THE Rugby League World Cup is nearing its end with the final set to take place this Saturday at Old Trafford.
Australia and New Zealand took to the semi-final stage on Friday night at Elland Road – the home of Premier League side Leeds United – and what a game it turned out to be.
The Kangaroos had to withstand an incredible Kiwis onslaught to eventually run out 16-14 winners despite brilliant performances from the likes of Dylan Brown and Brandon Smith.
And what made the game even more impressive was the superb attendance registered inside the venue with 28,113 people flocking to the West Yorkshire stadium.
Wind the clock forward to Saturday and it was the turn of England and Samoa to do battle at the home of Arsenal – the Emirates Stadium.
It was the first ever rugby league game to be held at Arsenal’s home and what a spectacle it turned out to be with Samoa having to slot over a drop goal in Golden Point to finally end the game after England forced it past 80 minutes.
Samoa eventually ran out 27-26 winners with Super League pair Tim Lafai and Ligi Sao enjoying brilliant games for the underdogs.
It was truly a spectacular game to witness with the atmosphere inside the Emirates buzzing, but only 40,489 turned out which could be considered disappointing when taking into account the numbers that were registered back in the 2013 for the World Cup semi-final at Wembley.
That day back in late November saw 67,545 flock to the home of the Challenge Cup Final so it’s interesting to note the loss of 27,000 spectators.
