At Dangar Park in Narrabri on Saturday hundreds of passionate, noisy locals lined the embankment as the home side battled it out against Moree in the preliminary final of the Central North rugby union competition.
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They witnessed a wonderfully entertaining match between two sides desperate to do their jersey, their history, and their supporters proud.
Moree’s supporters walked away from the ground disappointed their side was defeated by a single point, but not one of them had been let down. It was grassroots rugby at its best.
An hour or so later, on the other side of Tasman, the Wallabies took to the field at Westpac Stadium in Wellington to take on the All Blacks in the second Bledisloe Cup test.
If Dangar Park had showcased everything that is good about Australian rugby, Westpac Stadium laid bare for all the world everything that is bad about it.
Coming off a record thrashing at the hands of the men in black the week before in Sydney, the Wallabies were once again limp and listless. The fact that some commentators talked up the positives in a 20-point drubbing tells you everything you need to know about where this Wallabies team is at.
Credit where it’s due: this All Blacks side is the greatest to every play the game, and arguably the most dominant sports team of any kind on the planet.
Losing to them, while obviously disappointing, is understandable. But it is the nature of the defeats that is alarming.
Rugby at the highest level seems to have lost its way in this country.
The game at its grassroots, right across Australia, seems to be thriving. The scenes at Dangar Park at the weekend were no aberration. But that fervour – the desire to lay everything on the line for the team – has been lost somewhere between these amateur club clashes and the lofty heights of Super and international rugby.
It’s not just that the Wallabies aren’t matching the skill level of the All Blacks, it’s that they’re not matching their attitude and application. If one accepts that defence is the ultimate barometer of a team’s desire, consider this: Australia missed 40 tackles in Sydney, and another 30 in Wellington.
No one envies Michael Cheika’s job at the moment, but if the Wallabies coach is looking for answers a team trip to Ken Chillingworth Oval this Saturday for the grand final would be a very good place to start.
