USA to host Canada during Vegas festival of rugby league

As part of the festival of rugby league set to take place in Las Vegas, USA will host Canada in a men’s senior international on Friday 1 March, (kick off 7pm, local time) at the Ed W. Clark High School.

The encounter will take place the night before the NRL's opening round double-header on March 2 at the Allegiant Stadium, in which Manly Sea Eagles face South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters take on Brisbane Broncos 

The international will the first clash between the North American neighbours since Canada beat USA 22-10 in Tampa in November 2022, although the match in Las Vegas will be for world ranking points.

“With the NRL crossing the Pacific to play in Las Vegas, we're more than happy to partake with an international of our own,” said CRL president, John Cameron.

Campbell Graham, Billy Walters, Spencer Leniu and Aaron Woods launched the NRL double-header in Las Vegas (NRL Photos)

"Our last meeting provided an entertaining and competitive match and there is a real, genuine rivalry between us that I’m sure fans will enjoy.”

USA recently beat Jamaica 30-26 in Kingston in their last hit out in December 2023.

Hawks men’s head coach, Sean Rutgerson, commented: “It should be a great experience for the players to be part of such a major event and hopefully we get some good exposure.

"We look forward to putting on a great performance and continuing to the grow the game to our home audience.”

The NRL is also running a Vegas 9s tournament for male and female teams from North America on February 29 and March 1, with applications open for clubs wanting to take part.

The NRL will also hold an NFL-style Combine in Las Vegas on March 2, with 25 male and 25 female athletes to take part in a series of physical testing and skills assessment.

After the Combine, two male and two female athletes with the potential to play in the NRL or NRLW will be offered the opportunity to train with an elite team in Australia and showcase their talents to clubs.