Brisbane the only logical location for first France Test as COVID takes hold again

As soon as the NSW Government put Greater Sydney and the surrounding areas into a two-week lockdown, there was simply no way the Sydney Cricket Ground, or indeed Sydney itself could host the First Test of the France series.

When the four eastern suburbs local government areas were initially locked down, the possibility existed that the match could be moved to Parramatta. But the broader lockdown only a day later killed those slim hopes dead.

Immediately, the scramble was on to secure the alternate location. The same thing happened when Melbourne was locked down late last month, which ultimately cost the city the first State of Origin league contest, and with the second Test of the France series quickly in the crosshairs as well.

Ironically, Melbourne quickly emerged as an alternate for the Sydney Test, and so did Canberra and Newcastle, after both cities were similarly touted as alternates for the Melbourne Test.

And though there was just the right amount of ‘whoa, hang on a minute!’ about the idea of playing another midweek Test in Newcastle among rugby fans, there was plenty of support for either Canberra or Newcastle being called upon to kick off the international season.

First and foremost, both cities were outside the locked down zones within NSW, and so a crowd was still going to be possible, even if potentially restricted in Newcastle. Both venues were obviously available, too.

After that, most reasoning became rather more subjective and emotional.

Take the game to the regions, they said. Reward fans outside the normal metro host cities. It’s ridiculous there aren’t more Tests played there, in Canberra’s case.

And as the leading Australian provincial side in recent seasons, a reasonably decent argument did exist that rugby fans in Canberra and the areas and regions surrounding the ACT should be rewarded. For purely selfish reasons, I’d have bloody loved the first Test being played in the Nation’s Capital.

But there were several good reasons why it was never going to happen, and primary among them was that the ACT Government was never going to pay for its relocation to Canberra, categorically ruling it out when the question was inevitably asked.

Darcy Swain. Do the Brumbies fans in the ACT deserve more international rugby? (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

“I’d say it would be unlikely at this point with the context of holding mass spectator events in the middle of a lockdown entirely surrounding the ACT; it doesn’t seem appropriate,” ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr told the Canberra Times on Saturday evening, as NSW entered stronger containment measures.

“And I doubt either [the NRL or Rugby Australia] would be looking to Canberra in July as the most logical place to hold an outdoor event,” he said, to the possibility of Canberra Stadium hosting the France Test, or additional NRL matches, including State of Origin Game 3.

Barr went on to suggest the sporting codes would more likely look north of Sydney, rather than south, at this time of year. And that makes obvious sense, as did his next and more significant point.

“I’m certainly not entering into a bidding war for that sort of content.

“It certainly would not be a tourism event, so on that basis I think it’s unlikely that either of those major football matches would be played in Canberra.

The “would not be a tourism event” is the key point here, and it’s in line with the explanations given to the AFL last year when it was suggested that Canberra might like to host games. “We’re not paying for Manuka Oval to be an empty backdrop,” the Chief Minister said at the time.

With Greater Sydney locked down, and the ACT imposing travel restrictions on anyone entering Canberra from any of the hotspot areas, and even now recommending residents rethink the need to travel anywhere interstate currently, hosting the Wallabies Test in Canberra would essentially be a locals-only event.

With no chance of luring spectators from Sydney and acknowledging that a worsening situation in NSW could lead to further restrictions, the ability to build a crowd at Canberra Stadium would be pretty difficult. And that’s before we even consider that Brumbies home crowds have been disappointing for several years now.

This same reasoning would therefore have to apply to Newcastle too, and even if government money might have been used to move the Test to the Hunter, you’re still really only holding the event for the surrounding regions with a week-and-a-half’s notice. The decent arguments were quickly eroded.

Perth might have been an option if not for the fact Les Bleus would only complete their required 14-day quarantine period the day before the match.

Brisbane, therefore, was the only logical answer. The Wallabies were already on the Gold Coast, and the French – already in quarantine in Sydney with allowances to train – were given the go-ahead to travel into Queensland on the day of the match.

Both teams will remain based in Queensland and travel direct to Melbourne for the Second Test on July 13, before returning to Brisbane for the Third Test on July 17. Again, it all makes logical sense.

Of course, who knows what could happen between now and then? Indeed, at the time of writing, the situation in Brisbane has the Queensland Government on high alert too.

This feels a way off being solved just yet.

Another important step for Fiji’s Super Rugby entry
Press releases arriving at 7.31pm on a Saturday night rarely carry good news. So, it was a nice surprise to see the release confirming Australian Government funding “to support Fiji Rugby Union in establishing teams that are capable of entering both the Super Rugby and the Super W seasons as early as 2022.”

The money is delivered through the same PacificAus Sports program that assisted the Fijian teams at the Oceania Sevens event in Townsville over the weekend, and will reportedly flow to the Fijian Rugby Union for three years.

While “as early as 2022” is encouraging, it remains to be seen how realistic that is. RA CEO Andy Marinos spoke on Monday and confirmed that a number of factors like international border restrictions, not to mention a bit more water to go under a few more bridges before RA and NZR reach agreement on what trans-Tasman competition looks like going forward, means 2022 is still not yet confirmed for Fiji.

But the PacificAus Sports funding will certainly move them a step closer, and quite likely opens the door for the Fijian Drua to join an Australian competition at the very least, if COVID remains an ongoing concern next year.