Las Vegas, a city built around extravagance and opulence, with the blinking bright lights of giant electric billboards, garish neon signs and enormous flashing video screens, feels about as far away from the traditional northern England rugby league heartlands as its possible to get.

Rugby league has returned to Las Vegas in its continuing mission to convert Americans to football without pads, drawing 50,000 fans to Allegiant stadium.

Saturday’s game day began with an English Super League match in which the Wigan Warriors routed the Warrington Wolves, 48-24. Bringing the Brits into the fray was a brilliant move, because no fan base sings and parties harder than the Brits. They were heard all week up and down Vegas Strip and in every casino.

The first games of the National Rugby League's 2025 season will take place on Saturday, Mar. 1. Two league matches, Penrith vs. Cronulla-Sutherland and the Canberra Raiders vs. New Zealand Warriors, will be played in Las Vegas, while the rest of the season opening matches will be played in Australia.

Jordan Mailata played rugby league as a kid before switching to pursue a career in the NFL. He became the first player from Australia to start in and win the Super Bowl when he helped the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 on Feb. 9.

As rugby league prepares for a history-making trip to Las Vegas, BBC Sport looks at why the sport is trying to crack a formidable US market.

For a second straight year, the NRL will take over Las Vegas, with one of Australia's top sporting leagues opening their season in the famous city. After a resounding debut in 2024, this year four fresh teams will descend on Sin City,

The following information was submitted byFox Sports AustraliaThe 2nd annual National Rugby League (NRL) games are set to take place on Saturday, March 1 in La