Kangaroos and Mate Ma'a Tonga could play on American soil this year Featured
Jason Taumalolo
22 April, 2018. The Kangaroos and Tonga could play a Test on American soil this year, with New York and Utah pitching to host the historic event.
The 2025 World Cup will be staged in the US and officials are keen to take premium rugby league content to the region in the lead up.
An international between England and New Zealand will be played in Denver on June 23, with an option for the game to be staged there for following two years.
The NRL is also looking to take the opening game of the 2019 season to North America, which would mark the first time a game would be played there for competition points.
Fairfax Media can reveal there are two separate proposals to bring an Australia-Tonga international to the States. One is via the consortium attempting to establish a professional New York franchise seeking to eventually enter a team into the English Super League.
The proposal is for the Test to be staged at Red Bull Arena, the home of Major League Soccer team New York Red Bulls. The ground has a capacity of 25,000 and organisers believe a sellout is a distinct possibility.
The consortium, which is trying to replicate the success of Canada’s Toronto Wolfpack, hopes the event will add credibility to their bid for a team in the Big Apple.
The other proposal comes from a consortium of business people wanting to bring the game to Utah.
Their plan is for the game to be played at the 20,000-seat Rio Tinto Stadium, the home of MLS team Real Salt Lake.
Tonga – one of the success stories of the World Cup after beating New Zealand on their way to the semi-finals – would have plenty of support in Utah. One in four US Tongans lives in the "Beehive State" and organisers believe they won’t have any trouble drumming up interest.
