The main lesson is that rugby is strong in New Zealand now because it has always been strong. Not sure what we can learn from that. The code here has competition that New Zealand has never ever had.
By the way, the role of the poker machine in the sixties and succeeding decades in strengthening our main competitor hugely and (from any sporting viewpoint) undeservedly is worth contemplating. I am no sports historian, but loig got a much greater foothold in the sporting landscape because of the extraordinary revenues that flowed into the game, not from spectator admissions, or club memberships, or even media rights, but from problem gamblers back in the days when it was open slather, little or no government taxes, and no supervision.
As for the relative sporting landscapes, one of my neighbours is a New Zealander, mad keen about the code, of course, and very knowledgeable. He said to me the other day that the big difference is that every mother in New Zealand knows the rules of the game. An exaggeration, of course, but still a pretty telling comment.
By the way, his brother lives in Sydney, and he has a 15 or 16 year old son who is really carving it up in both loig and rugby. He is in Randwick's development squad and he has had some coaching by Simon Poidevin, who really rates him apparently.
He has just had an offer from St George to go into their Harold Matthews squad.
Where do you think he will go?
