Las Vegas, a city built around extravagance and opulence, with the blinking bright lights of giant electric billboards, garish neon signs and enormous flashing video screens, feels about as far away from the traditional northern England rugby league heartlands as its possible to get.

Rugby league has returned to Las Vegas in its continuing mission to convert Americans to football without pads, drawing 50,000 fans to Allegiant stadium.

Saturday’s game day began with an English Super League match in which the Wigan Warriors routed the Warrington Wolves, 48-24. Bringing the Brits into the fray was a brilliant move, because no fan base sings and parties harder than the Brits. They were heard all week up and down Vegas Strip and in every casino.

For those not familiar with rugby league and rugby union, it would be easy to confuse the pair as simply 'rugby'.

Jordan Mailata played rugby league as a kid before switching to pursue a career in the NFL. He became the first player from Australia to start in and win the Super Bowl when he helped the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 on Feb. 9.