So that was the opening weekend. Two of the five fixtures were held in Newcastle and it seems as if everyone in the city enjoyed it immensely – apart from Samoa, Scotland and whoever was running the sound system for the opening ceremony.
When silence descended inside St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon as the pre-tournament event was supposed to reach fever pitch, it helped that Kaiser Chiefs lead singer Ricky Wilson is not only an energetic frontman but also godson of the late Eddie Waring, the rugby league coach, commentator and TV presenter.
Wilson must have thought “what would Uncle Eddie do?” He promptly channelled the spirit of the iconic voice of 1970s league and It’s a Knockout by charging up and down the touchline whipping the crowd up into party mode.
It was fun while it lasted. The tournament kicked off with hosts England taking on Samoa, whose most impressive performance was their Siva Tau war dance.