This Thursday’s opening match at the Rugby League World Cup will be played in front of the biggest Test match crowd in Sydney for over 50 years – as the game nears a capacity attendance.

Over 40,000 tickets have already been sold at Allianz Stadium to see one of the most hyped international matches for years, as defending champions Australia take on New Zealand.

The Kiwis are perceived to be closer to the all-conquering Kangaroos than any nation has been for some time, potentially even dating back to New Zealand’s last win in 2008.

World Cup opener set for huge crowd

With Allianz’s attendance capped at 42,500, it means the 55,505 fans who watched Australia and Great Britain at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1974 will not be beaten.

However, it will still be the highest attendance for an international fixture in Sydney in the NRL era.

The previous highest was in 2008, when the SCG attracted 34,571 supporters for New Zealand and Australia’s centenary Test match.

But that figure will be comfortably beaten this week as the World Cup start with a huge buzz and a major bang.

That crowd is likely to have a healthy contingent of New Zealand supporters too, who will be sensing the opportunity to claim a huge scalp and beat the Kangaroos in the opening match of the tournament.

World Cup ‘open’, says PVL

With the rise of nations like Samoa and Tonga in recent years, England face a stiff task just to qualify and reach the semi-finals at all this autumn. However, if they beat Tonga on Saturday morning, they will likely have a clear path through to the final four.

But the rise in crowds and the increase in talent playing for the Pacific nations has left Peter V’landys in no doubt that the international game is in rude health.

“I grew up with international rugby league, and to bring it back to the magnitude it is now, has been a major objective of the commission,” V’landys said.

“The interest in international rugby league is there, and it will only continue to grow. What’s happened the last few years is countries have developed their squads, particularly Samoa and Tonga, so any of them can win it. It’s the most open World Cup we’ve had in a long time, and it’s not dominated by Australia.”

The hope will now that V’landys and the NRL can replicate that success in Europe, with a deal to take control of Super League believed to be imminent.