Rugby league is growing outside of its traditional heartlands fast. The game has moved away from the strongholds of Wigan and Western Sydney to Apia and Avignon and has shown signs of success.
The week in international rugby league saw Samoa and Tonga meet in Hawaii with new champions crowned, the World Cup edge closer and the culmination of a thrilling season of the Super League.
Samoa defeat Tonga in Ohana Cup
The fifth annual Ohana Cup took place at Aloha Stadium, Hawaii during the week with the Toa Samoa Residents defeating the Mate Ma Tonga Residents 20-4 in front of a predominantly pro-Samoa crowd.
The Warriors dominated to win their second match over the Patriots this season. Hawaii will next taste rugby league action when the Brisbane Broncos and Penrith Panthers meet at the 50,000 seat home of the NFL Pro Bowl on Saturday, October 17.
Custodians crowned as Spanish champions in Valencia
Custodians Madrid defeated Ciencias XIII Valencia 26-10 to win their first championship, helping to grow the game of rugby league in Spain. This emerges after Spain defeated Latvia in Riga to book a spot in the European C Championship, the Catalans Dragons have also assisted with the expansion south of France after the rich Perpignan-based club scraped into the Super Eights competition.
The franchise will need to win all their games if they wish to become the first non-English club in the history of English rugby league to win a championship.
Lebanon-South Africa Qualifier Moved to Pretoria
After controversy rocked rugby league in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year, the RLIF have been forced to move the Middle East-Africa 2017 RLWC qualifier between Lebanon and South Africa from Dubai to the South African administrative capital of Pretoria. The contest has been extended to a two-game series with matches taking place on the 25th and 31st of October.
The winner of the qualifier will join hosts Australia and New Zealand, as well as England, Fiji, Samoa, Scotland and France in the 2017 rugby league World Cup.
Ukraine dropout of 2017 Rugby League World Cup Qualifying
Ukraine fell to their fifth loss in the European B Championship in Irpin 40-12 seeing the Italian Azzurri progress to the next stage in qualifying for the 2017 World Cup.
Two games are yet to be played in the series with Russia and Italy set to meet in Moscow while Ukraine will meet Serbia in Uzhgorod. The games will be treated as warmups for the qualification process proper with Italy, Russia and Serbia already having secured their spot to play Wales, Ireland and either of Spain, Malta or Greece.
Super League battle heats up
The Super League is halfway through the 23rd and final round before the competition breaks off into two groups. The two groups are the Super Eights and the Qualifiers.
The Super Eights will feature Leeds, Wigan, St Helens, Huddersfield, Castleford, Warrington, Hull FC and Catalans, with the competition to take place over seven weeks determining the top four teams going into the Super League finals. The eight teams will carry their competition points at the completion of the regular season through to the end-of-season tournament.
Meanwhile, the bottom four teams Hull KR, Widnes, Salford and Wakefield will come up against Championship leaders Leigh as well as Bradford, Sheffield and Halifax.
The Qualifiers will also be played over seven weeks, each team restarting on 0 points. The top three teams will guarantee a spot in the 2016 Super League with the eventual fourth and fifth place facing off in the Million Pound Game to determine who becomes the twelfth team in the first division.
The only Test football in the week ahead sees Sweden take on the Czech Republic at 01.00am (AEST) in Havlíčkův Brod, Vysočina, Czech Republic.
And to quote fellow Roar columnist Sleiman Azizi, “You must be imagining things. League is only played on the East Coast of Australia. Every State of Origin fan knows that.”
We must forget about growing the traditional heartlands and start exploring new regions. The future of international rugby league depends on it.
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