Sunday scheduling may impact crowd numbers due to church commitments
“We host Tonga at Eden Park on November 2nd and we’re counting on 40,000 fans. The Warriors don’t play a lot of games on Sundays. In Australia they tend to play a lot of games in the 6pm time slot on a Friday night and when they play on a Sunday afternoon they also work well and there’s a much more diverse crowd.
“When it comes to these Tests, the bulk of the crowd will be Samoan and Tongan and they will be deciding whether to go to rugby league or church.”
Players praying after NRL matches has become a common sight.Credit: Gregg Porteous/NRL
The NZRL relies on money from Test matches in their own backyard to fund many of their youth and community programmes. They pay for traveling teams’ flights and accommodation, as well as ground rental and security, but rely on gate receipts and sponsorships they can attract.
The Kiwis hosted Australia on Sunday afternoon last year, but play Tonga on Saturday and their two Tests on home soil in 2023 are on Saturday. All three countries took part in playing in New Zealand during the 2017 World Cup on Saturday.
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Only two of the Warriors’ 12 home games, including the qualifying final against Penrith, have been played on Sunday, while the All Blacks have not played on a Sunday for years. All Blacks legend Michael Jones refused to play rugby on Shabbat because of his faith.
Meanwhile, the Kiwis are almost at full strength in this year’s series, with halfback Jahrome Hughes the only star unavailable through injury. Dylan Brown and Kieran Foran will feature in the first half of the series opener. Jarome Luai Samoa.
Meanwhile, the Tongans will spend the week training on the Pacific island before returning to Australia for the October 26 clash against Samoa, where more than 40,000 people are expected to be at Suncorp Stadium.
