Greg Mulholland, MP for Leeds Northwest, said it was “appalling” that the event would not be available to the widest possible audience, especially when it was being hosted by two of the home nations.

Premier has exclusive rights to show all the games from this year’s tournament, which will be played in venues across England and Wales.

But the channel is not available on Virgin Media. Currently, it screens only on Sky channel 428 in the UK, or online via the broadcaster’s own Premier Player.

Rugby League fans have been clamouring for VM to rectify the situation for months, and Mr Mulholland’s intervention comes on top of pressure from the All-Party Parliamentary Rugby League Group (yes, there is such a thing) to rectify the situation as soon as possible.

He said: “This has been going on for too long. There are calls on Virgin Media’s own online forums to show Premier Sports but it simply must be rectified before the World Cup starts.

“We know there are commercial aspects, but it is appalling that such an important event such as the Rugby League World Cup is simply not available as broadly as possible – particularly in the host nation.”

“This is a hugely important issue for Members within the Group and one we will continue to address in any way we can.”