A Test match which would pit Sonny Bill Williams’ Samoa against Jason Taumalolo’s Tonga in the United States is currently being examined by the International Rugby League.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that promoter Paul Langi Kinikini wants to cough up the cash to bring the two mega stars to Utah.
The city has a large Tonga population and if it gets approved by international chiefs would be played in Salt Lake City.
League authorities would be wise to examine the fallout from the Kiwis vs England Test in Denver in 2018, which saw both the New Zealand and English federations out of pocket following Jason Moore’s failed event.
But Kinikini told The Sydney Morning Herald he didn’t have an issue with paying the cash up front.
“That is not a problem,” he said. “I heard about the debacle in Denver and I’m doing everything to avoid that.
“I think they picked the wrong venue and went about it [the wrong way]. I want to show everyone I am the real thing. You won’t come and get a repeat of Denver.
“I’m just waiting to host this. I’ve got everything in order, I’ve been doing it for the last two years in the event I am ready to pull the trigger.
“We would give them such a party that the players – and even the coaches – would love to do a repeat. We would do it American style. We’d blow up the game how we do things here, we would give them enough [promotional] airtime.
“We can get the proper sponsors and feel we could kick this game off to another level.”
Williams has been targeted by Samoan authorities to play for them after previously turning out for New Zealand.
Kinikini, meanwhile, said he wanted Tongan Tests to be a regular occurrence in the States. .
“We want to do it here [in Utah], and then Vegas would be our second stop,” he added. “I know rugby league has kind of struggled in breaking into the United States and we feel we can ride this wave with Tonga and it’s the route to go if we’re ever going to break into this market.”