Wallabies coach Michael Cheika and Captain Stephen Moore see merit in Australian rugby pursuing a State of Origin match.
Wallabies captain Stephen Moore and Coach Michael Cheika have voiced their support for a State of Origin clash as Australian rugby looks for ways to win back popularity.
With rugby struggling for finances and audiences across the Tasman, talks are being held this week between New South Wales and Queensland officials about a possible Origin-style match.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the game could be played in Brisbane on Thursday, June 29. It's a free week in the crowded calendar with the Wallabies finishing their test series against Scotland on June 24 and Super Rugby not resuming until the following week.
Moore sees merit in the idea.
"I would absolutely be willing to play. I think it would be a great concept," Moore told the Daily Telegraph.
"You only have to talk to people, be it fans or your mates or whatever, and they seem to be really positive about it, and for it. That's a good snapshot of what people in Australia might think.
"It is another different form of content for rugby in Australia beside the Super Rugby and the test matches, and you've seen the popularity of sevens, people like having that variety in the way the game are offered.
"To have something that is just ours, in Australia — and we have observed that in rugby league — it is something that creates excellent rivalry and tribalism and interest. It is well worth pushing ahead with."
The Telegraph reported that more than 75 per cent of Australian professional rugby players come from Queensland or New South Wales.
Cheika also sees value in the idea though believes it can't be an exact replica of the successful rugby league formula.
"If we do something like that, it's got to have the uniqueness about it, not just go and copy off the rugby league way and see if that works," Cheika told the Australian union's website.
"It's got to have something about why it would be a special event as opposed to sticking another game in the calendar and always about the timing, when it's on.
"When it's on will be important as to how seriously the fixture is taken. A fixture like that, to be successful, has to be taken really seriously.
"The timing of when it's on will decide how serious it's taken and I think that will be key if they are thinking about when it happens."
Photo: Getty Images (Wallabies coach Michael Cheika and captain Stephen Moore see merit in Australian rugby pursuing a State of Origin match).