Never again, keep the Kiwis out of Denver in June

PHOTOSPORT

The superior quality in the English team shone out in Denver.

OPINION: Interesting experiment, but let this be the end of the mid-season tests against England in Denver.

The 36-18 thrashing the Kiwis took on Sunday morning (NZ time) would have done nothing for rugby league in America, or for the sport in New Zealand.

The pathetically small crowd at Mile High Stadium demonstrated that the people there hadn't got behind the sport and the promoters would have taken a massive financial hit.

Tickets were being sold as cheaply as $15 for the game with plenty of packages that also included free tickets, so it's hard to be seen how the costs of flying the two teams there would have been covered.

Given that the major driving force for New Zealand Rugby League to be involved in these test matches was the large appearance, it would be surprising that the promoters would want to go ahead with the remainder of the three-year deal.

A major issue New Zealand Rugby League face is rebuilding the Kiwis' brand after last year's disastrous World Cup and this test done nothing for that.

The promoters fawned over the Australian media in the build up to the test, flying some journalists over there, but didn't make any connection with New Zealand media, which didn't help to promote the game here.

New Zealand rugby league fans are still struggling to get behind a team that so rarely plays on home soil and if the players so often show they can't be bothered playing for Kiwis, then why should New Zealanders watch them?

The team fielded in Denver was made up of too many average NRL players that wouldn't really rate among the best for their NRL clubs, so it was no surprise that they were taken apart by a strong English team.

When the Kiwis are at full strength, they can match it with the best in the world, as was shown at the 2008 World Cup and the Four Nations tournaments in 2010 and 2014.

But there's still not enough depth and when there are defections, injuries, suspensions and ridiculously early international retirements, the Kiwis are sadly an average tier two nation.

The Kiwis were always on a hiding to nothing for a mid-season test.

The NRL clubs were so against it and moaned constantly about the demands on the players, saying they might have to miss a game the following week to recover.

Nice argument, but what about all those who play State of Origin and miss two games this season? One rule for Origin players and another for New Zealanders clearly.

Of course, rugby league as a sport should be looking to make inroads in North America, its simplicity makes it a better proposition than rugby union.

But not in Denver and not in the middle of the season. If there's already a professional team in Toronto and one coming in New York, then surely build on those foundations.

Do it at the end of the season, either on the way to the UK, or meet England there as they make their way down under.

Yes, the NZRL may have made a lot of money out of this test and they do need it, but there needs to be a focus on long term goals, which is to grow the sport in New Zealand and getting kids wanting to play it, rather making a quick buck.