ESPN to show NRL grand final

Fans of the NRL in the UK will be able to watch the NRL grand final live on the sports channel ESPN

Live television coveragie of the Australian league has been limited after previous rights holder Setanta wen into administration earlier this year, but ESPN has agreed to take up the reigns for the showpiece even, along with both preliminary finals on the previous weekend.

The first prelimary final will be shown live on Friday 25th September at 10:45am, while the second will be played the following day at 3pm

The final itself will be shown on Sunday October 4th at 7am

NRL Chief Operating Officer, Mr Graham Annesley, said: “We are proud to have secured ESPN as an international broadcasting partner so the many thousands of Rugby League fans in the UK can watch all the drama and excitement unfold in the lead-up to the culmination of the 2009 NRL season,”

“The NRL Grand Final is one of the biggest events in Australian sport and given the number of Aussies currently living or travelling in the UK, combined with the large local following of the English Super League competition, I have no doubt there will be huge interest in these games”.