Sell-out ‘vindicates’ NZRL's decision to take Kiwi tests to Christchurch

Wednesday, 16 October 2024

The New Zealand Rugby League say the early sell-out of the Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns’ tests against Australia vindicates the decision to take the Pacific Championship matches to Christchurch.

Chief executive Greg Peters confirmed on Tuesday that the 17,000 tickets had been snapped up - almost a fortnight before the October 27 internationals at Addington’s Apollo Projects Stadium.

The attendance will match the last audience for a Kiwis v Australia test in Christchurch, at the now-defunct QEII Stadium in 1989.

Peters told The Press the sell-out “absolutely vindicates the decision to go down’’ to Christchurch.

“We need to start spreading the game around the country because we’re seeing outside Auckland, tremendous growth in junior numbers, 28% up year-on-year.

“We need to respond to that, and play in front of people who are now playing our game across the country.

James Fisher-Harris and his Kiwis team will start their Pacific Championship title defence against Australia before a capacity 17,000 crowd in Christchurch.

“While we used to centre ourselves more on Auckland, there are other opportunities, and Christchurch is proving itself to be one that we should be considering again in the future as well.”

The strong interest in the Kiwis’ tests follows a near sell-out for the Warriors’ pre-season game against Wests Tigers in Christchurch and a capacity crowd for their round three win against the Canberra Raiders.

Peters said it was “fantastic’’ to have the full-house sign up so soon, especially ”when we look back to the Kiwis-Great Britain in 2019 [in Christchurch], when we had 6700 people there.

“To have a sell-out is amazing, it’s a big statement for the game.”

Peters believes the growing audience for rugby league outside Auckland followed the growth in player numbers and “comes on the back of the Warriors’ performance in recent years in terms of capturing hearts and minds.

New Zealand Rugby League chief executive Greg Peters (L) with Kiwis coach Stacey Jones.

“The NRL finals have also been next level good in the last two years, and State of Origin too.”

He felt the “amount of activity we are putting on across the country in terms of tournaments and competitions that didn’t exist a few years ago’’ had also contributed to interest upsurge.

The Christchurch test is the first time the Kiwi Ferns have played in the city since 1998.

Peters said Christchurch had already had the two Warriors games in 2024, “and now the test matches’’, and next year would host the national youth tournament - the first time in years it will be staged ”out of the northern part of the North Island“.

With the One New Zealand Te Kaha Stadium due to open in 2026, he believed Christchurch could expect to get more big games.

Peters also felt the growing rugby league audience in Canterbury could help boost the case for a potential South Island NRL team.

“It [the big crowds] grows the interest in the game, generally. Ultimately, when the NRL makes its decision around future teams and expansion, that’s a big part of it because they want to see new fans coming to the game, they don’t want to cannibalise fan bases for current teams.

“A lot of fans turning up next weekend in Christchurch perhaps haven’t been to a rugby league game before. They’re the new fans we all want to see coming into the game.”

Jahrome Hughes of New Zealand celebrates the win during the 2023 Pacific Championship final against Australia.

Peters agreed the early sell-out showed there was a strong appetite for more international rugby league, which the NZRL will continue to advocate for.

Kiwis Georgia Hale and Mele Hufanga celebrate after beating the Australia Jillaroos in Melbourne in 2023.

“You’ll have seen the comments from our players, [captain] James Fisher-Harris and Charnze [Nicoll-Klokstad] saying [they want more test matches], and I’m on record as saying that.

“We should acknowledge the significant investment the NRL has put into the matches played around the Pacific, but at the end of the day what we’ve got to do is find a reasonable window that is longer than we’ve currently got so we can really make international football the pre-eminent level of the game where it should be, and where it is in other codes.

“We have to get to that level, and to do that you have to have a decent number of weeks and the ability to run a full programme.”

Peters hoped there might be an opportunity to find a solution when the NRL “expands and look at two conferences and maybe reduce the number of [playing] weeks a little bit, but still have the same amount of content, and more, to provide to broadcasters.”

To provide a meaningful international programme, national teams needed “the top players in a physical condition to play.

“Seeing the number of injuries across all teams, that’s been a challenge this year, for sure.”