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Was the Four Nations in Coventry a success?

Yes, without question, writes Michael Shires, vice-president of Coventry Bears Rugby League.

Coventry staged the first major rugby league internationals in the Midlands in living memory. It was a major achievement for the city to attract two rugby league international matches that attracted more than 21,000 spectators on Saturday evening.

The double-header provided a major boost to the Coventry Bears and the City of Rugby initiative. Five hours of live rugby league was broadcast on the BBC in a prime viewing slot, there were two features on the BBC’s Midlands Today programme on the preceding Wednesday and Thursday, and a host of national media coverage.

In the lead up to the double header the Bears hosted a festival of Rugby League in which ten Coventry schools participated and were inspired by meeting the English and Australian players - a moment the children will cherish for the rest of their lives.

Forty percent of the tickets for the double-header were sold to postcodes in the wider West Midlands’ region showing there is an appetite for rugby league that the Bears and Coventry is the heartbeat of. The double-header provided a great showcase for both the Bears and the growing amateur rugby league scene in the region and we intend to build on the exposure this wonderful event provided.

There were also major economic benefits for the city of Coventry and the wider region. The games were not only broadcast live on the BBC but were also broadcast in Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the Oceania.

The double-header showed Coventry in a positive and vibrant light around the world. The fans who attended spent money with local bars, restaurants, hotels and transport providers, as well as the stadium itself, so the residents of the city were economic winners on the night.

The scheduling of the games were dictated by the broadcast partners and I am certain an afternoon kick off that didn’t compete with Bonfire Night on the back of an England victory the previous week (sadly, England lost by a point the week before) would have seen the event sell out.

The Rugby Football League has recently won the rights to stage the 2021 Rugby League World Cup which is estimated will attract more than one million spectators at live matches and the Ricoh Arena will be bidding to host a group and some of the knock-out matches.

Mighty oaks grow from small acorns and we at the Bears want Coventry to host an England Rugby League International every single year, so the Ricoh becomes a semi-permanent base for our national team; the Midlands’ home for the English Rugby League team.

Saturday was just the start and the planting of a seed that Coventry and the wider region will continue to benefit from in the future.