Every year since 1980, the best players born in NSW clash in a three match series against those from Queensland. The media hype leading into the match is huge – with good reason.
The Origin series is one of the biggest sporting events in Australia, up there with the Melbourne Cup, the Boxing Day Test and the Bledisloe Cup. Perhaps bigger than them all.
What is it about the Origin series that invokes such passion and interest?
There’s undoubtedly great history behind the clash. And the ‘state versus state, mate versus mate’ nature of the game brings out the best (and worst) in the players. Then there’s the record of both teams, which is remarkably even. NSW have won 12 series, compared to Queensland’s 11.
But what makes the Origin series special is the sheer intensity of the match itself. The speed, power and passion of the match is arguably unmatched in all the rugby codes. Is the Origin series the best football of all?
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May 18th 2007 @ 6:49pm
Garth Hamilton said | May 18th 2007 @ 6:49pm | Report comment
Zac,
Mr Growden is the fountain of a good deal of the doom and gloom surrounding rugby. He seems afraid to be proud of enjoying rugby. His warped view of the state of rugby make him the Michael Moore of rugby journalism.
May 18th 2007 @ 8:53pm
sheek said | May 18th 2007 @ 8:53pm | Report comment
Here we go again, people bagging league. I went down that path for many years, until I realised there was no point losing sleep over it.
League is boring, league is one-dimensional, league is 5 hitups & a kick then repeat, league wouldn’t enjoy its popularity without the massive media support, etc, etc, etc.
Wellll, we can bag league all we like & there it is, still outperforming Rugby on the east coast of Australia. You don’t hear leagueies say, “I wish we could get our game to the level of Rugby”. We’re the ones looking at the rear end of league.
They laugh at us, just as Rugby diehards are laughing at their own game. No, until we get bragging rights when our game is bigger than league, i’m not going to bag them anymore.
Fix our game up first, then maybe we can put the other mob down. Whatever we may think, the majority of sports fans on the east coast of Australia have an alternate view.
May 18th 2007 @ 9:06pm
Greg said | May 18th 2007 @ 9:06pm | Report comment
well said sheek, and what a sad indictment it is…
May 18th 2007 @ 9:58pm
Roger said | May 18th 2007 @ 9:58pm | Report comment
SOS is the Holy Grail of Australian rugby league. It is much harder to win SOO than it is to win the World Championship ,because to become World Champions Australia only needs to defeat teams from Great Britain ( selected from just four counties in the north of England ), the North Island of New Zealand , and Papua and New Guinea..
This is not to say SOO is not a marvellous spectacle, or many viewers including myself that rarely watch rugby league , do not find it compelling viewing .
But all close contact sports like the Irish Hurling Championships in Galway are equally riveting for locals , when the final game means there is is no prize for numero two oh..
The succes of SOO does not translate into exponential increased attendances at matches throughout the season ,because rugby league is a television. product.High ratings numbers and minimum attendance figures, are not unusual .
The secret appeal of SOO is In order to test himself against the very best in the world ,an Australian rugby league player is compelled to compete against his own countrymen , and they are drawn from only two states.
A game made in Australian TV and media heaven.
May 19th 2007 @ 10:37am
spiro zavos said | May 19th 2007 @ 10:37am | Report comment
Sheek
There you go again. Whenever anyone points out the obvious design fault in rugby league, that it is essentially a predictable game, they begin to nag about ‘league-bashing.’ Accept it, league is predictable. The design fault in rugby is that it is anarchic. The set pieces can be a mess. There can be too much aimless, unstructured play which creates frustrations in the players and in the spectators.
At their best, especially on big occasions like a State of Origin match or a Bledisloe Cup test, the design faults become strengths. There is nothing as stirring as a great league side rolling through its set of six tackles, like a division of tanks charging into the battle. And a ferocious and committed defensive line throwing their bodies at the charging opposition in an effort to stop the rush. And in rugby the unpredictability of the game can create a tension that is almost unbearable.
Rugby league is rimed couplets on steroids. Rugby union is blank verse on steroids.
May 19th 2007 @ 6:51pm
Darryl said | May 19th 2007 @ 6:51pm | Report comment
Great stuff Spiro. I completely agree.
