IN the first three weeks of a 2021 – in the middle of the off-season and in spite of a global economic downturn – more than 700 men and women in the Cook Islands, Fiji and Ghana have played the rapidly expanding sport of rugby league Nines.
It’s a new development for the wider game of rugby league, which is normally shut down at this time of year save for the French competition, although the Cook Islands Nines has become an annual tradition.
But it’s an even more surprising state of affairs for sport in general, which has been crippled by the Coronavirus. Super League is poised to shorten its season after concluding behind closed doors in 2020 while the NRL operates in an expensive and elaborate bubble.
Rarotonga, which has not had a single Covid case, held a two day tournament on January 8 and 9 – which featured women’s teams for the first time. Tupapa Panthers A took out the men’s competition, with Rarotonga winning the ladies division.
The following Saturday in Nadi, women were also added for the first time in a 30-team tournament. Nadroga Broncos made history as the first female winners and Vusu Raiders made it through the extensive preliminary rounds to lift the men’s trophy.
Finally, on Sunday in Accra, the fledgling Ghana Rugby League resumed with a Nines competition which they streamed live on Facebook. The Nines league will continue throughout the year but Ghana Skolars, Accra Panthers and newcomers Nungua Tigers all registered early victories.
Nines has been played since the mid-nineties but so far rugby league has only managed three full scale World Championships in the format – 1996, 1997 and 2019. However, the next World Cup Nines is locked in for Sydney in 2023 and moves are now afoot to set up a world circuit.
Each year tournaments are played in locations as diverse as Rotterdam, London, Vancouver and Mudgee. A new website, rugbyleaguenines.com, has been set up to record the organic, participation-led explosion of this exciting version of the sport.
