Raelene Castle is hoping the Wallaroos-Wallabies double-header at Optus Stadium will break records on a number of fronts, starting with a new world record crowd for a women’s Test.
The Rugby Australia boss shared her hopes for historic crowds as Castle also flagged some imminent announcements about a beefed-up global Test match schedule for women’s rugby next year, and beyond.
"There is a lot of work being done with World Rugby to try and think about how we can turn what has been some Test matches occasionally for women’s rugby into something that looks like an organised schedule,” Castle said.
"That allows world rankings and competitions …(and) when you get you get to a World Cup you’ve actually got teams that are prepared to go into a World Cup.
"There’s been a lot of work happening. Australia has played a significant role in those competitions, with Jilly Collins, our head of women’s football, and those announcements about what that schedule looks like will come in the next few weeks.”
There has previously been talk of an annual Oceania/Pacific tournament to match the Women’s Six Nations but it is also understood big European nations are set to tour south in coming years as well. Whether that feeds into a Nations Championship-style structure or not remains to be seen.
In the short term, however, the focus for Australia and New Zealand is the third running of their two-Test series for the Laurie O’Reilly Memorial Trophy, to be played in Perth and Auckland over the next two weekends.
The first of the double-headers at ANZ Stadium last year saw Rugby Australia claim a new world record for a women’s rugby international, with 28,846 on hand to see the Wallaroos and New Zealand.
There is optimism the world record will be improved upon in Perth on Saturday, after the double-header fixture was sold out inside six days when tickets first went on sale nine months ago.
The second record the Wallabies’ game is expected to break is the venue’s record attendance, which was set at 59,721 for the State of Origin. But with some extra seating being added for the Wallabies game, there is a forecasted attendance of over 60,000.
"We sold out in six days and we’ll set a crowd record for the stadium. It’s probably a record that Perth might not beat because with AFL not being able to put seats on the ground and us using extended seats, we’re probably always going to have a stadium record so that’s good,” Castle said.
"And knowing that crowd is a passionate sports crowd, and not just rugby, you would expect them to want to come in and watch the girls play early. I think there’s a really good chance that we could set another record.
"Knowing they’ve had a taste of how well these girls have played against Japan, and the quality of rugby they play, there is no reason you wouldn’t want to come and see a good contest.”
Castle said Rugby Australia would continue to stage Wallaroos’ Tests as standalone fixtures when appropriate, as they did for the Japanese series in Newcastle and North Sydney, but that they would look to stage double-headers with the Wallabies at all opportunities as well.
"There becomes potentially a new Test schedule, whereby with the things we’re discussing with World Rugby the timings mean we might not always have double headers - but it makes sense to do them because it’s a great package of entertainment,” Castle said.
"Some people say the girls deserve a standalone. Yes, they do, and when you’ve got 4000 people turn up in Newcastle on a freezing cold day to watch the girls and it’s vibrant, that’s a fantastic scenario.
"But for these girls to be able to play at Optus Stadium where there’s potentially going to be 66,000 people, that’s an amazing opportunity as well. They like both those experiences.”
The strong take-up of tickets for the Wallabies and Wallaroos games in Perth, and a well-attended fan day at the weekend, demonstrates there is still a thriving rugby community in WA. And not to mention club competitions and the Western Force’s involvement in Rapid Rugby.
The wounds of the Force’s exit from Super Rugby aren’t exactly healed but they are a lot less raw than when the Wallabies last played in Perth in 2017, in the same week the franchise was axed.
Along with holding talks with Rugby WA and WA government officials this week, Castle is also meeting Rapid Rugby creator Andrew Forrest and will attend the Force game against Malaysia on Friday.
Asked about the reception this year, Castle said: "It’s been great. No one more than Rugby Australia understands how hurt the rugby community is about losing the Western Force, so we understand that and how difficult it’s been.”
“But we’re doing all that we can to engage with rugby in this part of Australia, it’s important to us,” Castle said.
"We know they love their sport and they’ve proven that by the number of tickets they have bought and also recognising that it’s an important pathway. There are two young boys in the Junior Wallabies team, two or three in the Wallaroos, what I hope we’re proving to the rugby community is even without the Western Force (in Super Rugby) there is a real pathway in place so players can progress into national teams."
The Wallabies take on New Zealand at Optus Stadium, Perth, on Saturday August 10, kicking off at 5;45pm local, 7;45pm AEST, with the Wallaroos-Black Ferns kicking off at 3pm local, 5pm AEST. The Wallabies are LIVE on Network Ten, FOX SPORTS, Kayo Sports and RUGBY.com.au RADIO while the Wallaroos will be shown on FOX SPORTS, Kayo Sports and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO.
