"The NRL is intent on making rugby league a global sport, with sojourns to Las Vegas, State of Origin matches staged in New Zealand, a new club in Papua New Guinea and games in Dubai and Hong Kong in the works. But London, and indeed all of the UK, remains an important, under-utilised market and the return of the Ashes after a 22-year hiatus, and a rejuvenation of the birthplace of the sport, must surely be a part of Peter V'landys' masterplan of world domination."
"It was the music promoter and owner of Warrington Wolves, Simon Moran, who convinced V'landys, the NRL chair, to bring the Kangaroos over and the Ashes back to British shores. The man who got Oasis back together has provided another cultural masterstroke, this time a sporting one, with more than 60,000 fans crammed into Wembley to see rugby league's oldest rivalry reignited."
"It was not Adrian Morley on Robbie Kearns, or Willie Mason on Sean Long of yesteryear, but it was bone-rattling stuff of pure physicality of the modern, clean-cut era, an intensity akin to Origin. Kai Pearce-Paul struggles to get to grips with Australia's Reece Walsh. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images/Reuters Fifty-two years of not winning the Ashes will do that to you."
Reece Walsh arrived in London and made a major impact at Wembley Stadium during the return of the Ashes. The NRL is pursuing global expansion with events in Las Vegas, State of Origin matches in New Zealand, a new Papua New Guinea club, and planned games in Dubai and Hong Kong. London and the UK are identified as important but under-utilised markets, and the Ashes' return after a 22-year hiatus fits Peter V'landys' international strategy. Simon Moran persuaded V'landys to bring the Kangaroos and the Ashes back, attracting over 60,000 fans and producing origin-like physical intensity on the field.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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