, it was announced that Wigan and neighbours Warrington Wolves would be taking a Super League fixture to Las Vegas in 2025 as part of the NRL’s venture into the USA, which got underway back in March.

The Warriors are an ambitious club, having previously taken games to Wollongong, Millwall and now Las Vegas, whilst running a number of events throughout the course of the season to engage with the local community in the borough.

“I had aspirations of the Super League one day going there, but I didn’t expect it to happen this quickly to be honest,” French told the media in Manchester following Tuesday morning’s announcement.

“I had no idea Rads was behind it all, so credit to Rads. I’ve spoken about the ambition of the club before which Rads and Matty have, one of the reasons I wanted to stick around, so you can’t question his ambition at all and his dedication to it: not only to Wigan, but to the whole of the Super League.

“This is just the cherry on top. Speaking with the club, they’ve always been ambitious and Rads and Matty in particular have always spoken about wanting to grow the game and doing whatever it takes to grow the game in England.

“I obviously like the silverware and all that sort of stuff becomes infectious but the ambition to grow and try new things also played a part in locking me down (on a long-term deal).

“You always have aspirations of going there but it sort of happened so quickly. As a player it’s exciting to be given the platform and the opportunity to grow the game. I’m excited.”

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Wigan Warriors ace Bevan French on Super League’s American dream: ‘It’s definitely a privilege’

The NRL’s Las Vegas five-year plan began earlier this year, with more than 40,000 people in attendance at the Allegiant Stadium, which hosted this year’s Super Bowl.

French watched this year’s Las Vegas showpiece from his living room on TV, but one year on, he and his Wigan side will take centre stage Stateside as they take on local rivals Warrington.

“It was crazy, the atmosphere in the stadium,” French said of this year’s event.

“You can see the style of play that they wanted to entertain rather than (it being) a normal rugby game where it’s kind of building a grind. It was more of a freestyle play of rugby and, given the two teams that are going over from Super League, it probably suits us and Warrington well. The style of play will be great to play there and the new crowd as well, playing at that stadium hopefully packed out will be great.

“It’s something that years down the track you can tell your grandkids about, playing the first Super League game in Las Vegas. It’s definitely a privilege.”

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