It’s a difficult task: drumming up enthusiasm for a rugby Test in a city where Aussie Rules is the only real footy code in town.
And a (superficial) observation would suggest just three days out from the first Bledisloe Cup clash of the year, there’s so far precious little of it going around in the sporting metropolis that is Melbourne.
Not since 2010 – the same year the iPad was launched, and Lady Gaga wore her infamous meat dress – have the All Blacks and Australia faced off here.
Thursday’s Test at Marvel Stadium will be the first midweek Bledisloe clash since 1994.
Designed to avoid competition with the NRL and AFL playoffs (somewhat ironically, results have meant neither will now be held in Melbourne this Saturday night) you would think that might be enough to generate some buzz.
But the local papers tend to tell the story as far as interest goes, and the sports pages of one on Monday featured screeds of AFL content, a bit of NRL and some racing… with one mention of a New Zealand team: The Black Caps, and their ODI series loss to Australia.
It doesn’t help that while the All Blacks will name their team in the city on Tuesday, the Wallabies announce theirs from Queensland before they head south, leaving only one chance for local media to engage before kick-off.
Even out the front of the stadium itself there are no signs of the imminent encounter.
Maybe that’s why I took heart on a stroll of the city seeing a man in a Wallabies jersey a few hours after landing here. Granted, he was outnumbered by the Canberra Raiders fans spotted (two).
However, these bleak impressions may be affected by the temperature (brisk) and Monday’s skies (glum).
After all, we are still three days out, the teams yet to even be named, and the death of Queen Elizabeth II dominates the headlines here as much as anywhere in the Commonwealth.
In fact, Rugby Australia told me on Monday ticket sales are “going really well”, with suggestions they’re on track to sell out the 50,000+ capacity stadium, the numbers currently believed to be in the “high 40s” and tracking towards 50,000 if the Stadium members show up.
The All Blacks themselves certainly won’t be worried, their focus solely on retaining the Bledisloe for the 20th straight year, and showing some much sought-after consistency while doing it.
The proof – of both how well international rugby here can draw a crowd, and the All Blacks progress – will be delivered on Thursday, all going well in front of 50,000 odd fans.
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