Australian rugby union upbeat despite lean times as ‘golden decade’ looms

As the local mining community would no doubt agree, to find gold in Western Australia this week you have had to go looking for it. There is the odd Wallabies flag fluttering in the wind but blue and maroon have been the dominant colours in Perth, which staged the second State of Origin match last Sunday to considerably greater fanfare than that which greets the first Test between Australia and England on Saturday.

Maybe that should come as little surprise given the limited appeal of rugby union in these parts compared with the National Rugby League, but for all that starting the series on the west coast was a well-intentioned move to grow the game in that area, it jars that the Wallabies still haven’t arrived from their base on the Sunshine Coast.

The first Test is not on course to sell out the 65,000‑seat Optus Stadium as the State of Origin match did, but there is scant evidence of promotional or marketing campaigns to drum up interest. There is no point in relying on Eddie Jones to cut through to the Australian public when he is evidently on his best behaviour and no longer has his old sparring partner Michael Cheika to trade blows with in the press.

Scratch the surface, however, and a bit of post-lockdown apathy is a small price to pay given the longer-term optimism brought about by the fact the British & Irish Lions are due in 2025, the 2027 and 2029 World Cup tournaments were secured in May and the Olympics is coming to Brisbane in 2032.

The Rugby Australia chairman, Hamish McLennan, speaks of a “golden decade” for the sport with a mixture of anticipation and relief considering how the pandemic brought the organisation to its knees to the extent that a $40m loan – at a considerable rate of interest – from a US