Kelsey Gentles’ incredible tackle amasses more than 34m views

Drew Darbyshire

Kelsey Gentles’ fantastic cover tackle for England against Australia in the Nines World Cup in 2019 has made history.

A video clip of the tackle went viral on Facebook, with it gaining more than 34.5 million views.

That made it the most viewed clip from the Facebook page of a sport’s national governing body from the UK in 2020, with more than twice as many views as the next most popular.

The RFL’s research also suggests that Gentles’ effort may have been the most viewed clip of any female athlete globally in 2020 (discounting WWE).

Gentles said: “It’s crazy to think that the tackle has been seen so many times by so many people across the world.

“At the time I was just trying to make the tackle for my team and country, but to find out it has been so popular afterwards is a nice surprise.

“It is brilliant that Women’s Rugby League is gaining this level of traction online and it really emphasises how much the sport has grown over the last few years and the potential it has to continue even further.

“Hopefully many of the people that viewed the clip will have enjoyed it enough to come and experience the sport in person, particularly with the Rugby League World Cup taking place at the end of this year.”

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