England v Australia 2025 - coming to the UK?

[Coggo]

No-brainer, really.

Thousands of British RL/NRL fans will be gagging to watch England vs Australia (Samoa is great but it's not the same) after years of Covid frustrations and RLWC semi-final ball-ups.

Get the venues sorted, then send links to buy a 3-game package

[Eddie]

3 hours ago, The Masked Poster said:

I disagree. If (big word in RL I know) they grasp the baton early enough and really run with it, they could well fill Wembley for such a prestigious sporting team as the Kangaroos. 
 

Note: if they announce it next September and have a few adverts in League Express, then sell tickets via a club *and* restrict the choice of tickets, then it will not be quite the same. But if it's confirmed....start the build up then, no messing. 
And before someone mentions budgets, things like SM campaigns can be done very cheaply, if not free.

They nowhere near filled Arsenal for the World Cup semi final, filling Wembley for a test match is very unlikely. 

[Just Browny]

1 minute ago, Eddie said:

They nowhere near filled Arsenal for the World Cup semi final, filling Wembley for a test match is very unlikely. 

I share the scepticism about filling Wembley, but I think there are some advantages from a promotion perspective when you know who the teams involved are versus a semi final.

For one you can target an Australian ex-pat community and big up the Kangaroo brand, whereas in 2022 everyone assumed it would probably be Eng-NZ (but clearly it wasn't). 

[WN83]

25 minutes ago, Father Gascoigne said:

With the early murmurs suggesting that the frontrunners are THS and Wembley, it suggests that the RFL will go for whoever makes the best offer. If it's hosted at THS, the max attendance would be 62,000. If it's hosted at Wembley, I'd argue that the likely max is also around that figure based on past performance in London. 

I don't think availability will be a problem anywhere. What will count is where the RFL can make the most money. That kind of thing is not something we'll be privy to. Whatever one might feel is the best option in London, it will probably come down to things that have little to do with fan wants, suitability, or anything else not related to the bottom line. 

True. We can only throw around preferences and what will be will be. There won't be any complaints from me with Arsenal, Spurs or Wembley (or any other London venue). As long as the series is on and we take a test to London, I'll be more than happy and will have 12 months of counting down the days until it happens. 

Edited October 28, 2024 by WN83

[sam4731]

2 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

I share the scepticism about filling Wembley, but I think there are some advantages from a promotion perspective when you know who the teams involved are versus a semi final.

For one you can target an Australian ex-pat community and big up the Kangaroo brand, whereas in 2022 everyone assumed it would probably be Eng-NZ (but clearly it wasn't). 

The format was set up in 2022 so that, if we topped our group, we couldn't face NZ or Aus in the SF.

[WN83]

21 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

An Ashes in England next year is better than one in Aus next year in my opinion. I felt the calendar when announced previously was out of whack having Ashes followed by WC both in Aus. Don’t you think an Ashes next year in England is a positive Dave?

Furthermore, I don’t think the NRL deserve any special thanks, but it certainly didn’t take long before unsubstantiated accusations were thrown at the NRL that they couldn’t be bothered running an Ashes in Aus and putting in a request to play England in England in 2025 certainly doesn’t sound like the actions of an organisation that hates international footy and doesn’t support England and NH RL.

Not a clue of the reasons behind it but it makes sense. Had the World Cup been in France as planned, I think we could've lived with us not having test matches in the UK for a couple of years but once that got knocked on the head, it became a problem. As with things like the WCC, English teams will do what needs to be done and if they had to travel down under for the next 3 years to get games, they would've done it but thankfully that does not seem to be the case and an Ashes series in the UK will mean far more to the game than it would had it been in Australia. 

Now if we could somehow win the series, that would be one hell of a shot in the arm for the International game. We can but dream!

[Just Browny]

3 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

The format was set up in 2022 so that, if we topped our group, we couldn't face NZ or Aus in the SF.

Ah yes you're quite right, I was mixing up with 2017 where NZ unexpectedly finished 2nd in the group and messed it up.

[The Masked Poster]

15 minutes ago, Eddie said:

They nowhere near filled Arsenal for the World Cup semi final, filling Wembley for a test match is very unlikely. 

Yes and we all know what a porridge they made of the WC in general.

This *could* be different - IF they want it to be. 

[Sports Prophet]

Can we be confident that it won’t be Brentford, St Helens and Huddersfield  

To Dave and Damien’s chat on London opening, I’m not sold on the capital must be the opener either, but for all the points made, I do think the opener in London at any of Emirates, Tottenham or Wembley is the best option. 

I do realise there is a lack of evidence to support it, but I would love to see a game in Wembley and the RFL targeting an 80k+ attendance and achieving it no cost spared, even if it is left to two games in the north to make the series financial.

[sweaty craiq]

2 hours ago, Barley Mow said:

You'll know better than me, being on that side of the Pennines, but are you saying that rugby league fans in the north west (fans of 12 Lancashire & Cumberland clubs, etc) would attend at Manchester but would see Liverpool as being too far?

I'd assumed it wouldn't make a lot of difference - most are located between Manchester and Liverpool, some closer to one and some closer to the other. And for those coming from Barrow or Cumberland, it wouldn't make a great deal of difference which you were going to after a longer journey.

I wouldn’t bother unless it was a decider, would go to Etihad even OT plus the London one. Would travel in a decent sized group to those 2 and to Everton/Newcastle if it was a decider

[sweaty craiq]

3 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

Can we be confident that it won’t be Brentford, St Helens and Huddersfield  

To Dave and Damien’s chat on London opening, I’m not sold on the capital must be the opener either, but for all the points made, I do think the opener in London at any of Emirates, Tottenham or Wembley is the best option. 

