England v Samoa moment shows exactly what rugby league desperately needs more of

The Rugby League season is winding down with just a handful of games left but appetite for the sport appears to be at its peak.

Causation is not correlation but it’s hard to ignore the positive vibes surrounding rugby league right now and so much of that has stemmed from the pre-match Siva Tau performed by Samoa as they prepared to face England.

Mislabelled by some as the ‘Haka’, the Samoan Siva Tau is the nation’s war dance and is traditionally performed prior to sporting contests, serving to create an incredible atmosphere.

That is what it did on Sunday at The Brick Community Stadium in Wigan with the 15,000-plus in attendance all frozen silent as they watched the spectacle.

It wasn’t just those watching who saw their adrenaline spike but those on the receiving end too. The footage of Mikey Lewis and Gordon Chan Kum Tong going head to head has gone viral and the Hull KR man would admit to his Samoan counterpart post-game that the Siva Tau got him “pumped up”.

Embracing the cultural differences between two nations in a way that shows respect and passion in equal measures is a special thing that few sports can do. Rugby League can though and it must be given a bigger platform to do so.

👏 Fierce competitors to respected opponents!

🙌 @mikeylewis32 & Gordon Chan Kum Tong showing us what rugby league is all about…

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #EnglandRL pic.twitter.com/LFQK85KdY0

— England Rugby League (@England_RL) October 28, 2024

What the RFL must do before Saturday

Rugby League does itself such a disservice with the promotion, consistency and ability to host international games.

Just yesterday, it was confirmed that the Ashes in 2025 may now be hosted in England. As standalone news for English fans, that is brilliant but looking at the sport as a whole, that’s embarrassing.

What is arguably the biggest event on the international stage outside of the Rugby League World Cup is set to have a schedule change just 12 months out. In an ideal world, tickets should be close to sold out for the series already with logistical plans well underway.

Instead, the RFL have confirmed that they are only now “starting work on the feasibility of such a tour”, highlighting the fragility of international rugby league which we know is something that is adored and can capture the eyes of millions.

One way to fix that issue is to confirm the three Ashes venues and announce that tickets are on sale before Saturday’s Test against Samoa. Ride on the wave of the Siva Tau and the emotion and attention it captured last weekend by selling the sport even further.

At that point, when an audience of approximately half a million tunes into the BBC and asks ‘How do I watch more of this amazing spectacle that is Rugby League’, they will have an immediate answer.

That is without even accounting for the millions in the new TikTok and social media generation that will watch it in the aftermath. In a sport with an ageing fan base, utilising social media to showcase the special bonds and respect present in international rugby league is essential to create the next generation of fan.

How can we maximise international rugby league?

The next issue is how to maximise the number of international games so that these events are not just pushed to the end of the season as somewhat of an afterthought.

Football has an international break, rugby union sees players go on international duty during the club season and it makes sense for rugby league to follow suit and create some form of mid-season calendar.

Whilst co-operation between the RFL and the ARLC would be necessary, there could be ways around this. The RFL’s advisors IMG have been vocal on their issue of loop fixtures, notwithstanding Magic Weekend.

Removing the other four loop fixtures would effectively create four extra weeks in the calendar. Should the NRL do something similar, which would admittedly be tougher given that the competition is looking to expand to 18 teams in the near future, then a three to four-week block could be created in the middle of the season.

That way fans are not waiting for their once-a-year fix of international rugby league. The sport can harness the spectacle and also televise it easily as the football season is over during the summer, creating a natural gap in the market.

However it can be done, it should be done because international rugby league is the pinnacle of our sport and must be treated as such.