Today, Las Vegas: tomorrow, the world? Only in the weeks, months and years to come will we know the lasting impact of Super League’s first foray into the United States but, while so many things felt new, one thing was eerily familiar: the brilliance of Wigan Warriors.
Matt Peet’s side have made it their habit to bring out their best on the biggest stages and in Nevada, with more eyes on them than ever, they certainly did not wilt as they beat Warrington 48-24, from 42-0 up.
It was easy to forget given all the pomp and circumstances surrounding Las Vegas’s four-game rugby league extravaganza that there were two competition points at stake. But really, that is the point. Wigan making it two wins from three with a commanding victory is almost the footnote. What really matters is why they sacrificed a home game at great financial cost to come and why Australia’s National Rugby League took a chance on adding Super League to the bill after last year’s inaugural Vegas event. It’s not about this: it’s about what happens next.
The hope from the NRL’s five-year arrangement with Las Vegas is that the most congested and intense sporting market on the planet takes an interest in rugby league. Moments such as the flying one-handed finish from Abbas Miski and the brilliance of Junior Nsemba should have certainly caught the eye of casual sports fans, if nothing else.
But it is not just here, in Las Vegas, where the impact of this game could be felt for Super League. Australian officials returned home after last year’s inaugural Stateside trip and reported a major boom in the sport on their own patch, with attendances rising and audiences going up off the back of the Vegas interest. Super League is hopeful of experiencing a similar boom in the UK. If the hype around Las Vegas catches a few new supporters on this side of the Atlantic, then that has to qualify as a major success.
More than 10,000 British fans made this trip, which pretty much ensures a repeat invite for two more clubs next year. Leeds, St Helens and Hull KR are among those at the head of the queue. And while the rest of the crowd trickled in after this one-sided win for Wigan had begun, the most important onlookers were already sitting down for kick-off.
Super League was given the NRL treatment. The facilities, the glitzy, high-end TV production and the experience of being on a par with Australia. With British officials in town to cosy up to the NRL, and its most powerful administrator, Peter V’landys, admitting he wants a strong British game, it creates food for thought.
The prospect of the NRL purchasing Super League and taking it under its wing for the good of the global game has never felt closer. And if the Australians do want to take Super League to new heights, they have a ready-made juggernaut to build it around in this Wigan team.
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The Warriors have dominated the British game of late and in attack they lit up Las Vegas in a way that would have mesmerised neutrals: eight tries, all of them absolutely stupendous. With performances such as this, is it any wonder the early noises are that Vegas wants more of rugby beyond this initial five-year agreement?
As for Super League, it has tried games on the road in Barcelona and Wollongong before. None led to any sort of discernible change in the competition’s fortunes. This, however, felt different. And with the NRL behind them, who knows where it could lead to for Super League?
