Scheduling clash robs Lions, State of Origin fans; Australia’s new Fiji deal
In a ludicrous scenario, Lions fans were shut out from watching Wednesday night’s Origin decider due to a bizarre scheduling clash that robbed both rugby union and rugby league.
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While the Wallabies got out of jail with a last minute try to beat Fiji 21-18 in Newcastle last weekend, the Pacific Islanders might yet emerge as the biggest winner.
When it comes to scheduling matches against poorer, developing countries, the richest and most powerful rugby nations always talk a big game but rarely deliver on their promises.
Apart from when they are drawn together at World Cups, meetings between rugby’s haves and have-nots are rare – and Australia is among the chief offenders.
Although the two teams first played each other in 1952, the Wallabies’ lively match against Fiji last weekend was just their third head-to-head clash – apart from World Cups – in the last 18 years.
Shamefully, the Wallabies haven’t made the three-and-a-half hour flight to play a Test match on Fijian soil since 1984, but the times may be a-changing.
Rugby Australia has entered into a four-year high performance partnership with Fiji while the Australian federal government is helping fund the participation of Fijian Drua in Super Rugby.
The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Fijian leader Sitiveni Rabuka both attended last weekend’s match in Newcastle with Rabuka wearing the blazer he got for representing Fiji in Test rugby in the 1970s.
With Fiji officially recognised as a Tier One playing nation from 2026, and the introduction of the Nations Cup from next year, Rugby Confidential understands that the brains trust at Moore Park are already looking at arranging regular games against their Pacific neighbours.
But that’s not all. The cherry on top for Fiji could be a long awaited rematch against the British & Irish Lions.
The Lions have only played Fiji once, in 1977, on their way home from their tour of New Zealand. They were expected to win easily but went down to Fiji 25-21.
They haven’t played since but Fiji’s performance at the last World Cup and against the Wallabies last weekend has put them right back in the shop window.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
While Rugby Union and Rugby League officials were both patting themselves on the back over the number of bums on seats and eyeballs they each got at their respective marquee matches on Wednesday night, both codes missed a golden opportunity to attract more viewers.
While the spin doctors in both codes love to perpetuate the tired old myth that Aussies only follow one brand of footy, the reality is that a lot of sports fans enjoy watching a variety of games, especially when it’s top level, like State of Origin and British & Irish Lions tours are.
Scheduling the Lions’ match against the Brumbies on the same night as the State or Origin decider didn’t do either code any favours, even if both events got record crowds and viewing numbers.
That’s missing the point.
Could you imagine the outrage if FIFA decided to stage a soccer World Cup final in the United States at the same time as the Super Bowl?
It’s such a ludicrous proposition that it just wouldn’t happen in America, but the same thing happens all the time in Australia, and Aussie sports fans are the big losers.
Rugby officials said their dates were locked in first and they had to go with an 8pm kick-off time because that suited television viewers in the UK.
But the NRL has mostly been playing State of Origins on Wednesday nights in July for the past two decades so that was a lock too, although the NRL has experimented with different nights of the week. As recently as 2022, Game II was held on a Sunday evening.
Both sides will argue their case til they are blue, maroon and red in the face but they still really should have got together and cut a deal because it was a missed opportunity for everyone.
The Lions have a massive international following and plenty of their travelling fans would have lapped up the chance to watch a State of Origin match live.
The word from within the camp is that the Lions players and staff were also miffed they couldn’t get to see the NRL, though a handful did attend the Roosters v West Tigers match at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
The ACT government did offer a sweetener, changing the licensing laws in the national capital to allow bars and restaurants to stay open til 2am, so the hordes of visiting Lions fans could at least watch a replay but it’s not the same.
Hopefully they can sort something for the next Lions’ tour, which is 12 years away.
JUNIOR WALLABIES
Australia suffered a cruel defeat at the Under 20s World Cup in Italy to miss out on a place in the semi-finals.
Needing to win their last round-round match to progress, the Junior Wallabies went down 36-33 to England after a brave fightback.
Trailing by 19 points, Australia drew level at 33-33 when they scored their fifth try with five minutes to go.
But referee Jeremy Rozier, who blew 27 penalties during the match, awarded the Poms a penalty in the 80th minute which they slotted over to secure the win at Australia’s expense.
BONKERS IN HONKERS
There will be at least one new team at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia after Hong Kong qualified for the first time.
Better known as the hosts of the best Sevens tournament on the planet, the former British colony has a long and proud history in the 15-man game but has never managed to qualify for the World Cup, despite coming close in 2019 and 2023.
But with the 2027 tournament in Australia expanding from 20 to 24 teams, Asia was given an extra automatic qualifying spot after Japan was already guaranteed a place after finishing third in its group in 2023.
Hong Kong secured the berth on the weekend after winning a four-team final qualifying event with South Korea, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates.
The draw for 2027 takes place in Sydney in December.
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Originally published as Scheduling clash robs Lions, State of Origin fans; Australia’s new Fiji deal
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