Delight for Newcastle as St James’ Park retains World Cup opener
The Rugby League showpiece has been delayed due to Covid-19 concerns
St James’ Park will still play host to the opening match of the delayed Rugby League World Cup, it has been confirmed.
It was announced earlier this month that the tournament was being pushed back by a year, after Australia and New Zealand pulled out of the competition due to Covid safety concerns.
Rescheduled dates have now been revealed by the World Cup’s organisers and they confirmed that Newcastle has been retained as host city for the opening fixture on Saturday, October 15 2022.
As well as the curtain-raiser between England and Samoa at St James’ that was set to kick off on October 23 this year, three further group stage games were due to be held at the Newcastle Falcons’ Kingston Park ground in the original schedule.
But it is not yet known how many fixtures will be played in Newcastle in the new 2022 dates, with tournament bosses saying that they hope to have a full revised schedule released by the end of this year.
John-Paul Stephenson, Newcastle City Council’s cabinet member for public health and culture, said he was “delighted” by news that St James’ Park will still hold the tournament’s opening match and that it was a “real chance to show off our beautiful city”.
City council figures had indicated when the postponement was confirmed that they still hoped to have at least as many games played in Newcastle as was originally planned.
The tournament was expected to generate a £15m boost for Tyneside’s economy and was touted as a crucial element of the recovery from Covid-19 for the city’s hospitality industry.
Jon Dutton, Rugby League World Cup 2021 chief executive, said:
“I am delighted that we have been able to announce the revised dates today and can now look forward to the biggest and best Rugby League World Cup ever in the autumn of 2022.
“The continuing conversations with all our supportive hosts and venues have been hugely positive.
“We are confident that we can deliver a similar tournament schedule, which will be communicated as soon as possible.”
“Obviously, we are disappointed the tournament will not be happening as originally planned but we are determined to make next year a celebration of sport, unity, people, place and civic pride.”
The tournament will end with a double-header of both the men’s and women’s finals at Old Trafford on November 19, 2022.
Ticket holders who wish to retain their tickets for the 2022 tournament will have them automatically transferred to the corresponding fixture.
But those seeking a refund can do so at rlwc2021.com/tickets