Potential Headingley crowd for second England Test revealed as landmark figure within reach
A general view of play in a Super League clash at Headingley between Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors
England’s second Test match against Samoa this Saturday is on track to attract a bigger crowd than any which attended last year’s three-match series versus Tonga.
AMT Headingley will host Shaun Wane’s side as they look to complete a series whitewash against the Samoans, after last week’s victory over the tourists in Wigan.
That game pulled in a crowd in excess of 15,000 but there are hopes the crowd will be higher than that this week, Love Rugby League has been told.
Last year’s game at Leeds saw a crowd of 15,477 watch England complete a 3-0 series victory – but it is expected that the figure will surpass that this weekend.
Every seat inside Headingley has sold out, leaving just the terracing available for what is likely to be another fiery and entertaining clash between two nations fast developing an intense rivalry.
Officials are hopeful that the momentum garnered from the Wigan Test – not least the Samoans spine-tingling Siva Tau which saw Mikey Lewis go head-to-head with Gordon Chan Kum Tong – will lead to a further take-up of tickets.
There is also tentative hope that news of Australia potentially touring England too will increase the momentum around the match this weekend and the prospect of Wane’s side going into that Ashes series off the back of a two-year unbeaten run.
Wane said on Tuesday that he was delighted with what his side produced on Sunday in Wigan, and hoped they could back it up further with another strong performance in Leeds.
He said: “I was more impressed watching it back. We did a lot more good things than I thought so I was really satisfied. We did a lot of good detail and a lot of our game-plan stuff, we delivered on, so I was happy.”
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