by To rugby league, the United States has long been an El Dorado. Visionaries of the 13-man game long believed that Americans would innately love their game and that wealth, fame and status would follow if only the code could be displayed correctly.
Of course, the game never performed well in the United States. But attempts to crack the nut go back 94 years and since then rugby league thinking has been all over the globe.
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ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys is often hailed as the greatest visionary of the game and is credited with bringing NRL games to the US, and for surrounding it with so much marketing and razzamatazz. But V’landys is cut from the same rock as administrator Harry Sunderland, who has long dreamed of American leadership.
Sunderland was an ambitious, big, idealistic, unwavering believer in rugby league. The Queenslander was instrumental in establishing the game in his home state during the code’s fledgling years in Australia and would later play such a prominent role in England that the Harry Sunderland Trophy was awarded 59 years after his death to the . best player in the Premier Division decided.
During a time of global uncertainty in a game that was forever insular, Sunderland believed there was a place for a league across the Pacific. He unsuccessfully attempted to bring the 1929-30 Kangaroos to play on the west coast and played a secondary role in two exhibition matches played in California in 1954 between Australia and New Zealand.
The 1950s were a pivotal time for the American dream of rugby league as the game flourished in the years following the second world war. Buoyed by the success of the 1951 tour to France, American promoter Mike Dimitro took a touring team consisting mainly of California College footballers to Australia and New Zealand. The American All-Stars won several games and crushed both NSW and Queensland, but the tour was a financial disaster despite a single game crowd of over 65,000 at the SCG.
No US touring team has returned since. However, there were teams in the world sevens between 1997 and 2002, featuring the NFL’s 40-metre spiral pass down the field called forward by referee Bill Harrigan, and the USA side taking on South Sydney with during the Rabbitohs’ exile.
Three born and bred Americans played in the premiership, led by Al Kirkland from the 1953 All-Stars Tour, who played the 1956 season with Parramatta as a speedy outside back. Manfred Moore played just five games for Newtown in 1977 but is etched in the lore of the club and the game when he threw a pass over the King George V stand at Henson Park. Greg Smith tried out for the Philadelphia Eagles before playing one game for Newcastle in 1999.
Although an Australian Premiership game has yet to be played on American soil, it is amazing that a State of Origin game has happened. The NSWRL and QRL agreed an unprecedented fourth game for the 1987 series to be played in Long Beach, California, where 12,000 people attended to see the likes of Peter Sterling, Wally Lewis and Allan Langer.
International matches have been played in the United States since 1993 but two trips in particular left a mark: in 2004 only 4,500 fans showed up to watch Australia beat the USA 36-24 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia; and in 2018 England beat New Zealand 36-18 in Denver in what was considered an exhibition to stage the 2025 World Cup, but promoter payments were not canceled due to the cancellation of future matches. The American World Cup dream was broken.
Two English teams met in Milwaukee in 1989 under the banner of The Great American Challenge. The match between Wigan and Warrington featured notable figures including Ellery Hanley, Des Drummond and Les Boyd.
But efforts to bring the self-professed “biggest game of all” to the US have been inconsistent and usually left to outside promoters. Little effort has been made to make the game look great and little promotion has been done.
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This latest foray feels different. The NRL is running it all. This time no expense has been spared, presumably because of the enticing prospect of the money it could return if successful – the venture is driven by the promise of gaming dollars, future TV revenue and an opportunity to brand the NRL improve.
Rugby league will never be a major sport in the United States. Don’t need to be. Winning the hearts and interest of some and the awareness of a few can give the NRL a legitimate foothold in a wealthy nation with a population that can open revenue streams and talent pipelines to give the NRL legitimate global appeal.
It will take more than two games this weekend in Las Vegas. It will take more than a few NFL players to get talking about the game. But for the first time, the nearly century-old rugby league dream has a chance of making it in America.
