Leeds Rhinos 26 - South Sydney Rabbitohs 24
Philadelphia Fight Rugby News and Press
January 26, 2008
12,000 people have turned out to watch Australian and British rugby league teams at Hodges Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida.
Taking part in the first Australia Day Challenge, timed to co-incide with Australia's national day, the reigning English Super League champions the Leed Rhinos, battled Australia's South Sydney Rabbitohs on Saturday. The UK team took the lead early, but the Rabbitohs staged a dramatic second half comeback which very nearly saw them snatch victory. However it was the English team that ran out winners, clinching the maiden title by 26 points to 24. The crowd of twelve thousand to see a game of rugby league, popular in Australia, and the UK, and countries like New Zealand and France, was considered by organizers as a great achievement. The game has virtually no profile in the United States, and weather conditions on the day were poor. The Rhinos completely dominated the opening 40 minutes, scoring five tries to nil to hammer out a 26-nil lead at half-time. Matt Diskin, Brent Webb, Rob Burrow, Keith Senior and Scott Donald all crossed the line for four-pointers (touchdowns), with captain Kevin Sinfield kicking three conversions. The Rabbitohs, co-owned by top Hollywood actor, Australian Russell Crowe, fired up in the second half, scoring four tries to nil and showing the best team in Europe the Rabbitohs can also play. Ben Rogers scored a try in the 47th minute after prop Michael Greenfield grubber kicked close to the line for Rogers to pounce. Eddie Paea converted to take the scores to 26-6. Eight minutes later hooker Issac Luke scooted from dummy-half and ducked and weaved out of three tackles to score a typical Luke try, which he converted himself for a 26-12 scoreline. Two minutes into the third quarter, halfback Eddie Paea beat three defenders to score a fantastic try. Luke's conversion brought the Rabbitohs within eight of their opponents. In the final minute of play, hooker George Ndaira scored his maiden try in the red and green colours, converting his own try to finish the scoring at 26-24. Rabbitohs coach Jason Taylor was pleased with the result of the match. 'Even though we lost I'm still happy with the performance overall. We know what we need to work on now,' Taylor said. 'Our ball control in the first half was poor and we took some poor options but we fixed a few things in the second half so that was pleasing." 'We only went down by two points, and one of their tries was a long range intercept try - so all-in-all it was a good result." 'The best results seemed to be off the field. Over 12,000 people came out to watch when it's raining, the merchandise all sold out and the number of new Souths supporters in the U.S. is phenomenal. I think we have helped promote the game over here over the past ten days and we look forward to getting that opportunity again.' During the pre-match entertainment, the crew from Orange County Choppers who are the stars of the hit TV show American Chopper, made appearances. The game itself was broadcast live on Jacksonville radio station Jax Sports. It was also recorded by the South Sydney Football Club and Australia's Channel Nine Network for a delayed telecast. The University of North Florida's relationship with the local Jacksonville Axemen rugby league team played a significant role in the Rabbitohs' decision to come to Jacksonville. Axemen co-founder and coach Daryl "Spinner" Howland, a native of Australia, grew up playing junior rugby league in North Queensland. Earlier in the week the South Sydney Rabbitohs turned into Jacksonville Jaguars when the NFL side hosted the South Sydney players, coaches and staff on a ‘Day in the Life of an NFL Player’ tour at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The players had lunch in the team lunch room, before being escorted through the video and meeting theatre, the gym, the locker room, the equipment room, the practice field and then onto the turf at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The players were able to try on the team helmets, pads and jerseys; check out the boots and gloves the NFL players wear; and had the opportunity to throw passes and catch long passes from the team’s ball machine. “Today was absolutely mad,” Rabbitohs halfback Eddie Paea said in blog on the Florida Times-Union newspaper Web site. “It is easily the best activity we've had since we got here! The Jaguars are such a massive organisation. We're having our new training facility built in Redfern Oval in South Sydney at the moment, and if it's half as good as the Jags place then we'll all be very happy!” Paea said it would take a little getting used to carrying all of the extra equipment onto the field of battle. “The gear the NFL players wear is pretty heavy, especially the helmets,” he commented. “I'm not sure how they run around with those things on. We had a chance to pass the NFL balls around and try and catch some balls that came out of the ball machine. That thing could shoot the ball 70 yards downfield no problems. It was pretty tough to catch some of those long bombs when you're running deep, but it looks so easy on TV.” Rugby league differs from the more widely recognized rugby union game in that there is a defined period of offense and defense, and there are thirteen players on the field, rather than 15. Crowe said the rugby league game has more similarities to American football and is typically easier for an American audience to pick up than rugby union. Crowe, who grew up as a Rabbitohs fan, said he remembers South Sydney's last league championship, called a premiership, in 1971. He was 7 years old. "It's been a long time between drinks for us," he said. "Part of our process of changing the culture in South Sydney is educating the players, bringing them to a place like Jacksonville, bringing them to a university like this with all its incredible facilities," he added. "It's about opening their minds, expanding their worlds and making them stronger and better men." The challenge match has generated widespread publicity in England, Australia, and particularly in the U.S. Local Jacksonville, and Florida media, as well as national American newspapers, TV and radio, have covered the event, seen as a windfall for Jacksonville tourism, and the North Florida campus. Even the New South Wales government, the state where Sydney is the capital, sponsored the South Sydney Rabbitohs and sent an ambassador to capitalize on the event, and promote Sydney as a tourist destination, and a place to invest. Coupled with the unique Jacksonville setting, the aura of two internationally known rugby league teams, and the participation of a Hollywood icon, and the stage was set. The organizers were anticipating a crowd of 10,000, and were stoked when the number exceeded that by 20%. Golfer Greg Norman and his fiancee, former tennis great Chris Evert, were in the crowd, as was ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman, recently retired Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr, Muhammad Ali's longtime trainer, Angelo Dundee, and Australian women's surfing champion Layne Beachley. Visit Jacksonville President John Reyes said that for an organization whose budget doesn't permit much overseas marketing, "this is more than we could ever wish or hope for getting our message out to the U.K. or Australia." For a sports town, the event "broadens our horizons on what we can host here," Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton said. "It's an opportunity to put us on the map with Australia and England."
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