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Wayne Smith | June 08, 2009
Article from: The Australian
ALL future Sydney Tests, excluding Bledisloe Cup matches against the All Blacks, could be played at the Sydney Football Stadium following the success of the Barbarians venture, Australian Rugby Union chief John O'Neill said yesterday.
While hopes of a sell-out crowd at the 42,000-seat SFS were not quite realised on Saturday night, O'Neill was still delighted the non-Test Wallabies-Barbarians game drew 39,500 spectators.
"We came in on budget and we're very happy to get a result like that on a long weekend when there was no school sport played, so people would have taken the opportunity to get away," O'Neill said.
"The atmosphere was terrific. The members showed up in droves and had to spill over into other areas and while some of the corporate boxes weren't occupied, that's pretty much an indication of where corporate Australia is right at the moment."
O'Neill said there were "genuine plans" to expand the capacity of the SFS to 55,000 which would even enable the ground to host South Africa Tests during the Tri- Nations series.
"Apart from the All Blacks, it's difficult to see any other Tests drawing crowds of more than 60,000. Suncorp Stadium (in Brisbane) is the best rugby ground in Australia and its capacity is 55,000. I just think these dedicated rectangular stadiums are what people want.
"Stadium Australia (ANZ Stadium at Homebush) wasn't built for rugby. It was built for the Olympics, and fair enough, but it's not a rectangular ground. And neither is the MCG which is a magnificent cricket ground but not one designed for rugby."
The issue of whether Tests should be played at the SFS or at the Olympic stadium has become a vexed one in Australian rugby, with the supporters of Moore Park claiming the SFS better services the rugby strongholds of the north shore, northern beaches and the eastern suburbs, while advocates of ANZ Stadium insist major matches have to be taken to Homebush if the game is ever to build a significant following in western Sydney.
But it wasn't just the venue that the ARU regarded as a success but the event itself. O'Neill revealed that not only were more Barbarians matches envisaged in the future but that the ARU was even contemplating holding two-match series against the legendary British-based club.
"It might be better if we had back-to-back games," said O'Neill, who is well aware that the Barbarians, as an invitation side, had little chance to develop any cohesion or teamwork against a team like the Wallabies, who are listed third on the IRB world rankings.
True, the Barbarians did play something of a two-match series on this occasion, beating England 33-26 at Twickenham on May 31 before catching a flight to Australia that evening for their match seven days later with the Wallabies. Nonetheless, coach Dai Young used two almost entirely different starting XVs for the matches, with only five players doubling up.
With international rugby becoming more and more structured, the Barbarians can no longer rely on the individual skills of brilliant players simply ad-libbing to compete against the likes of the Wallabies, All Blacks and Springboks, and the club might find that two-match series would work to its advantage.
"Playing the Barbarians might be a genuine alternative to the inbound Tests," said O'Neill, who long has complained that northern hemisphere countries tend to send second- and even third-string sides to Australia during the June Test window.
"The IRB is working very hard to ensure the regulations are enforced and the best possible teams are sent here each June."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html
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Originally Posted by mudskipper
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and the walk just meant that we were either out a bit later or had one less beer. I wonder which it was ...........
