The Lions are Down Under and it’s a big thing here but rugby league’s State of Origin is the main event for Australians.
Last week, England played the Exiles in our warm-up for the World Cup but that’s nothing compared to the State of Origin, where the best players from Queensland and New South Wales battle it out.
I was fortunate to be in the Sydney Football Stadium in 1991 to watch the game. It’s state against state and mate against mate. One day you’re playing with each other and the next day you’re bashing ten bells out of each other. You can’t get into the Australian side without going through the State of Origin.
A lot of Australians will say that the game is bigger than a Test match because of the pressure on the players to perform. It’s a step up from the National Rugby League and it’s one of the reasons why the Australian team are always so well prepared.
The media coverage for rugby league in Australia is on a par with Premier League football in England and the State of Origin is the highlight of the season.
New South Wales won the first of the three games, so that sets things up nicely for the second fixture on Wednesday. Everything stops in Australia when the games are on and it will be fascinating to see whether NSW can seal the series with a win.
Player of the week
Ben Crooks scored four tries for Hull FC and will be a huge international player if he can cut the errors out of his game.
Team of the week
Hull KR went over to France and got a result. Even though the Catalan Dragons’ goal-kicking wasn’t the best, it was still a very good win.
Pick of this weekend
London Broncos face Salford in the battle at the bottom and the losers will probably go on to get the wooden spoon.
Martin Offiah is an official ambassador for RLWC2013 which kicks off on October 26. For info and to purchase tickets visit rlwc2013.com
