From St James' to St Helens

 Saturday 15th October 12:30

Driving across the Tyne bridge we were met by a large banner proclaiming that the Rugby League World cup had finally arrived, only a year later than planned. We too had also arrived and we were starting to spot an RL jersey or two within the sea of Saturday shoppers as we skirted the city centre and headed to our parking spot in West Jesmond.

After a pre match Nandos, the concentration of jerseys grew rapidly as we joined the crowd on the short walk up the Gallowgate towards the famous stadium. It was clear that the English rugby community had descended on the North East with almost all teams represented as well as those from further afield.

It was announced after the game that people from the local area were the largest demographic at the game, and it definitely felt that way on the day. Both on the walk up to the ground and also in our seats, we were surrounded by geordie accents. It did also lead to a humorous moment as a gentleman sitting in front of us with a large Sunderland tattoo was presented a pint cup adorned with Newcastle logos by his gleeful mates.

Unfortunately the pre match ceremony didn’t quite go to plan as the sound system cut out as the three trophies were presented which left fans bemused. Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs may have only been able to perform one song but he did earn his keep by leading the ground in an impromptu Mexican Wave to keep us entertained.

Thankfully, the sound returned just in time for the anthems and more importantly the Samoan Siva Tau. I had goosebumps from the moment Junior Paulo started to lead his troops and the atmosphere in the ground ratcheted to another level as they advanced on our 17 men who stood steadfast meeting the challenge head on. 

The game itself couldn’t have gone better from an English point of view as we cruised to victory over an out of sorts and injury hit Samoa side. For many it will have been their first game of Rugby League and they got to see everything that was good about our game. Every big hit was met by a synchronised “oooh” from the crowd and as the score mounted up the nervous atmosphere at the start of the game was replaced by that of a party.

We also witnessed breakout games for two young English stars. Dom Young, making his test match debut was untouchable on the wing and perhaps the image of the game was him leaving the next Australian star Joseph Sualii in the dust. Young didn’t do it all on his own and it was Jack Welsby who set up the Newcastle fliers two tries. People who watch Super League know how good Welsby can be but you can’t help wondering how long he will stay in the competition now the eyes of the Southern Hemisphere are on him.

Leaving the game the positivity was palpable. Fans who would ordinarily hate each other walked almost arm in arm back into the city centre rejoicing at their team's victory.

Tuesday 18th october

From a sunny Saturday afternoon at St James park, it was down to the Totally Wicked stadium to see who out of Tonga and PNG could do it on a cold Tuesday night in St Helens. Although it did feel like we would never get there as we battled against the weeknight motorway traffic.

After a short walk to the stadium we battled through the queues at the turnstiles to make it just in time for Tonga to perform the Sipi Tau and lay down the challenge to a PNG side who on paper seemed outmatched. The Kumuls clearly had not been told this was the case as they started the stronger and opened the scoring through Leeds’s own ‘Rhyseeeeee’ Martin.

The back and forth nature of the game revealed the split allegiances around us. As well as a large Tongan contingent in the stands there were also some adopted Tongan fans from St Helens, no doubt supporting cult hero Komrad Hurrell. The Tongan love in was balanced somewhat by a trio of Leigh Centurions fans next to us who seemed to be the founding members of the Edwin Ipape fan club. The PNG hooker deserved all the praise he got as he was sensational on the night and picked up player of the match.

After a game of: length of the field tries, controversial calls and a second half PNG fighback it was only fitting that the winning try came in the last minute. To make it even more special it came after the ball was kept alive on the last before a grubber kick from loose forward Sio Siua Taukeiaho fell perfectly into the hands of Keaon Koloamatangi to break the hearts of the PNG players and fans.

Although the attendance at some of the games has been disappointing, I think it has been a hugely successful start to the tournament on the field. We have seen Lebanon and Greece play well above their weight in defeat as well as strong wins for Italy and Ireland. Hopefully the pricing issue can be sorted out for the rest of the tournament because if the players are going to deliver on the field they deserve to be seen by as many people as possible.

For me personally, I have tickets for both a quarter final in Wigan and a semi final at Elland Road. The latter could potentially be a titanic clash between Australia and New

Zealand for a place in the final.