- September 17, 2005 - Utah 50 - 36 Arizona @ Washington High School, Phoenix, AZ
The night turned out to be a hard fought battle between both sides. Nothing less than an excellent performance by staff, players, supporters administration and fans alike to create such an historical match. The final score when the scoreboard ran out, Utah 50 - Arizona 36. The west coast has began development stages throughout the western states. - Summer 2005 - AMNRL to help coordinate Rugby League Event in Phoenix, AZ (source cited-AMNRL.com)
On Saturday, September 17 in Phoenix, Arizona the American National Rugby League will help coordinate a day of Rugby League development in the western USA.
In support of the developing Western AMNRL, headed by former Tomahawks International Loren Broussard, a number of players from the east coast will be traveling west to support an exhibition event with the objective of raising the awareness of Rugby League throughout America.
The western area of the USA is populated with many expats from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Pacific Islands and South Africa familiar with the game of Rugby League and interested in promoting the game in their own regions.
Being such a vastly populated nation with tremendous distance between each major region, it is the aim of the AMNRL to develop local competitions in regional areas based on the model developed in the Northeast that continues to grow every year, that would ultimately foster a national competition with playoffs between various regions.
A game of Rugby League are scheduled with players from the NE joining players from California, Arizona, Utah, and Texas to launch a new regional competition in the west. 05/25/04 - League in the USA  (source cited)
When you think of the USA and sports, what immediately springs to mind? Baseball, basketball, the NFL, ice hockey…? While we Australians may scoff at the US’ list of national sports, there’s no denying that the Americans are a sports loving nation. Hell, we Australians pride ourselves on being a sporting nation, but the Americans are no slouches when it comes to playing, supporting, and watching their sports. Why then, in a nation where sports seem to be a huge part of the culture, is a sport as brilliant as rugby league not a success?
In 1987 the NSWRL made the bold move to play a ‘dead rubber’ fourth State of Origin game in Long Beach, California. With stars such as Wally Lewis and Peter Sterling involved in the tour, a crowd of some 12,000 were treated to the greatest spectacle that rugby league has to offer. When you consider the US public’s taste for violent sports (where else in the world do ice hockey, pro wrestling, and grid iron enjoy such success?), it’s a real shock that the sport didn’t take on immediately. In many ways, it did experience a boom in interest following the match. Between 1993 and 1997 the game received an enormous boost as the USA become a regular fixture in the annual World Sevens tournament.
A US representative team? Where did this come from? David Niu, a former ARL and ESL player (not to mention spending time in the French league), moved to Philadelphia in 1993 and began to develop the game in the area immediately. From his humble ambition to bring the game to the USA has sprung the American National Rugby League, or AMNRL as it is called by its fans and players. In 2003 the AMNRL consisted of eight teams divided into two conferences (the Lincoln and Franklin conferences). Whilst the Glen Mills Bulls (the team Niu captains, coaches, and acts as CEO for) had enjoyed years of domination prior to the season, 2003 heralded in a new age of competitiveness as the quality of play improved across the board. In the final at the end of the season, Glen Mills were humbled 42-10 by newcomers, the Connecticut Wildcats.
With the sponsorship of NRL clubs, the AMNRL clubs are fast developing from groups of ex-patriots playing in their spare time into actual clubs with their own characters and followings. While the game is a long way from players such as Marcus Vassilacopulous and Danny Bull being household names, the sides are actually beginning to capture the imaginations of their regions.
And international matches have taken this developing passion to another level. In their annual St. Patrick’s Day clash against Ireland this year, the Tomahawks managed to draw a crowd of over 1000 to Memorial Stadium in Savannah. With the quality of the USA side lifting with each year, and the side trouncing Ireland 41-10 (albeit a side minus professional players), the US sports fans are quickly getting behind the code. Nothing breeds favour like success.
