From Norfolk to Nevada…. rugby league could have a truly global appeal in 2025. Far from the perceived northern heartlands, this game has been played in many places across the world, with matches in the last 12 months alone already having taken place in the Netherlands, Serbia, Jamaica, Kenya and South Africa among others. Here we look at other, slightly more unusual venues that have hosted games over the last decade or so.
DENVER
When Wigan Warriors take on Warrington Wolves in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 1st it won’t be the first time the British game has ventured into the United States of America. The same two club sides played a friendly at Milwaukee’s County Stadium 35 years ago in front of 17,000 supporters, but more recently 19,320 people turned up to see England face New Zealand in a 2018 test match at Denver’s Mile High Stadium. England ran out with a 36-18 victory on the day, but the size of the crowd, with many Americans among it, was perhaps deemed the winner on the day.
WOLLONGONG
The game in Vegas will also not be the first time a Super League game has been played outside Europe. That honour went to Wollongong. While the New South Wales city has previously, and since, hosted games, Wigan broke new ground by taking their Super League clash with Hull to the WIN Stadium – with the Warriors winning 24-10. A week later, the same weekend as Melbourne Storm hosted Leeds Rhinos in the World Club Challenge, Wigan faced South Sydney and Hull FC went up against St George‑Illawarra Dragons as the sport’s two leading nations put on a true festival of rugby league.
BARCELONA
Barcelona FC’s Nou Camp is one of the most iconic stadiums in the world, so it is perhaps little surprise that over 31,000 fans turned out to watch rugby league played there. Wigan were once again involved as Catalans Dragons took their 2019 Super League clash over the border to the Spanish city. Two tries from David Mead and further scores from Michael McIlorum, Samisoni Langi and Sam Kasiano set the Dragons on course for a 33-16 win. The following week, Catalans returned to the UK and played at another iconic football stadium as Anfield hosted the Magic Weekend.
BRISTOL
The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was a chance to showcase the game to new areas on home soil, and it certainly did that. As well as the usual northern grounds used to stage matches, the Memorial Ground in Bristol was one of the new venues chosen and played host to the Group D game between USA and Cook Islands. The 7,247 fans in attendance were treated to a thriller as America sprung a surprise in their full World Cup debut by beating the group favourites 32-20. Later talks of a league club forming in the city never materialised, so no further games have been played there yet.
LIMERICK
That same 2013 World Cup also saw one game taken across the Irish Sea to Thomond Park in Limerick – a ground more known for hosting union matches. The second lowest crowd of the whole tournament turned out, but the 5,012 attendance was still a record high in Ireland. Australia, unsurprisingly, were too strong for the hosts, running in nine tries in a 50-0 win. Greg Inglis and Johnathan Thurston had been rested by the Kangaroos, but with Billy Slater, Cameron Smith, Paul Gallen and Cooper Cronk all playing, there were still plenty of the world’s best stars on show to dazzle the locals.
TANZANIA
All of the previous examples on this page have been of professional games played outside the expected areas, but perhaps one of the most unusual places rugby league has been played in recent years actually involves a charity game. When the Steve Prescott Foundation took up the challenge to trek up Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro in 2015, they also decided to play the highest ever game of rugby league. Two teams of current (at the time) and ex-rugby league players played a full 80-minute match in a dormant volcano crater at an altitude of 5,752 metres, around 200 metres below the mountain’s summit.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 499 (August 2024)
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