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If the relevance of a fixture is measured by the passion it generates, then the mid-season rugby league test between Australia and New Zealand must stay.
We’ve fallen into the trap of assuming that if a game doesn’t excite the metropolitan masses of Sydney and Brisbane then it’s on borrowed time.
35,339 at Eden Park in Auckland last night proved how wrong that line of thinking is.
The sea of supporters belted out the New Zealand national anthem like their lives depended on it. Benji Marshall leading his troops into battle with clenched fist on crest and the haka had neck hairs standing at attention.
Young Kiwi halfback Shaun Johnson, on debut, put his body on the line in the very first minute while trying to stop a runaway Aku Uate. The Newcastle winger almost took Johnson’s shoulder with him like a bus snapping the door off a mini cooper, yet he played on.
A minute later, Kangaroos forward David Shillington had blood pouring from a gash under his chin following a head clash. He was patched up as the Eden Park crowd bayed for more claret.
The Aussies’ kick and chase was just as intense in the 78th minute as it was in the 78th second.
If this game is on borrowed time then it would want to be one good explanation.
If rugby league officials are serious about the health of the international game then this is the perfect vehicle to keep it alive.
To even have had a discussion about the future of the fixture now seems like absolute folly.
The New Zealand public appreciated the contest and unleashed far more passion than a crowd in Sydney or Brisbane would have.
There’d be few who could argue against having the match held annually at Eden Park after last nights display.
The same debate is raging about the life expectancy of City v Country.
Most City fans probably wouldn’t be too disappointed if the contest was killed off. After all, it’s only another seven days until the next NRL match within driving distance.
But speak to someone with country blood coursing through their veins and you get a sense of what it means to them.
The reach of rugby league is immense, but it needs to continue to stretch out to areas that give so much and receive so little.
A test match in New Zealand and a City v Country clash in Mudgee isn’t too much to ask.
Relevance is more difficult to define than we think.
Those in positions of power were offered a perspective changing spectacle last night. Whether it opened their eyes remains to be seen.
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