I do realise there is a lack of evidence to support it, but I would love to see a game in Wembley and the RFL targeting an 80k+ attendance and achieving it no cost spared, even if it is left to two games in the north to make the series financial.

Cost would depend on NRL expectations - if it gets the TV cash which covers a huge sell in the Smog then it’s a no brainer should Wembley be available

[gingerjon]

The three venues should have three distinct audiences. No 3-for-2 series tickets and, related, as per @Archie Gordonearlier - absolutely no double headers.

[bromleybulldog]

2 hours ago, sam4731 said:

For me, what the Emirates major selling point over Spurs is that it's right on top off a tube station. Much more accessible.

And it's less than a mile to Finsbury Park station which has great rail connections to St Pancras, South London and more Arsenal Stadium can be reached far more easily and via multiple routes than Spurs.  Prefer the Spurs ground though but it's a real curse getting there.

[GeordieSaint]

8 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

The three venues should have three distinct audiences. No 3-for-2 series tickets and, related, as per @Archie Gordonearlier - absolutely no double headers.

Good luck with that…

[Bull Mania]

49 minutes ago, Eddie said:

They nowhere near filled Arsenal for the World Cup semi final, filling Wembley for a test match is very unlikely. 

Don't think we need to fill out. Didn't we get around 44k for the four nations game there in 2011? It felt like a much bigger event than a sold out DW. 

 

[Harry Stottle]

Damn, just caught up with this thread, I was planning to go to Aus for the series in '25 much more exciting than being played here. I was also going to couple it up with the Cricket Ashes being played over there (scheduling allowing) now would have been a good trip to savour and look forward to.

[Damien]

14 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

The three venues should have three distinct audiences. No 3-for-2 series tickets and, related, as per @Archie Gordonearlier - absolutely no double headers.

Absolutely. In RL terms this is as premium as we get in this country. We certainly shouldn't be going down this road. We should be pitching to all those Southerners who I came across at Wembley and the Olympic Stadium over the years who can't believe how cheap international RL is (at prices that many RL fans wouldnt have considered cheap). We just need to let them know.

As an aside I've said various times on here that a big group of us from Uni used to meet up once a year at a RL event and that died a death due to the RFL no longer offering events that appealed to many. For the first time since the cancelled Ashes lads have already come out of the woodwork to organise this in London again. That shows the power of big events (hopefully).

[Damien]

6 minutes ago, Bull Mania said:

Don't think we need to fill out. Didn't we get around 44k for the four nations game there in 2011? It felt like a much bigger event than a sold out DW. 

 

44k at Wembley is pretty pointless, and expensive, when there are much more suitable stadiums.

[gingerjon]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

44k at Wembley is pretty pointless, and expensive, when there are much more suitable stadiums.

It was different when we had two events per year at the national stadium for football and rugby league (which the new Wembley was) as part of its funding agreement. We're out of that now and, also, London has alternatives.

[Tommygilf]

1 minute ago, Harry Stottle said:

Damn, just caught up with this thread, I was planning to go to Aus for the series in '25 much more exciting than being played here. I was also going to couple it up with the Cricket Ashes being played over there (scheduling allowing) now would have been a good trip to savour and look forward to.

I had considered that too, plus an RU Lions tour. 

Cannot plan anything with the Aussies involved.

[Gav Wilson]

I'm so happy, what a fantastic turn of events.

Test 1 at Spurs

Test 2 at Elland Road or St James' Park

Test 3 at Everton or Etihad

All 5 or 6pm KOs. All on BBC. All on sale before Christmas. Go BIG!

Then use Wire, Saints, Headingley, MKM and Brentford for your Tongas and Samoas, and then 1 big, 2 SL grounds for NZ.

I think we might have accidentally stumbled upon a proper home internationals formula!

[JM2010]

I’ll definitely be getting to at least two of these and will be able to bring quite a few with me

[WN83]

10 minutes ago, Gav Wilson said:

I'm so happy, what a fantastic turn of events.

Test 1 at Spurs

Test 2 at Elland Road or St James' Park

Test 3 at Everton or Etihad

All 5 or 6pm KOs. All on BBC. All on sale before Christmas. Go BIG!

Then use Wire, Saints, Headingley, MKM and Brentford for your Tongas and Samoas, and then 1 big, 2 SL grounds for NZ.

I think we might have accidentally stumbled upon a proper home internationals formula!

Evening kick offs is a big one for me. Again, If it's got to be in the day, so be it and I won't complain but these games are just so much better under the lights in terms of building an atmosphere and an event. 

Edited October 28, 2024 by WN83

[Damien]

8 minutes ago, WN83 said:

Evening kick offs is a big one for me. Again, If it's got to be in the day, so be it and I won't complain but these games are just so much better under the lights in terms of building an atmosphere and an event. 

I think London daytime works for travel etc, and maybe that's because any internationals I've been there have been daytime too so it just seems normal. 

Games in the North at night would be great though. They just have that big, gladiatorial feel and electric atmosphere.

[17 stone giant]

I would love to see Wembley used as the opener for an Ashes series, but I think considering that this is the first series for a long time, it perhaps makes more sense to go with Spurs or Arsenal and really try and get close to capacity.

If the Ashes is going to become a regular thing again going forwards - which it should be, or why are we bothering to do it at all - then we can look at using Wembley in four or so years time.

1 Spurs/Arsenal, 2 Man City/Everton, 3 Elland Road