England coach Wayne Bennett has given rugby league some important advice, suggesting they continue to expand the sport or risk losing it altogether.
Bennett was involved in England's 36-18 win over New Zealand at Mile High Stadium in Denver, with 19,320 fans attending the event and the game being broadcast around America.
The legendary coach had some strong words for the NRL and the clubs who were against the fixture, with Bennett telling the League to get behind the decision or risk losing the game they love.
โI just want the game to embrace it,โ Bennett said.
โWe had a lot of issues with our game getting here. Theyโre not here today, the people making the issues, but I just hope they get the message, work it into the program and put an imprint in places like Denver and America.
โThe game needs to recognise the importance of it. If we donโt have a global product, we wonโt have a product in 20 years.
โSport is changing that quickly. Our kids are growing up with all the sports around the world. I want to be in that place. A marketplace where we can take rugby league and people know about it and want to come and see it and want to play it.โ
Kiwis coach Michael Maguire was also right behind the idea, even though his side were missing some of their big stars.
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