I think it’s also worth mentioning that some people like there sport simple and some like it more complex where strategies have more impact. I think this is similar to film. Some of my mates like really pathetic movies in my oppinion, but they prefer these simple pleasures without having to concentrate too much I guess. I much prefer interesting plots, stirring emotions, and sometimes endings which don’t make any sense (anything by David Lynch). Sport is exactly the same. I can still get excited about the skills and athletism of league or football – but give me the multi dimensional complexities of rugby anytime. And all of the codes when played at the highest level on the greatest stage can be brilliant entertainment.
May 19th 2007 @ 7:59pm
sheek said | May 19th 2007 @ 7:59pm | Report comment
Spiro,
The point I was trying to make is along the lines that no matter how much us Rugby types bag league, it’s still ahead of us – at least on the east coast of Australia.
Perhaps we should help make Rugby better than league, or at least the best it can be, before we go bagging league.
I agree league is boring. But for whatever reasons, there are more people in NSW & Qld at present who think otherwise.
May 20th 2007 @ 1:44pm
Roger said | May 20th 2007 @ 1:44pm | Report comment
As any good lawyer could argue , all sides are right . The devil is in in the definition.
Often the only similarity between League and Union is they both use a similar ball..
It’s like comparing Draughts and Chess because both are played on the same board.
Or Snap and Poker because both can be played with an identical pack of cards.
Or Mills and Boon ,and Steinbeck , because both are authors.
There is only ONE benchmark that matters regardless of taste, DID YOU ENJOY IT ?
Rugby Union is NOT in competion with Rugby League.
Rugby Union is NOT in competiton with other football codes.
Rugby Union as a viable business is competition for its share of the TOTAL disposable sporting and entertainment dollar in Australia.
Rugby Unions success or otherwise, has nothing to do with either the perception or reality of Rugby League, be it good , bad ,or indifferent..
Does anybody think for one minute ,if for some reason or other Rugby League was not available for a season ,like recently occurred with Major League Baseball in America, there would be any long term increase in Rugby Union attendances..
Rugby Union must forget about Rugby League and focus on its own brand.
To paraphrase an old truism,
I cannot give you a formula for the commercial success of Rugby Union, but I can give the formula for failure ; TRY TO PLEASE EVERYBODY.
May 21st 2007 @ 6:12am
Terry Kidd said | May 21st 2007 @ 6:12am | Report comment
I am enjoying all the comments written and agree with Darryl.
I enjoy both rugby and league. I have played both and reffed league. My point is that both games may be predictable or boring at times but both have great things to enjoy. Yes, League is simpler and easier for the fan to understand while rugby is more complex and really only understood if you have played the game. And therein lies the problem for rugby when it comes to fan support, they love the excitement of a wide open running rugby game but don’t really understand the nuance of continual contest for the ball in a tighter game of rugby.
Rugby and League are different games and we shouldn’t bag either, just enjoy them for what they are.
May 21st 2007 @ 8:53am
sheek said | May 21st 2007 @ 8:53am | Report comment
Terry Kidd,
I agree with you. Perhaps in a long-winded way, I said what you said. But with the rider, if you don’t enjoy one of them, then let them be.
Whilst ever Rugby fans bag league, they are taking the eye of their own game. One of my mantras is: Rugby doesn’t have to be better than other sports, just the best that it can be for itself.
Roger,
Cute words, but in reality we don’t live in isolation of other sports, & their potential effect on us. On the pitch, there are more than one similarity between union & league – similar playing area, similar playing strip, similar ball, similar running lines, similar tackling, similar passing & kicking, similar modes of scoring.
Both codes share the name Rugby, & it’s undeniable one beget the other. But it goes further than this. There are 11 playing positions (exclude Rugby props & locks, perhaps hooker) in Rugby that require the same body types as those in league. So we are in competition for playing types. At present league is winning the battle of securing both more & better talent.
In addition to this, & in competition with AFL & Football, we are in competition for fans, newspaper coverage, TV exposure & corporate sponsorship, brand naming & merchandising sales.
Rugby, like league, AFL & Football, is a professional sport. Further, professional sports are in the entertainment business. As much as it might pain some diehards to admit it, saying a 3-0 win is better than a 30-33 loss, no longer cuts the ice.
Of course, we don’t want basketball football either. Something in the middle of 3-0 & 30-33 would be ideal. Say 23-20. Anyway, Rugby can’t ignore what its competitors are doing.
It must concentrate on getting its own game right. But at the same time, be conscious of what other sports are doing.
As for personal preference, it achieves nothing to bag other codes. One man’s pleasure is another mans displeasure, etc, etc.
I don’t know, maybe we’re all basically in agreement, just coming from different angles!