Pacific Championships: Future tournament dates locked in as international rugby league proves to be ratings bonanza for the NRL

On the back of record TV ratings, sell out crowds and diehard fanbases, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo believes the Pacific Championships will grow into the “biggest sporting tournament in our region”.

NRL boss Andrew Abdo believes the Pacific Championships will grow into the “biggest sporting tournament in our region”, as international rugby league proves to be a ratings bonanza.

This masthead can reveal that all three Kangaroos matches out-rated the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup against the All Blacks this year.

While Australia’s two clashes against Tonga, including Sunday’s final, attracted a total of 2 million viewers across free-to-air and Fox Sports, overall ratings were also up 13.5 per cent on last year’s tournament.

Tongan fans, who turned Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium into a sea of red and white on Sunday, helped make the final the highest attended Test match in Sydney since 2008.

“We’re seeing a great response from the fans through attendance and viewership. With a meaningful calendar and some consistency, this is something I think can grow into the biggest sporting tournament in our region,” NRL chief executive Abdo said.

“To get over a million people watching consistently shows it can be a big part of our calendar.

“We also had hundreds of thousands of people streaming it in Papua New Guinea.”

Tonga fans show their support during the 2024 Pacific Championships Pacific Cup Men's Final. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

The tournament, which ran from October 18 to November 10, featured six nations including Australia, Tonga, New Zealand, Fiji, Cook Islands, while the women’s draw also featured Samoa.

Abdo said the governing body was committed to playing the three-week championships after the NRL grand final after scrapping mid-season Test matches in 2022.

“It is in the right place, playing rugby league in late October early November is the sweet spot,” Abdo said.

“The beauty is, there is not too much other sport. It’s a chance for us to really own this period and win over new fans across the region.

“We used to stop the NRL for international fixtures but it’s quite disruptive and it meant you only play on one weekend.”

“We worked well with the RLPA during CBA negotiations to ensure we got that balance right to ensure players got enough rest and enough time in the pre-season.”

Australia will tour England in 2025 with Samoa to replace the Kangaroos in the Championships. It is anticipated that a clash between Tonga and Samoa, who also have a large community in western Sydney, would draw a crowd of 50,000 people - the biggest Test crowd in Australia in almost 50 years.

It’s understood New Zealand will host both of their Test matches against island nations next year.

The success of the Pacific Championships has also once again raised the possibility of a Pasifika NRL team as part of the game’s plans to expand to a 20-team competition.

Perth and PNG are set to be introduced in 2027 and 2028, respectively, as the 18th and 19th teams, while New Zealand and a fifth team in Queensland are options for further expansion.

But some of the NRL’s biggest Pacific Islander stars like Jarome Luai and Junior Paulo have backed the introduction of a Pasifika outfit.

Abdo said the game’s expansion strategy favoured franchises that had a home base rather than one that represented a geographical region.

“It’s a decision that would have to be carefully considered by the Commission,” Abdo said.

Siliva Havili of Tonga leads the Sipi Tau. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

“There is real strength in a franchise being clear about its identity and its home, real strength in having a home stadium and centre of excellence as a opposed to a travelling connection of different regions.”

But the NRL will consider taking more games to island nations like Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

“We want to reach as many people as possible,” Abdo said.

“Our region is important to us, we want the game to grow in New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and PNG. So we have a top to bottom strategy from getting kids to play to taking elite games there. But we can’t be taking one-off games into the region, we want to connect with those communities.”

Pacific Islander communities in Australia are also vital to the game’s growth into the future. Over 45 per cent of NRL players are now of Pacific Islander or Maori decent.

Abdo believes that diversity, which was on full-display in the stands of CommBank Stadium on Sunday, sets rugby league apart from other sports in the country.

“The celebration of the different cultures in the NRL and NRLW, it happens in such a moving way,” Abdo said.

“The singing and the celebrations, the uniqueness of the cultural performances … it was a sea of red and white, it felt like a Tongan home game. Everyone, regardless of the country they were supporting, was enjoying the football.”