Perhaps the biggest piece of progress made by rugby league in the United States has been David Niu’s engineering of the AMNRL to have the rights to televise NRL, State of Origin, and Australian internationals on American TV. This means, for the first time ever, ‘an audience of over 22 million households in North America and the Caribbean’ has access to regular coverage of the greatest game of all. And while fans are enjoying the likes of Andrew Johns on the box, they’re also being directed to the website of the AMNRL.
With the enthusiasm and passion of David Niu, the legal expertise of player and legal counsel Robert Balchandran, and a rapidly developing pool of players- the AMNRL is taking the greatest game of all to an entirely new audience. While league administration at the top level in Australia and England selfishly ignores the future of the game in favour of club football; the players, clubs, and officials of the AMNRL are working towards making Rugby League a truly international game. All of these ingredients, coupled with regular internationals for the US Tomahawks, points towards a bright future for league in the USA. Maybe one day kids won’t just aspire to be Peyton Manning or Barry Bonds, they’ll dream of playing for the USA in a test match, or running out before 50,000 in the AMNRL championship. A long way off, perhaps- but the AMNRL isn’t letting that put them off. April 18, 2001 - British team makes league contract offer to local player A BRITISH RUGBY LEAGUE club has contacted the American National Rugby League (AMNRL) office in Philadelphia that they are interested in acquiring Utah rugby player Halafihi Kivalu to play in England.
AMNRL President and CEO David Niu contacted Utah Rugby president Sione Mokofisi early today with the good news. Kivalu was one of three Utah players who made the rugby league American national team, the Tomahawks, in a tournament against professional British rugby league teams in Jacksonville, Florida, in February.
The 6-foot, 5-inch, 230-pound Tongan forward rugger was seen in a British sports publication photo dragging three defenders with him at the Jacksonville games.
Niu confirmed that the Sheffield Eagles has an offer for Kivalu to fly to England and workout with the team for a month and negotiate on a contract.
The Eagles will provide airfare, accommodations, a weekly wage, and match payments.
"This is exciting," Niu said. "I've sent video footages of Fihi to England after they relayed their interest in him. This could be the beginning of great things for rugby league in Utah."
Kivalu is one of the founders of the Pioneers Rugby Club here. He was on a trip to New Zealand and efforts are being made to contact him. The Sheffield Eagles will fly him to England from anywhere he may be. 
The three Utah players at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida on February 3, 2001 at the Sunshine State Challenge rugby league tournament. Their selection to play at the tournament also put them on the Tomahawks squad. The stadium is the home of the NFL Jacksonville Jacquars.
Three of England's Super League clubs and the Tomahawks played in a four-team matchup that saw the Leeds Rhinos taking the inaugral title to England.
The Rhinos defeated the Hudderfield Giants 28-0 in the championship match. Leeds beat the Hallifax Blue Sox, 18-10,earlier in the day and the Giants defeated the Tomahawks, 22-10.
The three British professional clubs were holding their pre-season training camps in Jacksonville. Normally they would be training in Southern France, but the U.S. Rugby League had convinced them that Florida is the place to go.
The tournament is to be expanded to six teams in 2002 with two clubs coming from the Australian National Rugby League.
The three Utah players were called up to try out for the Tomahawks with two days of rugby league introductory training. However, the coaches were impressed with their performances at training camp that they were selected to be on the team.
Kivalu and Fifita were selected as props, and Vea played in the outside center position. In October 1994, the American Patriots RLFC held one of few west coast based international matches staged in San Francisco, Ca. An open call for all interested athletes and ruggers alike were asked to participate in a curtain raiser for the international event of USA v Russia RL.
Invited, Loren Broussard attended the event. Playing in the curtain raiser of two developmental teams; Condors and Jets, Mr Broussard found himself amongst some talent in the world of rugby league. Broussard, being a rugby union player and high school athlete, was able to bring his past athletic skills to the game's fast and physical game nature.
Russia def. Patriots 19-12, gave birth to an opening and need for the US national team to offer Broussard a chance to make the selection pool for the USA national rugby league team.
Broussard was selected to tour with the US national team to the upcoming 1995 Coca Cola World Cup Rugby League 7s in Sydney Australia in February 1995. |