Test match rugby returns to Adelaide
February 14, 2008
Test match rugby will return to Adelaide Oval and the venue could host a match between Australia and Italy next year, Australian Rugby Union boss John O'Neill said.
In Adelaide to launch the Rugby Sevens competition at the oval in April, O'Neill said officials were keen for the Wallabies to play again in South Australia after the success of the two matches played during the 2003 World Cup.
Australia are playing Tests against France and Ireland on home soil in 2008, but Italy are being considered as possible opponents for next year.
"We think the Wallabies against Italy (in Adelaide) would be a great event," O'Neill said.
The International Rugby Sevens in Adelaide on April 5-6 is part of the Sevens World Series with South Australia the only local stop on the circuit that includes Hong Kong, Wellington and San Diego.
O'Neill said the competition was highly valued in rugby with international officials pushing for modified game to be accepted as an Olympic sport.
"The sevens circuit is vital from that perspective," he said.
"But it also weaves threads of silk into the very fabric of our code.
"It is fast, action-packed and always entertaining.
"It is a game where size does not matter, where skill and speed take over."
O'Neill said the sevens was also vital to help grow and develop the game in non-traditional rugby countries.
"Nations like Kenya have emerged on the sevens circuit as highly competitive and capable of beating the best teams in the world," he said.
Australia is expected to continue with past practice and field a team of younger players in its sevens line-up, players O'Neill says will feature in the Wallabies team at some stage in the future.
But he said given the home-ground advantage in Adelaide, they would probably look to bolster the team with one or two more established stars.
AAP
Test match rugby returns to Adelaide - Rugby - Fox Sports
