Lote Tuqiri calls for Wallabies-Kangaroos clash
Lote Tuqiri | January 24, 2009 11:00pm
LET'S get it on . . . Lote Tuqiri says he would love to line up against league star Greg Inglis. / News Limited picture
HERE'S a sure way of turning Sydney's ANZ Stadium into a colosseum on Australia Day next year: stage a Wallabies-Kangaroos match. Six months ago, I floated the idea of settling this 100-year-old cross-code argument.
To start with, I was just curious about who would win a game of football between the rah-rahs and the leaguies.
Then I thought of all the positive publicity and money a cross-code battle could generate, and how good that would be for both codes.
By the time January rolls around, everyone is starting to get hungry for some footy again after a few months off.
I wanted to stage the match tomorrow, on Australia Day, and donate the anticipated $15million gate to charity and the grassroots of both codes.
I read the other day that Artie Beetson reckons league is dying in the bush. Well, if you put this event on, your problem's part-way solved.
As far as I can see, there are only positives. A win-win for everybody.
To be honest, I was disappointed when I saw that the Australian Rugby Union and Australian Rugby League squashed the concept so quickly when it got tossed up again last November.
Obviously organising such a massive event isn't really my area of expertise, but I'm led to believe the problem had something to do with a promoter who was trying to act as a middle man and looking to reap some of the windfall.
Politics aside, I really want to kick this thing off. Make it an annual event, a gala day to celebrate everything about being an Aussie. I guarantee it would sell out quickly in Sydney, and in Brisbane even faster. Let both cities go tit-for-tat in the hosting stakes.
On the field, I'd forget about trying to complicate the rules to incorporate the best of both codes and simply play one half of league and one half of union.
As players, you'd have to do your homework leading up to the clash in terms of video analysis and training, but I honestly believe it would be an exciting experiment.
Personally, I would love the opportunity to play against Greg Inglis. What a freak. When he's fit and on fire, it's scary the things he can produce.
Golden Boot winner Billy Slater is another NRL player I know the rugby boys always get a kick out of watching. Just the electricity and energy he brings to the game whenever he gets involved.
Imagine Petero Civoniceva running at Wycliff Palu and vice-versa. Or Tatafu Polota-Nau doing one of his trademark cannon-ball runs where blokes just go flying everywhere.
The thing with Tatafu, he's one of those Kamikaze players who is either going to hurt himself or hurt the opposition.
He's one bloke who could rattle the Kangaroos a bit.
A few of the rugby boys approached me after I initially floated the idea and asked how I reckon the Wallabies would go.
I said we would hold our own in a pretty even contest.
Sometimes in rugby you go for the percentage play rather than just playing off the cuff.
I reckon the league boys would throw caution to the wind and have a big go, give the ball plenty of air.
Either way, the product is a winner.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/nrl/story/0,26746,24960721-5016365,00.html
Lote Tuqiri | January 24, 2009 11:00pm
HERE'S a sure way of turning Sydney's ANZ Stadium into a colosseum on Australia Day next year: stage a Wallabies-Kangaroos match. Six months ago, I floated the idea of settling this 100-year-old cross-code argument.
To start with, I was just curious about who would win a game of football between the rah-rahs and the leaguies.
Then I thought of all the positive publicity and money a cross-code battle could generate, and how good that would be for both codes.
By the time January rolls around, everyone is starting to get hungry for some footy again after a few months off.
I wanted to stage the match tomorrow, on Australia Day, and donate the anticipated $15million gate to charity and the grassroots of both codes.
I read the other day that Artie Beetson reckons league is dying in the bush. Well, if you put this event on, your problem's part-way solved.
As far as I can see, there are only positives. A win-win for everybody.
To be honest, I was disappointed when I saw that the Australian Rugby Union and Australian Rugby League squashed the concept so quickly when it got tossed up again last November.
Obviously organising such a massive event isn't really my area of expertise, but I'm led to believe the problem had something to do with a promoter who was trying to act as a middle man and looking to reap some of the windfall.
Politics aside, I really want to kick this thing off. Make it an annual event, a gala day to celebrate everything about being an Aussie. I guarantee it would sell out quickly in Sydney, and in Brisbane even faster. Let both cities go tit-for-tat in the hosting stakes.
On the field, I'd forget about trying to complicate the rules to incorporate the best of both codes and simply play one half of league and one half of union.
As players, you'd have to do your homework leading up to the clash in terms of video analysis and training, but I honestly believe it would be an exciting experiment.
Personally, I would love the opportunity to play against Greg Inglis. What a freak. When he's fit and on fire, it's scary the things he can produce.
Golden Boot winner Billy Slater is another NRL player I know the rugby boys always get a kick out of watching. Just the electricity and energy he brings to the game whenever he gets involved.
Imagine Petero Civoniceva running at Wycliff Palu and vice-versa. Or Tatafu Polota-Nau doing one of his trademark cannon-ball runs where blokes just go flying everywhere.
The thing with Tatafu, he's one of those Kamikaze players who is either going to hurt himself or hurt the opposition.
He's one bloke who could rattle the Kangaroos a bit.
A few of the rugby boys approached me after I initially floated the idea and asked how I reckon the Wallabies would go.
I said we would hold our own in a pretty even contest.
Sometimes in rugby you go for the percentage play rather than just playing off the cuff.
I reckon the league boys would throw caution to the wind and have a big go, give the ball plenty of air.
Either way, the product is a winner.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/nrl/story/0,26746,24960721-5016365,00.html
