Quite happy with the announcement. Would of liked to have seen a return of GB for a tour but apparently the Aussies weren't keen. This series is at least a good way of getting some high quality international rugby back in this country. What venues would people like to see? I would like to see them build off the world cup and be quite ambitious and go for bigger stadiums than usual, with a well pushed marketing campaign well in advance I think it could be successful especially if some world cup attendees are drawn back in. Based on this my selections would be:

Game 1 - Etihad Stadium - yes its the football season but i'm sure we could come to an agreement especially as we have good relations with them anyway with the magic weekend.

Game 2 - Wembley stadium - think it is important to keep returning to the capital with these games as the semi final was a success and its the only real exposure we get down south. Really try and build on that world cup crowd. Would of had it as the final game and potential decider however if the series is 2-0 by that point it could affect walk ups.

Game 3 - Elland Road - a regular venue for four nations games etc, right in the heartlands of rugby league. Can see this venue being well attended even if the series is already won.

If they really pushed the marketing and got the pricing right, this could be a real success. It will be interesting to see the ambition shown when the details are announced in November.

Completely agree. Market this right, and we can get big Crowds. Time to forget tests at DW, Hohn Smiths stadium etc. It screams small time.

Market it big, England v.s NZ live from the Etihad, Wembley, makes it feel like an event. Shame it's not GB series though.

cant see games being played at wembley, etihad or elland road, until demand for tickets outstrips sales, the rfl will keep it safe and choose the 25000-30000 capacity games

Yes lets fill the bottom tier of Wembley if were lucky elland rd the dw and the KC will be more than enough in size for a series against new Zealand

Think Wembley might be too big, might the Olympic Stadium be ready by then? Might be a potential, smaller, option.

I'd agree on Etihad. Elland Road is just the right size and is obviously in an RL area which helps, it's just a shame the seats are so bloody uncomfortable and tight.

It's an issue for us fat knackers.

This is exactly the attitude I was expecting. Maybe if RL fans had a slightly more positive attitude and desire for the sport to succeed then we might actually get somewhere. As it is at the minute the majority of fans would rather moan about everything and stay exactly where we are without making any progress.

lancashire, west yorkshire and east yorkshire, thats where the vast majority of rugby league fans are, to ask supporters to trek to london a month before the festive season is asking a lot

unlike union who have clubs around the capital, league should stay up north for this tour

If we stay up north that's where we'll always stay. I don't see why in a 3 game series we can't have 1 game in London. In fact I think it's vital to generate some interest and publicity.

Do we want to stay a northern sport? Or do we want to become bigger and become a national sport? Fans aren't just going to appear in the thousands down south overnight, we need to draw them in and attract them. This is a pretty good event to get that started.

we couldnt fill wembley for the world cup double headers!


until the game gets the same coverage as union nationally thats what we are! truth hurts but we will always be considered a northern sport!

rfl pick wembley do you honestly think more than 30000-40000 will attend?

sorry for being realistic!

The point is, we will never get NATIONAL coverage if we stay a NORTHERN sport. It's not going to happen overnight but it's not going to happen at all unless we do something about it

How is it going to get more coverage by having tests at KC, John Smiths and DW. How is having 23k better than 40k at wembley.

The last 4N game we had at wembley we got over 40k. It looked great and felt like a proper event.

the world cup was the biggest event, most successful the RFL have put on, how much national press did the game get?

while the southern press and the bbc continue their love in for union it wont improve!

Someone must have filled their "international game fan cliche" bingo card by now, surely?

67,575 people attented the Wembley double header, a month before Christmas, and they saw one of the best Test matches in recent memory. It is short-sighted not to consider taking the 'rematch' of that fixture back to Wembley.

It's not difficult to get to London, especially with the best part of 12 months notice. We also have a big antipodean population within spitting distance of Wembley. I'd love the RFL to show some ambition on this and, if it upsets a few miserable gits who want to talk the game down, all the better - we don't want people like that watching this sport.

wembley, kc, john smiths etc will get the same coverage, a half hour build up by sky or even less by the beeb, more than likely to be put on bbc2 around half 6 on a sunday evening!

We need to be ambitious. Agree with the OP except I'd have Wembley as the opener. I'd have one of the island sides coming over as well playing a curtain raiser against England Knights, Wales and France before each test

Shame we couldn't get Wales and Scotland involved as double headers and have one in Cardiff and one in Glasgow/Edinburgh ...might not fill grounds but it would give locals a chance to see their national team as well as two of the big guns in the same day !

only 40,000? pah, hardly worth even bothering. Much better to have 20,000 people in Huddersfield.


I would say it is absolutely essential that one of the games is played at Wembley, especially on the back of what will be an overhyped dross infested media saturation of the Union World Cup for the previous 6 weeks.

- Etihad - perhaps, but remember it holds 54k.
- Wembley - we might get 20k if we're lucky. This isn't a World Cup semi double header and a NZ series simply isn't the same draw.
- Elland Road - no thanks. Terrible, dark, cramped stadium and we have an equally terrible record there.

Let's be realistic. Regardless of marketing, pricing, etc, England vs NZ at RL will not pull big crowds, certainly not outside the heartlands. Let's not make the same old mistake of showing 'ambition' and shoving games elsewere hoping to draw 'expansion' crowds. It doesn't work and doesn't attract any additional media coverage. You end up with the same old hardcore fans travelling at expense, a number of fans priced out, and a few token locals who may or may not be existing fans.

Stick to DW, KC and then pick one from Headingley, John Smith's, Langtree or Halliwell Jones. Do our best to fill those and make it a great atmosphere.

If wembley is to be used, it should be for the first game and the first game only. Any later in the series and it will struggle to go past the bottom tier.

If marketed right and its possible to buy tickets up to a year in advance, the whole its two close to christmas is just an excuse for people not wanting to go. Plenty of Kiwis live down south and with the amount of RL supporters they is in this country selling out wembley isn't unreasonable.

I would then have one test in Lancs and one in Yorkshire. Etihad and Hillsborough/Elland Road.

Would be nice if other international test series were organised, Wales v France and Tonga v Samoa.

The capacity for the etihad is just short of 47k, not 54k. With a year to sell tickets i would be very disappointed if we couldn't sell that out

Great to hear something has been sorted. I/we will be going to all of the matches.

Hopefully the clubs and the RFL get together and allow all pro/semi pro and amateur teams to sell tickets (for a cut). Not only does it help all clubs then but we get 100's of distributing/ agents around the country.

Absolutely! The RFU have been doing that for decades and it works!

Glanced at the wrong number on google. Regardless, even with a year to sell tickets I would be flabbergasted if we came within 20k of selling that out.

The last 3 attendances for England vs NZ in this country (not including the double header) have been 7,298, 19,390 and 23,447. We couldn't sell out Elland Road for the Four Nations Final against Australia. Not sure where you think all these extra fans will come from?

And if you expect the RFL to market it intensely for 12 months you can either expect ticket prices to go up or the series to operate at an horrendous loss.


They do already for most internationals and the Grand Final. Not sure about the CC.

I am usually all for spreading the game and being ambitious, but I think trying to promote a game up against the Union World Cup would be madness. Also I doubt grounds that are being used in that tournament such as Wembley, Olympic Stadium and the Etihad would be available for another event.

so i'd go for the DW, KC and then Elland Road or Huddersfield for the 'West Yorkshire' game.