“THE WORK that will be done after this competition now is just as important, if not more so important, than what happened during the competition itself.”

So said BBC Radio York commentator Sharon Shortle when discussing the reach of the recent Rugby League World Cups.

The England women’s and wheelchair sides each drew an average of 500,000 viewers as the tournaments ran simultaneously with the men’s competition for the first time in history.

Every match from all three tournaments were broadcast live on the BBC which only furthered the viewership of the competitions.

“I think the World Cup put it (rugby league) in front of eyes that maybe haven’t ever seen rugby league before,” noted Shortle.

“It was probably the Wheelchair that did more for that than anything and the women as well. I think both got a lot of new viewers, a new audience watching it.

“I think rugby league sometimes comes as a bit of a stereotype and it probably blew that out of the water to a large degree with what we saw, because it was so diverse and because of the breadth of people that were involved in all three competitions.

“I just think it probably hooked in people that would never normally have watched rugby league and hopefully it can continue to grow from there.

“Probably the work that will be done after this competition now is just as important, if not more so important, than what happened during the competition itself.”

Shortle commentated on numerous matches throughout the World Cup, such as the women’s final in which Australia beat New Zealand 52-4.

“(The experience) was brilliant,” she enthused. “It was intense, it was tiring, but it was absolutely brilliant.

“I was in a rugby league bubble, basically, from the start of October right through to the final.

“It was like living the dream, doing rugby league all the time. That was the world I was living in. It was wonderful.

“It was as exciting as I thought it would be, it was like a rollercoaster ride. If you said, ‘would you do it all again?’, yeah, without a doubt. I definitely would.”

Of the three tournaments England competed in, it was the Wheelchair team that emerged as World Cup champions.

England defeated France 28-24 in a tightly contested final to claim their second Wheelchair World Cup.

“It was trending on Twitter, it was ridiculous,” reflected Shortle. “I’d not seen Wheelchair rugby league either until this time round.

“I watched the first England group game against Australia. I thought I’d dip in and see what it’s like but that was it, I watched the full match and after that it was like, ‘Wheelchair is on, let’s get it on.’

“I think it was probably the most talked about of the three tournaments. The violence and the brutality, but the skill as well of trying to whiz around on a wheelchair and keep that ball balanced as well at the same time.

“It must take so much physical strength to do. The wheelchair (game) is open to everybody, it’s not just people with disabilities.

“There’s able bodied people in those chairs as well, it’s an absolute leveller. I think that’s part of the fascination of that sport.

“As a spectacle, that should be the next big thing really, shouldn’t it?”