LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN Big Sports Breakfast host Terry Kennedy provides a forecast of the NRL season as rugby league gets under way in 2019. CAN THE WALLABIES SAVE THE RUGBY UNION FROM ITSELF? The game of rugby union in this country is on life support and the pulse rate weakens with every breath. Even the staunchest of rugby supporters bemoan the state of their beloved game, with cries of “I just can’t watch it anymore”. That could all change with a turnaround in fortune at the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Nothing markets like winning, and if the Wallabies can do the unthinkable and win the World Cup it just might resuscitate the code in Australia. Win it and all will be forgiven, that’s how we rock Down Under. TOUGHEST FOOTBALL MARKET IN THE WORLD It’s hard to believe but keep this in mind; in Australia, particularly Sydney, we have the most competitive football market on the planet. That’s right, a tiny country like ours with a population of just over 24 million - we split our football allegiances four separate ways. The sports of Aussie rules, rugby league, soccer and rugby union all battling for the hearts, minds and wallets of the sporting public. All four codes in a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week tussle for crowds, TV ratings, corporate support and talent. The world game ‘soccer’ - the most popular game on the planet - is forced to play the A-League season during summer because competition was simply too fierce during the traditional winter football months. Competition is brutal and at this stage rugby union is a distant fourth or, to be harsh, dragging the chain in last position. RUGBY WORLD CUP But for all the rugby fans so disillusioned with their code, there’s hope. It’s called the Rugby World Cup and it’s on in Japan. Twenty nations from Africa, Asia, Europe, the United States, South America and Oceania, including the Wallabies, doing battle for the ultimate prize with the final to be staged on November 2 in Tokyo. It’s the ninth staging of the Rugby World Cup, and the first in Japan. The Japanese will make sure the tournament will run much like their famous railway system – on time and with great precision. Their bid was impressive and came out on top of rivals Italy and South Africa when they were named host country. Singapore and Hong Kong were in the running to help host the event but, in the end, Japan said “we’ll go it alone”. Forty-eight matches in 12 different cities where ‘the game they play in heaven’ can shine. That’s 48 matches over a six-week period for the game of rugby to claw back lost ground. THE ISRAEL FOLAU CONTROVERSY I’m not about to get into a debate regarding the war between Israel Folau’s controversial ‘religious beliefs’ and ‘freedom of speech’. But the fact of the matter is this, Israel is banned from playing for the Wallabies, and their hopes of winning the Rugby World Cup nosedive without him there. Folau is (or was) the Wallabies’ greatest attacking weapon, a barnstorming tackle- busting hulk on the ground, while virtually unbeatable in the air on the end of a long or short kick. His record of 32 tries in 62 Test matches ranks with the Wallabies’ greats of the past. It’s a given his physical presence will be missed. The big question remains what mental effect will the loss of Folau have on the Wallabies in Japan. His Super Rugby team, the NSW Waratahs, missed the play-offs this 2019 season with many players admitting rightly or wrongly the Folau drama derailed their season. It could easily do the same to the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign. POOL D Pool D – as always for Australia in any World Cup in any code, we always seem to be in the so-called ‘Pool of Death’. Given Australia’s recent form, they should, but it will be difficult to advance to the next stage. The Wallabies open their campaign against the always dangerous Fiji on September 21 at the Sapporo Stadium on the northern island of Hokkaido, before taking on Six Nations champions Wales, followed by Uruguay and Georgia. The equation is simply, finish in the top two teams in your pool and you progress to the quarter-finals. Out played SPORTS MODE 28 WINTER2019