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ARC a success says O'Neill
Saturday, 11 August 2007 @ 7:11 AM
sportal.com.au
An excited John O'Neill has labelled the opening night of the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship a 'red letter night' for rugby in this country.
The ARU Managing Director and CEO was thrilled by the crowd figure of 3547 and equally impressed by the on-field action served up by the Sydney Fleet and Central Coast Rays.
Over in the West, an equally impressive crowd of 3643 turned up to watch the Perth Spirit overcome the Western Sydney Rams 21-13 at Member’s Equity Stadium, Perth.
Australia's leading sports administrator, who returned to the ARU hot seat six weeks ago, was quick to credit his predecessor following a promising beginning for the Mazda ARC.
"It's a credit to people like (former ARU boss) Gary Flowers who helped get it up and running," O'Neill said.
"The fact people have shown up in a larger than expected way is a good sign and the quality of rugby has been great."
"You can see that as a development pathway, the fill-in between club rugby and Super 14 this is a great step."
Meanwhile in Sydney, all eyes were on Wallabies No.8 Wycliff Palu, who made his return to rugby following a six-week layoff courtesy of an injured right shoulder.
Palu was instrumental in the Rays' dominant first-half performance, and appeared untroubled by his shoulder throughout.
The 25-year-old was forced from the field seconds before the interval with a minor hamstring complaint but appears a likely starter next week.
And despite admitting to a serious bout of pre-game jitters the man-mountain admitted he was pleased with his return.
"It was the perfect hit out (and) if it wasn't for the hammy I probably would have asked to stay out there; I really enjoyed it," Palu said.
"Before the game I was probably the most nervous I've been this year but after the first five minutes all that went away."
When asked how his injured right shoulder felt during the match Palu said: "I couldn't feel it at all out there."
The other big story of the night was the late omission of Rays fullback Peter Hewat with a minor leg complaint.
After the match Rays coach John McKee said he was unwilling to risk further injury to such a crucial player.
"It was really a judgement we made based on that he could have played tonight and then we might of missed him for the next two or three weeks," McKee said.