There was a moment last Sunday morning when the size of the opportunity rugby league is presented with this weekend hit home. Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch is not usually the first place you would look for a chat about rugby league, but when Adam Hills seized the chance to champion the channel’s coverage of Super League in 2022, it became obvious what a defining moment this is for a sport that has constantly courted mainstream attention.
Rugby league is no stranger to free-to-air coverage, with the BBC’s long-standing coverage of the Challenge Cup, and this autumn’s World Cup will be on terrestrial television. But for the first time Super League will be shown live, achieving a bigger audience than ever before on Saturday afternoon, when Channel 4 screens the first of its 20-game commitment across the next two seasons as Leeds Rhinos host Warrington Wolves.
“I’m hopeful we can take this sport to a broader audience,” says Channel 4’s head of sport, Pete Andrews.
Sky Sports had held a monopoly on Super League coverage since the competition began in 1996, which is why for those associated with the game, this truly feels like a watershed moment. The goal for Andrews and Channel 4 is to satisfy ardent rugby league fans while, perhaps more importantly, hooking in new fans. “That’s the tightrope we’re walking,” he says. “We don’t want to annoy the existing fans but we have to strike the right tone with potential new audiences too.”
Wigan recorded an emphatic 24-10 win at Hull KR as Matt Peet's side put down an early marker in their opening game of the Super League season at Craven Park.
Jake Bibby and Liam Marshall each scored two tries and Jai Field also crossed as the Warriors were too strong for a fellow top-six side from last season.
The Rovers wing Sam Wood had a debut to forget as he twice dropped high balls which Bibby gratefully gobbled up for his two tries. Mikey Lewis and Matt Parcell scored tries for the home side on a night to forget for Tony Smith's men as both teams were guilty of making plenty of errors.
Marc Sneyd produced a man-of-the-match performance on his return to Salford to help give Paul Rowley a winning start as head coach. The former Hull scrum-half kicked seven goals from as many attempts in a 26-16 victory over his old club Castleford.
With both sides scoring three tries, Sneyd's contribution was invaluable as the Red Devils got their Super League campaign off to an impressive start and ensured a disappointing night for his old Hull manager Lee Radford, the new Castleford coach.
King Vuniyayawa and Deon Cross, who were among seven debutants for new-look Salford, both scored tries, along with last season's top scorer in Super League, Ken Sio. PA Media
Channel 4’s determination to make its product different to that of Sky or the BBC is underlined by the appointment of Hills as host presenter. Hills, known for presenting The Last Leg and Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics, is a boyhood rugby league fan and he represents Warrington’s physical disability side as a player.
“I want to convey the joy I get from watching rugby league but we’re going to make it cooler,” Hills says. “We’re thinking of doing things like getting celebrities who’ve never experienced rugby league before to experience it. We also want closet rugby league fans to come out of that closet. But Channel 4 will be trying to give it an edge like we have done with our coverage of the Paralympics.”
Free-to-air television has the ability to boost a sport’s reputation and standing like nothing else. Cricket can attest to that, with the boom in popularity from the 2005 Ashes series and the 2019 World Cup final, both of which were on Channel 4. “It’s remarkable Super League hasn’t been on terrestrial television before,” Andrews says. “We’ve found rugby league to be very inclusive and it fits with a lot of Channel 4’s values. We can’t wait to get started.”
The broadcaster has committed to 10 games a season for the next two years, which takes the sport through to the end of its longstanding and lucrative contract with Sky. Saturday is a seminal moment for the sport’s immediate future, with the prospect of more people than ever before watching Super League, but it also creates a new dynamic for the competition to consider long term instead of renewing with Sky.
Channel 4 has called on the former Great Britain international Leon Pryce to add insight to its coverage, and the importance of the occasion is not lost on those directly involved in the game. “We’re really privileged and really proud to be involved,” the Leeds coach, Richard Agar, says. “It’s an awesome opportunity for the sport. We want to get out there and really put a show on. I just hope I can go home Saturday night and watch it knowing we’ve delivered a good performance.”
With Hills as lead presenter, there is also scope for crossover too, which is arguably the most exciting aspect of this new venture. The Last Leg, Sunday Brunch and many other Channel 4 shows will now mention rugby league for the first time; in terms of profile building, there has never been a moment like this.
“To talk about rugby league to people who may not know it, that’s exciting,” Hills says. “But there’s also a hell of a lot of pressure. Channel 4 wants to find a way of opening rugby league up to a new audience. We want to show everyone about this secret and showcase rugby league to the world.”
