No fans no problem: NRL delivers in spades on return to biggest of all stages | Nick Tedeschi

Rugby league returned with a different look and but any scepticism over the new rule and referee reduction soon disappeared

With a reported 300 million people able to watch across the globe, Project Apollo officially landed on the date ARLC chairman Peter V’Landys has promised, despite the sniggering and tut-tutting. In arguably the most anticipated regular season game in premiership history, the NRL on Thursday night became the first contact sport to resume after the sporting world came to a grinding halt in March. 

It was 67 days since the last NRL match was played. The world has changed due to Covid-19, and so has rugby league. The game looked different, felt different and sounded different. It was no less engaging though. Its essence – brute force the showcasing of speed and skill and athleticism – remained the same, even if so much had changed. 

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3cjteTT
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