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For a change of scenery, PJ TAYLOR ventured across the Tasman Sea last weekend to check out how Adelaide does big sporting occasions. The capital of South Australia, known as the Festival State, staged two important footy games on the hallowed turf of Adelaide Oval on Saturday and Sunday and one thing is for certain, it does it very well. You little ripper, Adelaide.
FROM ADELAIDE: Wallabies – beware. The British and Irish Lions mean business. They came out on Saturday night at the Adelaide Oval and gave the audience of 43,124 a lesson in entertaining, 15-man expansive rugby union.
Everyone in the famous red jersey was involved, for 80 minutes always more urgent and focused than their opponents, first to the ball, the breakdown and tryline, passing a strong statement to Australia that this Saturday’s first test match in Brisbane is going to be their sternest test in many years.
The Lions’ defence was a rolling fortress and demolished all attacks from the opposition – the ordinarily titled Invitational AU-NZ XV, which disappointed in making a brilliant opportunity to showcase rugby to an impressive crowd of South Australians, rugby people from across Australia and New Zealand, and of course, at least 10,000 travelling Lions supporters, a contest.
There are many reasons why the two sides were mismatched, including time together for preparations, but AUNZ only made three-half line breaks in the whole game, making the Lions’ defence look impregnable in their decisive 48-0 victory.
Then there was the commitment factor – the Lions players had everything to gain – test positions for the first international against Australia at Suncorp Stadium, while for AUNZ, it was a one-off match where the players assembled are unlikely to be in the same line-up ever again.
As a result, it’s hard to gauge how strong the Lions really are, but they were fast, enterprising and attacking in the backs, and the forwards dominating, skilled and very difficult to contain.
The Wallabies will have their hands full in the massive three-match series and need to be creative and innovative in getting through the Lions’ swarming defence that can turn mistakes by opponents quickly into attacking opportunities and points.
And Australia’s defence is going to have to be as good as the Lions’, as a foundation to launch their attacking flair.
There was a genuine feeling of embarrassment from proud fans of Australian and New Zealand rugby in the performance of AUNZ. There’s no doubt everyone put in a shift, it’s just some put in greater efforts than others, and as a team, they lacked game-time together.
The occasion
Rugby union is not usually a traditional winter sport generating coverage in South Australia, the state being another Aussie Rules footy territory, while netball, football and basketball all have strong followings and participation.
The All Blacks took their tour to South Australia in the amateur days of 1974 and beat the state team by more than 100 points and have not returned, while the Wallabies have only played one test match in Adelaide, a 2011 Rugby World Cup pool game against Namibia.
But as Aussies do, the South Australians came out in force last Saturday because it was a top-class sporting event with the Lions coming to town.
There’s no doubt the AUNZ match was a manufactured fixture to include South Australia on the Lions tour Downunder, with the visiting side not disappointing in the way they tackled the assignment. On-field job done.
What was special about this occasion was all the rugby union people of South Australia, and a lot of visitors, came out in support and entered into the spirit, and the assorted rugby jerseys worn by fans was broad and impressive, as could be viewed in the ground and at the famous Guardsman pub in Adelaide Central Railway Station before kick-off.
It was the same at the Strathmore Hotel and the bustling assorted bars along the city riverside, a short hop, skip and jump from the match venue.
Adelaide does it so good
Adelaide Oval, like others in different states in the Commonwealth, is an iconic sports ground that holds a special place in people’s affections, the venue of so many historic moments over more than a century, especially in cricket and Aussie Rules.
It’s changed markedly from the last time this writer was there 20-plus years ago, being more of a comfortable, modern-era, user-friendly stadium, rising high in the city skyline and offering patrons an assortment of clear elevated viewing positions.
Statues of South Australia sporting legends stand proudly around the venue’s outskirts, and one of its seamless innovations is a stylish hotel incorporated in the stadium’s structure.
The expansive Parklands area all around the ground is a wonderful long-established public green space asset, and its connection to the river and city district.
From the train station to Adelaide Oval, via a hospitality venue or two, it’s a pleasant mostly flat stroll across the Torrens River and a powerful atmosphere as we walk in unison with the fans to the AFL contest on Sunday between Port Adelaide and the West Coast Eagles.
Both sides are out of the running for the finals in the spring, but it proved to be a more entertaining spectacle than Saturday’s event.
Mainly because the fans are positively obsessed with their respective teams, love their Aussie Rules, and make their thoughts known vocally.
It creates an electric atmosphere, as the players run non-stop for two hours over three hours (four quarters), kicking and passing a jellybean-shaped ball all around a giant-shaped oval while slamming into and wrestling opponents in the quest to kick the yellow-coloured pill through four goalposts for goals and behinds – points.
There’s a powerful moment just before ball-up (kick off) when Port Power fans hold their scarves as one above their heads and sing the INXS song Never Tear Us Apart, which relates to an old club issue with the sport’s authorities.
Port Adelaide prevailed 87 (12, 15) to West Coast Eagles 61 (9, 7) in a topsy-turvy, back-and-forth scrap that the Power only hit the lead for the first time in the seventh minute of the fourth quarter, much to the relief and jubilation of the home fans.
Adelaide Oval is a world-class sporting venue with world-class sporting audiences who appreciate the exhilaration of top-class sport.
It doesn’t get mentioned much ahead of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, but it’s a sporting destination, as well as a festival state, that piques intrigue and when you get there it exceeds expectations.
Can’t wait to one day view a cricket test match there.
