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The BBC had hoped to televise the international live, guaranteeing an audience of more than a million viewers.

But the RFL have rejected the bid and controversially decided to stream it live themselves instead, charging viewers who want to watch it.

It’s a massive gamble and one that’s expected to go down badly with fans.

The international on Saturday May 6 is England’s only fixture ahead of the World Cup which starts in October.

The mid-season match is being played in Campbelltown, Australia - a decision that has also not been well received among Super League clubs.

Several of them will lose key players over a weekend when Super League games are still being played.

But it’s the RFL’s failure to allow fans to watch it for free that will hit a sour note with supporters.

The BBC are understood to have planned to show it live on BBC2, with a 10.30am UK kick off time certain to attract a bumper audience.

At that time, on a weekend, it would also have drawn in viewers who were new to rugby league - but who would hopefully have then got hooked by the sport.

The RFL’s plan will automatically rule out any newcomers to the sport and is likely to alienate many existing fans.

But they are believed to be keen to test the water of how popular live streaming could be, as well as raising income.

The BBC have been successfully live streaming early rounds of the Challenge Cup on their website, drawing in audiences of up to 40,000.

But under the RFL’s experiment, fans will be expected to pay for the benefit of watching their national side.

Savvy supporters out there will, of course, be able to get around that problem by finding alternative streaming sites for free.