England coach Wayne Bennett has continued to talk up the significance of Saturday’s groundbreaking Test match in Denver against New Zealand.
Bennett, a staunch internationalist and firmly in support of the game going ahead at Mile High Stadium this weekend, has insisted it is essential the sport retains a long-term plan for the development of the game in North America.
With a World Cup in the United States and Canada seven years away, Bennett believes it is vital that the building blocks are put in place now to guarantee that when that tournament arrives, the game is ready to explode into North America.
He said of this weekend’s game: “It’s here for the next couple of years and hopefully we can do that, and there will be a World Cup here in 2025 so it’s important that we play a lot more football over here so the American people understand what rugby league is and how it’s played.
“It’s important to have that long-term vision. We’ve been around for over 100 years now but we still play in the same places we did.
“It’s important that we get out there and showcase the game, and in another 100 years time let’s hope there’s a couple of good teams come out of America.”
