At a coffee shop a Las Vegas waitress described it as a “mix between football and soccer”. The server at the cannabis dispensary next door had seen an explainer on TV. “It’s football but a lot more complex and aggressive,” she said.
Rosanne, selling stretched plastic chickens on novelty chains at a kiosk downtown, knew “it’s some kind of contact sport, that’s about it”. That’s all the lingerie-clad waitresses at an open-air bar on Fremont Street knew about it, too.
Rugby league fans puzzled locals at an event in Fremont St, Las Vegas. Credit: Getty Images
When Americans are asked if they have heard of rugby league, featuring in four matches over a marathon day at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on Saturday local time, the most common response is a blank look, then “no”.
The second is to confuse it with rugby union, an Olympic sport in its sevens form and played at some US universities. The confusion has bedevilled the NRL’s attempts to gain a foothold in the United States.
At the taco truck, server Samantha described rugby league as when “a bunch of different countries come together and they just play rugby”. Another said yes, they knew the game; they’d watched the Wallabies.
Some know it’s not quite union but not how they differ. “I mean, I know what rugby is,” said Brendan Paul, an Elvis impersonator at a quickie wedding chapel. “They say this is rugby league. I assume it’s similar?”
But Peter Yoon is a fan. “I wish it was more popular in America,” he said, staring up at a giant NRL advertisement on a Las Vegas casino.
Las Vegas resident Lee Beausoleil will support the WarriorsCredit: Billie Eder
“I think it’s fun to watch, to play. The problem with it is that it’s not very widely offered, and while you’re growing up there’s no leagues for children because it’s dangerous.
“Here, you don’t really see it until you get to a collegiate level and by then everybody has sort of found their groove, what they like, what they like to watch.”
Las Vegas local Lee Beausoleil is a fan in the making, too. He first watched league during a holiday to Australia. “It was very exciting,” he said. “Fast forward a few years, last year, 2024, the National Rugby League shows up to Las Vegas and we couldn’t wait to go.”
There has been interest from US media. The New York Times′ Athletic wrote an article entitled “brutal hits, no pads and inflatable baseball trouble”, referring to the late-night altercation between two Raiders players.
The New York Post wrote about it too, but on its rugby page, headlined: “Rugby is returning to Las Vegas.”
Local media have also previewed the gala. Britain’s press is covering the Super League contest between Wigan and Warrington, which the chief executive of the latter described as “the biggest game in British rugby league history, going back to 1895″.
About 80 media accreditations have been issued for the day, including to The New York Post, The Athletic and local broadcasters LKAS and KTNV.
The authors flew to Las Vegas as NRL guests
