Sam Burgess urges England to showcase rugby league in Denver

Sam Burgess urged his England teammates to “do the sport justice” when they face New Zealand on Saturday in a Denver showcase for international rugby league.

Burgess and several NRL-based teammates took a public stance to support the game going ahead after Australian clubs raised concerns over player welfare and the match being played at high altitude. With a World Cup in the US seven years away, Burgess says the players must ensure the game delivers on all levels.

“I think it’s been worth making a stand for looking back, but we’ll see for real after the game,” Burgess said. “The result is the most important thing for us but putting on a good game and showcasing what we believe to be the greatest sport in the world on American soil is another challenge. There will always be people who doubt what we’re trying to do but it’s been a success so far.”

A deal has been agreed in principle for England and the Kiwis to return to the US in 2019 and 2020 depending on the success of this weekend. With a crowd of more than 20,000 expected to watch the game at Mile High Stadium, Burgess said he has seen a lot of interest from the Denver public.

“Walking around the streets of Denver, people are talking about it,” said Burgess, who has been heavily involved in promotion of the game. “I guess the big test will be the fans who come through the door. Denver is a huge sporting city and there seems to be a buzz about it in town – hopefully we do the sport justice.”

The game is England’s first since defeat in the World Cup final last year, and with a three-Test series against New Zealand to come on home soil this year Burgess says this weekend is key to ensure Wayne Bennett’s side continue to develop as a group.

“It’s a chance to have another week together in camp and, in the long run, that helps,” Burgess said. “We want to be competing at the very top of world rugby and for that to happen we need to be playing together as often as possible.”

England v New Zealand (9pm BST) Ratchford; McGillvary, Makinson, Percival, Hall; Lomax, Widdop; S Burgess, Roby, Graham, Whitehead, Bateman, O’Loughlin. Interchange T Burgess, Hill, Taylor, Connor.

Ellis the hero for Castleford

Jamie Ellis slotted over a last-minute drop goal to give a patched-up Castleford a dramatic 19-18 victory over top-four rivals Wigan on Friday night. The Tigers have managed to keep pace with Wigan despite their injury crisis and they moved to within a point of the Warriors after edging a thrilling Super League clash at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.

Wigan, who were also depleted by injuries as well as England call-ups, took a 12-4 lead into half-time thanks to tries from Sam Tomkins and Liam Marshall either side of a Quentin Laulu-Togaga’e effort. But Castleford came storming back and were on course for a memorable win after Michael Shenton and Matt Cook went over.
Cook went from hero to villain when he was sin-binned and Tom Davies scored in the next set but Ellis made sure his yellow card was not too costly to send Castleford five points clear of fifth-placed Hull.