Make no mistake, the organisers of the Rugby League World Cup knew they were taking a risk when choosing to host the opening of the tournament in Newcastle.
Yes the Rugby Football League have been trying in recent years to increase the awareness of the game in the north east and through the annual Magic Weekend, St James’ Park has become associated with a festival of rugby.
A World Cup though, that’s different level.
Across the Yorkshire heartlands there were grumblings. “We knew it was a risk, but Newcastle delivered,” was the message from the World Cup’s CEO Jon Dutton as delirious fans poured back into the Newcastle streets on Saturday evening having seen England annihilate one of the pre-tournament favourites in Samoa.
The product on the field delivered beyond any hopes, but it wasn’t just a convincing win for the hosts which left the organisers smiling, far from it. Neither was the fact two attendance records were broken with the biggest ever crowd for an opening game in the northern hemisphere and largest ever attendance for a group game at the tournament. With local residents out numbering all other fans, it must be noted. No, the reasons for organisers to look so happy extended beyond that.
For many inside the stadium, the sight of Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson falling on his backside as he tried to whip up the St James’ Park crowd will be one of their abiding memories of the day. For others it will be the sight of the Gallowgate turned into a large England flag thanks to a special display by Wor Flags. Most will just celebrate the physical prowess on display on the field.
Whether you were watching on the Quayside at the Fan Park, savouring the atmosphere and street theatre around the stadium, or in the ground itself, the reasons to get involved and cheer were plentiful.
But wherever you fit in the spectrum of reasons to celebrate, what was clear as the World Cup rolled into town was that an imprint was made on community. One that for some will be generational.
It’s easy to throw hyperbole around like confetti in these situations with grandiose claims of what a game of rugby league will or can do to a community. However, and here’s the point, Newcastle and the north east know as well as anyone the power and impact sport can have on a community.
Rugby League may not have converted thousands to its undoubted special charms and Newcastle Thunder won’t be preparing to hang up the sold out signs for their first home game next year, but this impact will be measured in more ways than that. With a donation of wheelchairs to set up Newcastle’s first wheelchair rugby team, disability sport has welcome and needed investment.
With community projects and National Lottery money spent across the region, schools involved in healthy living and sport-powered projects, and with ticket sales from Cramlington to Crawcrook, many across the region will feel the impact of a tournament that spans four games in Newcastle over the next two weeks.
Off the field the start it couldn’t have gone worse for the organisers. Two years in the planning after a year delay due to Covid, it was the sound system that went into lockdown after being hit with a bug. With the world watching on screens across the globe, St James’ Park unintentionally fell silent as dignitaries and stars of the game, not to forget a bewildered Kaiser Chiefs looked on in confusion.
The social media world went to its default setting of criticism, with the stadium and it’s staff bearing the brunt, but the crowd’s reaction spoke louder. As local school children went through a routine they’d been planning for months with no music, the crowd responded by joining in. We had chants, we had swaying, and even when a Mexican Wave was brought out it avoided the sort of derision many miserly folks like myself usually greet it with.
This was a self-generated atmosphere that didn’t need pyrotechnics, or a sound system. It was all very English. It was typical Geordie. And that image was a far better one to portray to the watching world.
As for the game. Unlike the opening ceremony, it was the sort of contest the organisers will have hoped for. England dominated in stages in the first half, and when they did they scored points with regularity unlike their opponents.
Samoa lost three players to potentially tournament-ending injuries and it hurt who were already short of match practice, a side that will no doubt improve as the tournament goes on. But make no mistake, despite Samoa’s fragility, Shaun Wane’s England were sensational.
It means the biggest hurdle of the group stages has been safely navigated and now the hosts will expect to top the group and avoid the toughest route to the final.
For the rugby league fans the reasons to celebrate at the end of the game after a 60-6 win were obvious. For those in the city along for the ride, those reasons may be less obvious, but certainly more important.
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