What could be bigger than the others? Well, in my eyes, there is one event that preceded each of these.
This event laid the ground work for each and every one of the above four to happen. If this one didn’t happen, I am declaring that the World Cup would not have been the success it was. I don’t think we would have had the influx of league players and I don’t think John O’Neill would have been forced out of his position as ARU CEO. If that was the case, who knows what would have happened with Robbie? Perhaps he would have signed earlier, or perhaps we wouldn’t have needed him at all.
Regardless, this event set in motion all the others. And guess what, it is about to happen again in about three and a half years time. I wonder what impact it will have on Australian Rugby then?
1. First Lions test 2001
Rugby was a somewhat attractive little sport, attracting pretty decent profile in Australia because of the recent success of the Wallabies. They won the 1999 Rugby World Cup in England, and got a ticker tape parade when they got home. Bravo! Still…it was a little out of sight out of mind. The team was highly regarded and admired, but the sport really hadn’t captured the imagination, nor the heart, of the greater public. I mean, the World Cup win happened in the middle of the night! Whilst most sane people were asleep.
2000 was interesting. There was that amazing game at Olympic Stadium when 100,000 people turned up and saw the All Blacks tear us apart. And then us tear them apart. And then both teams fight it out in a tough second half. But that was a once off.
And apparently the British and Irish Lions were touring in 2001? They would be nice. No one was entirely sure about them, except the diehard rugby fans. They hadn’t been sighted on our shores since 1989. Remember? Campo’s pass? Farr-Jones’s bloody lip? The 2001 tour was odd. They would play in Perth first. Perth, Western Australia? Strange. But arriving in the west, the Lions effectively slipped into the country somewhat unannounced.
So what happened?
Well the footy stuff was pretty standard. Big wins by the Lions against the likes of Western Australia and the QLD President’s XV, plus a loss to Australia A. But then, in the lead up to the first test in Brisbane, people started to notice something. “Who the hell are all these people in red jerseys?” The Lions supporter numbers had been exponentially growing as we got closer and closer to the first test. So much so that the Queen Street Mall in Brisbane was a sea of red in the lead up to the first test (which was a sign of things to come). It came at a time too when the English pound was buying A LOT of Aussie dollars, so these red jersey wearing tourists were spending up. Big time.
And then it came to the test. Personally I remember turning the corner inside the Gabba to enter the main seating section of the stadium, and it just hit me. The noise was incredible and there was red everywhere. It was like that scene from Stephen King’s “The Shining” where all that blood comes flowing down the hallway and just covers everything. The Gabba was awash with Red. It is rumoured that Martin Johnson returned to the change rooms from doing the toss and said to his team mates “It’s a home game tonight lads” such was the show of support.
How did it change things?Now traditionally rugby crowds in Australia are on the conservative side. They like to wear their nice going out clothes. In Queensland at least it was jeans and polo shirts for the lads and jodhpurs and polo shirts (mmmmmm jodhpurs….) for the gals. Rarely, if ever, did someone wear gold. It just didn’t go! And noise? We might sing the anthem quietly under our breath, and clap the odd good run, but other than that, we were there for the game.
But the Lions fans showed us how to be just that. Fans! True supporters! The 16th man! The Lions always knew they had the support. The red apparel was everywhere. The singing, the chanting, the constant Lions presence was never ending and…just so foreign to us.
The size of the travelling supporter groups gave big business, and the government, a true understanding of the value of the rugby dollar. It would have played a big part in the private and public sector getting behind the 2003 RWC. The economic benefit statements were amazing. Small businesses were making money. Big business were making money. The ARU, the government, the sponsors. They were all making money.
It was an eye-opener for the ARU. They were embarrassed by what happened in Brisbane, and who knows the impact it had on the players (who were blown out of the water by the Lions going down 29-13). Come the 2nd test in Melbourne the ARU decided to fight fire with fire and were giving away gold stuff (mostly scarfs and caps, and the occasional shirt) by the stadium load to try and gain some sort of equality in the stands. It may well have worked as this time it was the Wallabies who were blowing the Lions out of the park on their way to a record 35-14 win.
So it all came down to the third test, much to the delight of the ARU. The stadium was once again saturated with gold and the crowd even managed to make some noise as the Wallabies wrapped up a series win.
Implications for the future?
The tour did massive things for Wallaby revenue. The win gave an obvious boost to the value of the team which saw increased crowd numbers, TV ratings and sponsorships. More so it highlighted the brand of rugby and its value to the corporate market. The Government recognised it as well and the success of the Tour, economically, smoothed the way for greater governmental support (at all levels) come the 2003 RWC, which in turn went on to ensure the success of that event.
Merchandising also came very much into play. Prior to this, you’d struggle to find any Wallaby gear anywhere but at the stadium on game day. Anyone actually wearing a jersey was even rarer. Now the Wallaby jersey seems to be everywhere and evident at all supporting events (featuring Australians) across the globe. It’s fair to say that the ARU still lags behind a few sports in terms of merchandising (and the pricing of it!!), but it must now be a decent little income earner it hadn’t, prior to 2001, really factored on.
*****
So the Lions tour, and more specifically the eye-opening first test the most significant moment of the decade. Fair call? Am I overstating it? What did I miss? Can the 2013 Lions tour to Australia, two years after the RWC in New Zealand, once again boost the sport in this country, or is the Lions concept dead in the water? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
