What can international rugby league learn from rugby union’s autumn internationals?

The code wars are, once again, in full swing on social media, and whilst the debate over which is best will likely rage on for an eternity, the 15-man game certainly holds the trump card in one area. 

The international game in Rugby Union is SO much bigger than the equivalent in Rugby League. The World Cup in France last year drew in a record viewership of 1.33 billion over the course of the tournament, and in its current state also sees viewers from every continent in the world.

England is right at the heart of the Test world too in the ‘other code’, with a near-sellout 81,500 packed out the newly named Allianz Stadium for their defeat to Australia, and the week before 81,900 were in attendance for the clash with the All Blacks.

Contrast this to the England v Samoa series, and there were arguably more people in the bars at Twickenham than there were at both the Wigan and Leeds Tests; and don’t get me started on the crowd for the New Zealand v Papua New Guinea game in the Pacific Championship.

Don’t get me wrong though, the international game is growing in Rugby League, but it has a LONG way to go to even be within touching distance of Union’s; and we should definitely be taking some inspiration from them.

I come from this from the rather unique position of covering both codes, and have covered both at Test level too, and here is what I think Rugby League can learn from Test Rugby Union to grow the International game.

The occasion

I had a lovely three-and-a-half hour train journey up from the South West to Twickenham on Saturday morning, and left at around 6:50 to ensure I beat the crowds through Twickenham station – however, I did in fact get caught in the crowds.

For context, it was an oddly specific 3:10 kick-off (yes, that’s the actual kick-off time!), and I arrived at Twickenham station around 10:30, only to be met with a wave of tweed, hunters and Guinness drinkers (I’m one of them so I can say it), I’ve never seen crowds this early at any Rugby League game before.

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But, it felt almost right to be there this early, given the whole spectacle of the day. People were already packing the pubs, cafes and food outlets ready for a big day, and that sort of thing is exactly what League should be aiming to do to grow the game.

It needs to feel like more than just a game, it needs to feel like a really special occasion – much like the Challenge Cup final or the Grand Final.

This is where Stadia come into play too. Twickenham, to a Union fan, feels scared, a Mecca of Rugby, because it’s where you go to just watch England; but League chooses to play it’s Tests at standard Super League grounds. There needs to be some serious ambition here.

Fans aren’t going to feel like it’s a particularly special occasion if they get to watch England where they go every weekend to watch their club play, and if anything it would make the day feel slightly off and out of kilter with their usual gameday routine. Wearing a different shirt, singing different songs, supporting rival players, at your home ground?

Union doesn’t even consider that as a point. The senior men’s side would never play a game at a Premiership ground, and even when they have taken games away it’s gone to big football stadiums like St James Park (familiar territory for League fans).

The reports of taking an Ashes game to Everton’s new ground is exactly the sort of ambition they need to show, but we need to follow the Unionites and make it an occasion outside of the ordinary.

The fan experience and the spectacle

After weaving my way through the crowds, I headed into the ground and up to the Press Box – again, fairly early, but there was already a booming DJ and things going on, with people sat in their seats.

As I mention above, the occasion feels special when you go to a Union Test, and that then draws people into their seats early doors for the spectacle of the game.

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The RFU, to their credit, have gone out of their way to boost the fan experience at Twickenham, and the players have also had a huge say in this too. The DJ set gets people in early, then the atmosphere builds, then people are interested in the warm-ups, and then there’s a big fire and light show as the players come out. Yes, League has this too, but it just kind of feels forced, whereas in Union it’s an organic build-up into the game.

Everything is centred to building interest into the game, and League could do with doing this as well.

The exposure

Rugby League is clearly trying to grow the international game in both Hemispheres, with the Pacific Championship running at the same time as the England series’, but there needs to be more games in general to bring people in.

This is potentially an argument to do with the Super League clubs and loop fixtures (those blasted loop fixtures), but if we remove them and replace them with, say, a Home Nations Series, it would help grow the international game.

We’re in the deepest, darkest point of the League off-season now, but working in Union you come to realise there isn’t an off-season, the focus just shifts to the internationals – arguably the busier time of the year too.

England play 12 Tests a year in the 15-man game, as do teams like Australia, New Zealand and Fiji – Rugby League’s other biggest areas – whereas you’re lucky if you get to watch your nation play three League Tests a year.

There simply just needs to be more games, and games that mean something. The recent Tonga and Samoa series’ in the UK, despite the stern competition, almost felt like a foregone conclusion, and that reflected in the narrative and the attendances. There needs to be more frequent competition against the likes of Australia and New Zealand to draw in the crowds, and then have those series added in as well.

Rugby League does a lot of things well, some better than Rugby Union, but it needs to grow the Test game, and these should be the key focus points in doing just that.

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