Spiro Zavos is unsure that a "State of Origin" match between Queensland and New South Wales is appropriate in the era of Super Rugby, on rugbyheaven.com.au.
"John Connolly, the doughty and successful coach of Queensland in their glory days of the "it's great to be an Australian, and even better to be a Queenslander" attitude, has proposed a rugby union state of origin match. The idea has some merit but it really reflects a back-to-the-future obsession when the main game for Queensland was to defeat NSW.
"Super rugby, with the shifting of players from one franchise to another, has taken the edge out of the fanatical (for Queenslanders, at least) rivalry.
"Scott Fava, who is in the Waratahs squad, has played for all four Australian Super 14 franchises, for instance. The rise of the Brumbies, too, has meant that when Queensland beat NSW (for the rivalry is more passionate among Queenslanders than it is south of the border) the team and its supporters cannot indulge in unmitigated bragging rights as the best state side in Australia.
"The thought struck me on Sunday, while I watched the Reds run the ball incessantly at the bulky Cheetahs, that the bright young coach Phil Mooney and the QRU's high-performance manager Ben Whitaker are re-inventing Queensland rugby. The days of the closed-fist forward packs and five-eighths who kicked incessantly are gone. The enforcers are being morphed into the entertainers."
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