“IF YOU build it, they will come.”
It’s a line often attributed to the 1989 Kevin Costner movie “Field of Dreams” – although the actual line ends “he will come” – but the sentiment is the same. If you create something of a high enough quality and really believe in it, that belief can be the driving force for success.
Along similar lines, for the most dedicated rugby league fans, you could say “play it, and they will go”.
We all know that rugby league isn’t blessed with the biggest crowds in British sport, but what we do have is one of the most loyal fanbases full of people who want the game to succeed.
With Everton and Headingley already sold out for the Ashes Tests later in the year and Wembley proving to be a popular choice for the opening match of the series, it is a real shot in the arm for the sport and further proof that if the quality of the game is good enough and exciting, people will turn out to watch.
Over 63,000 people were in attendance as the game returned to Wembley on Saturday, 7th June, when the first three pieces of silverware of the year were up for grabs.
Every one of those in attendance were treated to another day of high-class action, never-ending drama and the highest of highs for the three winners, but the lowest of lows for runners up.
Denis Betts’ Wigan Warriors kicked things off in style, running in seven tries in an impressive performance that brought St Helens’ four-year stranglehold on the Women’s Challenge Cup trophy to an end.
Wigan had the women’s final wrapped up just after half time, but by contrast the men’s final went down to the wire (no pun intended) as a late Tom Davies try for Hull KR, followed by Mikey Lewis holding his nerve to slot over the conversion gave the Robins an 8-6 win.
Some felt the final try was controversially awarded, prompting the RFL to release almost instant clarification that the video referee’s decision was correct, as an anomaly in the rules treats attackers and defenders differently when it comes to grounding the ball.
Whereby a try can be scored with the hand or by “dropping on the ball and covering it with the part of the body above the waist and below the neck, the ball itself being on the ground”, for a defender to concede a goal-line drop-out they must “touch down”, described in the laws as “the intentional grounding of the ball by a defending player in their own in-goal”. In this case, Warrington’s Arron Lindop, who fell on the ball and appeared to ground it with his torso, was deemed to have not touched the ball down intentionally, therefore play continued and Davies scored.
It was an even lower scoring event in the final game as York and Featherstone were drawing 4-4 after 80 minutes, with each having kicked two penalties each. A few field-goal attempts failed to hit the mark in golden point extra time, before Liam Harris sealed it for the Knights.
The day really did have everything, but could the weekend have been even better? In my view yes, simply by making one small fixture change in future years.
The notion of “play it, and they will go” could always be seen when London Skolars hosted their Friday Night Lights game on the eve of the Challenge Cup Final. No matter which League One side made the trip down for the game, huge numbers of supporters already in the capital for the following day’s action, rolled up at the New River Stadium to watch some live rugby league.
Year on year, this proved to be Skolars’ biggest attendance of the season, and they always made an event of the game. For many it became as much a part of a Challenge Cup Final trip as walking down Wembley Way or getting a picture taken with the rugby league statue outside the ground.
It’s a similar story with Newcastle, whenever they have hosted a game the night before Magic Weekend gets underway.
But for the last two years, since Skolars withdrew from League One, fans have missed out on this extra rugby league fix.
Instead, in this time, myself and RLW colleagues have simply met up for some food and a couple of drinks. This year it was in the Wetherspoons near Euston Station, 12 months ago it was Baker Street, but both times the pubs have been filled with many fans in a variety of shirts – clearly showing people do make a weekend of it.
Given that two Championship sides contest the 1895 Cup Final at Wembley, it was not really practical to have London Broncos host a Friday night fixture, in case either side progressed all the way in the competition. But that isn’t the only option available.
Just seven days after the rugby league world trekked south, Halifax Panthers beat London Roosters 46-24 in front of just a couple of hundred people the Wheelchair Challenge Cup Final in Wigan. The majority of those in attendance were followers of the two clubs, with few, if any, neutrals watching the action.
Surely a form of rugby league that is this brutal and all-out action deserves more eyes on it, and it got that during the 2022 World Cup, when London’s Copperbox Arena hosted a number of games in front of packed houses. It wasn’t just supporters of the two nations playing that went – it was general rugby league fans as well as locals who wanted to see what the game was all about.
How about this for an idea. Let the Copperbox host the Wheelchair final the night before Wembley. Supporters are down there anyway and I have no doubt they would get along to watch and start their weekend in spectacular fashion.
It would make it a true Cup Final weekend, showcase all aspects of our great sport and get even more clubs and supporters involved.
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a true sporting weekend!
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 510 (July 2025)