A great sporting rivalry returned to the fore as fans at a packed stadium in Sydney tried to put the pandemic behind them
tate of Origin rose up afresh on Wednesday night and a crowd of 80,512 fans rose up with it. They came from cities and suburbs, country towns and specks on the map, up and down the east coast of Australia. On planes, trains and buses, in cars and cabs, on foot and phone, they argued allegiances all the way to the stadium. At the kick-off, they made a sound to behold: exorcised frustration from pandemic days and deep passion for “the fiercest rivalry in sport”.
Origin moves at warp speed, the tackles are harder, the feeling is deeper, the deeds more lasting. The images it evokes – Wally Lewis facing up to Mark Geyer in the rain, Steve Mortimer kissing the SCG mud in victory, Benny Elias bleeding all over his mother, Mark Coyne crawling to a miracle try – live forever and fuel an event that is pure entertainment.
So Queensland-born players played for NSW and their dominance killed interstate rivalry. The only way to revive the blood feud in future, claimed former-player-turned journalist Jack Reardon, was to permit Sydney-based Queenslanders to represent their state of origin.
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