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Monday 24 March, the day I had eagerly awaited since the ARU first announced that Australia would finally have a third-tier competition, will be remembered as a dark day. It was the day I learned that the Canberra delegation would be known as the University of Canberra Vikings.
To those not familiar with the Canberra rugby landscape, my disappointment may seem irrational, a little bitter or downright rude. But this is a response I feel will be shared with the majority of the population of Canberra that live north of Mawson.
Canberra has a rich history of local rugby. People are passionate about their game in all corners of the capital – from the proud men of the Canberra Royals, who have produced a number of internationals from their shed opposite Canberra Hospital, to the Mighty Queanbeyan Whites, who are often found queuing up for beers at Walsh’s (just kidding – I meant the Royal).
Administrators of this new team are limiting their potential fan-base by calling the representative team after a local team of the same name.
It’s like forming an ANZAC team to represent the Oceania region and just calling them the Oceania All Blacks, or having a Victorian AFL team to represent all of Victoria and call them the Victorian Magpies. You are already ostracising the rest of Canberra’s strong rugby community by calling them the Vikings.
They could have brought back the Kookaburras. Much like Back to the Future, The Beatles and Hypercolor t-shirts, the classics never go out of fashion and are always popular. They could’ve guaranteed the support of every single red-blooded rugby supporter in the capital, but money and power have won over commonsense in this regard.
But it’s not all about the name. There’s the colour of the jersey. As silly as the Canberra North/South divide often is, you’ll be hard pressed finding a staunch Uni-Norths supporter donning the red and white of the Vikings whether they were called Tuggeranong or Canberra.
Then there’s the economics side of things. Tuggeranong continues to have financial strength to build and maintain Canberra’s best rugby facilities, while nearly all other clubs run their operations out of the homes of volunteers and businesses of their generous sponsors. Call it envy if you like; call it jealousy, even. But the disparity is real and the resentment is present.
While I respect and even applaud The Viking Group for stepping up to helm the Canberra representative team, I cannot in good conscience follow a team bearing the name, logo and colours of the enemy. Canberra is a small town with very strong loyalties, and my loyalties lie elsewhere. If you want this Canberran venture to really take off, don’t shun your strongest rugby supporters.
The local Canberra rugby community – the players, the volunteers, the supporters – are the backbone of rugby in this town. If they weren’t around, we’d all be playing league. Or worse still, AFL. Keep it inclusive, keep it neutral.
Furthermore, I read today that all home games will be played in Tuggeranong at Viking Park, which just further reinforces that this is a Tuggeranong Vikings team and not an inclusive Canberran team.
Going on what has already been released in the press, the name of the team is a done deal and the home ground is also a done deal.
So if bringing back the Kookaburras is not on the cards and we must support a team called the Vikings at Viking Park, at least give us neutral colours and jerseys to support. Please don’t go with the red and white of Tuggeranong, as was the case with the previous Canberra Vikings entity.
Stick with tradition – the native gold, white and navy blue of the ACT will not fail us. If you give me this much I will buy a membership, I will buy some merchandise and I will go to all the home games, even if they’re at Viking Park.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.