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Country players dudded a rare shot at Lions

The 2013 British & Lions Squad were victorious against Australia, can their 2017 iteration take it to New Zealand? (Image: Via Lions).
Roar Guru
10th June, 2013
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1717 Reads

Consider the starting Combined NSW/QLD Country XV side that takes on the Lions tonight: just three players are actually from either NSW or Queensland Country clubs – and just 10 in the 23.

The rest have been selected on a ‘Country Origin’ basis – players from Super Rugby franchises or the Brisbane or Sydney Premier rugby competitions.

I’ve wondered if the game has been rigged by the ARU to attempt to reduce any chance of a blowout and attract a bigger crowd. The move to stack the shelves with second-tier Super Rugby players won’t necessarily make any difference to the eventual result. The British and Irish Lions will still comfortably win the game.

But what is being rigged is the opportunity of Country-based players from Country clubs being selected to go up against the Lions.

Perhaps the word is robbed, or maybe it’s dudded, or maybe … you get the point.

So what, you may ask?

This match was always supposed to be about players from the bush getting a go against professionals until it was hijacked by the ARU.

The game is recognition of the amount of effort Country players put in for little reward – maybe a beer and rep jersey – not the obscene cash payments that is sending the ARU broke.

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It’s hard being a rugby union supporter away from the city.

The only free-to-air rugby you see on television, apart from the Wallabies, is the excellent ABC coverage of a Saturday afternoon which you normally miss because you are out either playing or watching your own local club rugby team.

It’s also a long way to drive to see a Super Rugby match.

You sometimes see a smattering of contracted Super Rugby players come through your town or regional city, but they pale into comparison from the visits of AFL or rugby league players.

In short, rugby supporters in the bush are disengaged from powerbrokers at the ARU, Super Rugby franchises that talk about community engagement but rarely make it past their city limits and touring international teams.

That is until those touring international teams play a representative side that truly represents their area.

Rugby clubs in the bush contribute so much to the social fabric of their towns, so when one of their own is selected in a NSW or Queensland Country representative side it is an honour not only bestowed on the club but also the town from which they are from.

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That is why NSW and Queensland Country representative teams can truly lay claim to being representative.

Furthermore, it’s the highest honour an amateur rugby union player can achieve without moving to the city and into the realms of professional rugby.

Which brings us to the Combined Country match against the Lions.

Initially, the game was supposed to be between Country-based players and the Lions, as it was in 2001 and as it was in 1989, however somewhere in between it was decided by the ARU that ‘Country Origin’ players could be eligible.

These players are from the country but not of the country. Some have lived longer in the city than the bush and they represent city clubs with no relevance outside of the city.

The ARU made the decision probably more concerned about a cricket score and ticket sales – remember the Lions tour is the great hope to get some money.

In one sweep of the pen, the top amateur players of the country were cast aside and then given the insulting message that they can play the curtain-raiser.

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Clubs that run on the smell of an oily rag, run by volunteers and producing junior and senior players that progress to elite levels were given the administrative middle-finger.

An initial 43-man squad was whittled down to a 23-man squad in the last week or two by coach Cameron Blades.

In a press release put out beforehand, Blades stated that he wanted all of the Super Rugby contracted players to be available.

“Our goal is to put the strongest 23-man squad together to face the Lions and ultimately we’d like as many of the Super Rugby players named today to be able to be considered for final selection,” said Blades.

“It is an ongoing process and we’ll continue to work closely with the Super Rugby sides.”

Where that leaves the Country-based amateurs that were selected is fairly obvious.

Yes, the Country-based team would be well-beaten by the might of the Lions and may need some strengthening in the tight-five to ensue no injuries but to freeze out bush players is exceptionally disappointing and a real slap in the face to country rugby players, officials and supporters.

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By Steve Spinks – Lennox Head Rugby Club supporter and reserve grade bench player

Combined Country XV

1. Haydn Hirsimaki (Prop) QLD Country
2. Josh Mann-Rae (Hooker) Brumbies
3. Tim Metcher (Prop) Southern Districts
4. Phoenix Battye (Lock) Western Force
5. Blake Enever (Lock) Queensland Reds
6. Richard Stanford (Lock) Eastern Suburbs
7. Jarrad Butler (Back row) Queensland Reds
8. Tim Davidson (Back row) Melbourne Rebels
9. Michael Snowden (Half back) Western Force
10. Angus Roberts (Fly half/Full back) Melbourne Rebels
11. Tom Cox (Wing) Brumbies
12. Tereta-Junior Siakisini (Centre) QLD Country
13. Lewie Catt (Centre) NSW Country
14. Alex Gibbon (Centre/Wing) Southern Districts
15. Nathan Trist (Full back/Wing) Sydney University

Replacements

16. Tom Kearney (Hooker) QLD Country
17. Dylan Evans NSW Country
18. Rikki Abraham (Prop) QLD Country
19. Rory Arnold (Lock) QLD Country
20. Trent Dyer (Back row) Melbourne Rebels
21. Adam McCormack (Half back) NSW Country
22. Shaun McCarthy (Fly half) QLD Country
23. Dale Ah-Wong (Wing) QLD Country

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