IT WAS interesting last weekend watching the NRL games and then a bit of the rugby union Test match between the All Blacks and England in Dunedin.
Every game of NRL was a package of high-speed entertainment.
It was thrilling to watch, all games delivered amazing skills played by super-fit, fast and highly gifted players.
Across the Tasman at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, I’m sure the jam-packed house was hoping to see something just as exciting.
Well, the All Blacks won 16-15 in what was a tight finish, but even the one-eyed rugby fans would have struggled to find any of it exciting.
The reason us older rugby league guys call rugby union “kick and clap” was very evident in Dunedin.
It was anything but high-speed entertainment.
The All Blacks have a great coach who was coaching the New Zealand team for the first time. Scott Robertson is well known from his days as the Crusaders Super Rugby coach as someone who likes his teams to play the fast, expansive game.
But his opponents this Saturday at Eden Park in Auckland are once again England.
After watching them against the All Blacks last Saturday in Dunedin, I cannot see them coming within a bull’s roar of the All Blacks.
Meanwhile, watching the NRL entertainment package from last weekend you can see exactly why the following for rugby league is on the up in New Zealand. The players are just so fit and skilful and it’s pure entertainment to watch.
That’s why the big talking point in the rugby league world is the highly anticipated third and deciding Origin next week.
I, for one, cannot wait to feel that special excitement that is generated at Suncorp Stadium. There’s nowhere better to watch an Origin decider.
