Australian rugby needs Lions series to be its ‘State of Origin moment’

Source : ABC NEWS

The British and Irish Lions series looms large as a key milestone in Rugby Australia’s (RA) much-trumpeted ‘golden decade’.

Aside from helping to fill RA’s depleted coffers (it announced a $36.8 million deficit in the 2024 financial year), the tour is an opportunity for the Wallabies to recapture Australia-wide visibility.

The Wallabies’ ‘brand’ is not what it was when Australia hosted the 2003 men’s Rugby World Cup as defending champions.

At the time, they were arguably the pre-eminent national team among the football codes.

Admittedly, soccer was in dire straits in the early 2000s and once its governing body got its house in order the Matildas and Socceroos claimed the mantle the Wallabies once enjoyed.

These days, outside of the rugby heartlands on Australia’s east coast, you may struggle to find an AFL or soccer supporter who could identify a current Wallabies representative.

This Melbourne-based columnist can vouch for this.

But if you ask the same supporter to name an NRL player, it’s more likely they could at least come up with a few.

Much of this has to do with the success of rugby league’s State of Origin, which has developed a national footprint, despite only featuring NSW and Queensland.

State of Origin commands a massive free-to-air (FTA) TV audience on the Nine Network across Australia.

This was illustrated last year when the third and deciding match of the men’s series attracted a national total TV reach of over 5.3 million.

The 2025 women’s State of Origin series, with one match still to come, has also rated through the roof.

Origin II, played earlier this month, managed a national total TV reach just shy of 2.1 million, a figure higher than the men’s AFL match between the Suns and Hawks (a tad over 1.6 million) on the same night.

State of Origin has become ‘appointment TV’, even for sport fans who don’t usually watch rugby league.

The NRL is more than aware outstanding audience numbers increase the code’s visibility and generate revenue through driving up the price of its broadcast deal.

RA is not blind to the value of large viewing figures.

Its CEO Phil Waugh highlighted the need to provide a “quality product” that “everyone wants to be watching” when he recently announced a fresh broadcast partnership with Nine and Stan Sport, worth up to $240 million between 2026-2030.

In the same way non-NRL fans may be enticed to tune into the men’s and women’s State of Origin this week, the Lions series offers RA an avenue to attract an audience outside of the game’s rusted-on supporters.

In a sense, the three Lions Tests need to give Australian rugby its ‘State of Origin moment’, a chance of gaining increased national visibility.

Each Test will be staged on a Saturday night and broadcast by Nine on its FTA platforms, in addition to being streaming by Stan Sport.

This is a time-slot the NRL leaves to Pay TV (outside of finals), while the AFL has cut back its FTA presence on Saturday nights to restricted markets as part of its broadcast deal.

For example, the first Lions Test to be played in Brisbane on July 19 will only face competition — in terms of live sport — for FTA TV eyeballs in Western Australia, where the Eagles-Tigers AFL match will be broadcast.

And the second and third Tests will be met by similar scenarios, with the AFL broadcasting matches solely in South Australia and Queensland respectively.

The opportunity to engage a sizeable national TV audience is there for the taking.

Of course, a Wallabies series victory will be crucial and that’s up to coach Joe Schmidt and his squad to deliver on that front.

Reds become their own worst enemy

The Queensland Reds are ruing a loss of focus during the first half of their 31-27 defeat to the Hurricanes in Brisbane on Friday night.

Leading 13-12 in the 32nd minute, the Reds conceded two converted tries to trail 26-13 at the half-time break.

They launched an admirable comeback to reclaim the lead (27-26), highlighted by Joe Brial’s superb try that followed 20 phases of sustained attacking pressure.

But the Hurricanes lifted when required, with Fehi Fineanganofo scoring in the 65th minute to ultimately ice the visitors’ win.

Although the Reds grabbed a bonus point, the result saw them relinquish fourth spot on the standings to the Hurricanes and slip to fifth, ahead of their final match of the Super Rugby Pacific regular season against the Fijian Drua in Brisbane.

A finals campaign still beckons, but it’s concerning the Reds have won only two of their past seven matches after leading the competition earlier this season.

Wilson makes solid return from injury

If there was a positive the Reds could take from their loss to the Hurricanes, it was the return of Wallabies captain Harry Wilson from injury.

Wilson had missed five matches due to a broken arm.

On Friday night, he was barely sighted in the first half but performed strongly in the second 40, with a crunching tackle on his opposite number Peter Lakai among his highlights.

He played the full 80 minutes, a vital shift given he needs match fitness.

While Langi Gleeson’s form at number eight for the Waratahs has been impressive, it’s difficult to see Wilson losing his starting role for the Wallabies against the Lions, if he stays injury-free.

Wallabies skippers have been dropped before, however, Wilson has been solid enough this season for the Reds to retain his spot.

Waratahs stay in finals race

Their chances are slim, but the NSW Waratahs remain in finals contention following their 22-17 victory over the Western Force in Perth on Saturday night.

It was a fiery but forgettable encounter, despite a thrilling finish when Darby Lancaster scored out wide for the Waratahs in the 90th minute during super-point extra time.

The Waratahs (26 points) are in eighth place on the standings, two points shy of Moana Pasifika (sixth) and the Blues (seventh).

They must beat the Blues at Auckland’s Eden Park next Saturday afternoon to have any hope of reaching the six-team finals series.

Looking through the lens of the Lions tour, few Waratahs or Force players did their Wallabies selection chances any favours amid wet conditions in the west.

Tight-head prop Taniela Tupou, named in the Waratahs’ starting XV for this first time since round seven, showed a lack of discipline when he earned a yellow card for tripping Hamish Stewart during the second half.

With Tupou’s Test hopes under a cloud due to his poor form this season, it was hardly a display that demanded he be picked for the Wallabies.

On a brighter note, Force openside flanker Carlo Tizzano came through unscathed after returning from a pec injury.

Tizzano bulldozed his way over the goal line in the first half to collect his 13th try of the season, which is the most scored by a forward in the competition’s history.

Samu tastes European success

Ange Postecoglou wasn’t the only Australian successful on the European stage in the past week.

Wallabies back-rower Pete Samu helped Bordeaux Bègles defeat Northampton 28-20 in the European Rugby Champions Cup final in Cardiff over the weekend.

Samu, who has played 33 Tests for the Wallabies, has signed with the Waratahs and will return to Australia once he completes his French Top 14 commitments.

Importantly for the Wallabies, he is eligible for selection to play the Lions.

The same goes for lock Matt Philip, who is joining the Waratahs following a stint with Japanese club Yokohama Canon Eagles.

Samu and Philip could be described as ‘soldiers’, with both players not afraid to do the unfashionable grunt work on the field.

It would be a shock if either forced their way into the Wallabies’ starting line-up against the Lions, but they would be valuable off the bench, especially Samu, with his ability to cover all three back-row positions.