All Blacks versus Kangaroos can spark a hybrid future for rugby union and league

AS SOMEONE who featured in a famous cross-code encounter almost 25 years ago, former Hull scrum-half Craig Murdock believes a hybrid form of the game could finally help rugby compete with the behemoth of football.
25 May 1996 - Bath and Wigan teams walking out with Wigan's mascot before the Rugby Union match of the clash of the codes,  held at Twickenham, London. Bath won  44-19.  (Picture: Mike  Hewitt/Allsport)25 May 1996 - Bath and Wigan teams walking out with Wigan's mascot before the Rugby Union match of the clash of the codes,  held at Twickenham, London. Bath won  44-19.  (Picture: Mike  Hewitt/Allsport)
25 May 1996 - Bath and Wigan teams walking out with Wigan's mascot before the Rugby Union match of the clash of the codes, held at Twickenham, London. Bath won 44-19. (Picture: Mike Hewitt/Allsport)

It was in 1996 that Murdock – then just 22 and lining up alongside the likes of Jason Robinson, Shaun Edwards and Martin Offiah – played for Wigan against Bath in the Clash of the Codes.

In the first game, under rugby league rules, Wigan vanquished their opponents 82-6 at Maine Road, Manchester before heading to Twickenham.

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Bath were made to work harder by the novices under union rules before prevailing 44-19.

Murdock scored two tries in defeat, including finishing off one memorable effort that had been started behind Wigan’s own goalline.

The subject of cross-code challenges, of course, came up last week after it was confirmed union’s All Blacks are in talks to potentially face the Kangaroos, the Australia rugby league side, in a one-off contest in December.

It would be a combination of rules, however, in a new hybrid 14-a-side game and, though nothing has yet been confirmed, Murdock admits he is a fan of the concept in theory.

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“I think it’s important we try and get more people involved in rugby full stop and trying to take it to that next level to be able to compete with football,” he told The Yorkshire Post.

Craig Murdock playing for Hull against Huddersfield Giants (Picture: Charles Knight)Craig Murdock playing for Hull against Huddersfield Giants (Picture: Charles Knight)
Craig Murdock playing for Hull against Huddersfield Giants (Picture: Charles Knight)

“I can see this idea being shot down already by lovers of both sports – union and league – but, realistically, if we are ever to compete with football, on any sort of level, there has to be only one game. And it would have to be a hybrid of both.

“The sports were a million miles apart in ’96 but rugby union now is very much rugby league with unlimited tackles.

“The days of union being catch it and kick it away are long gone.

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“It’s all about possession and recycling; they go to the line, hit the floor, roll it back and recycle.

Hull F.C.'s  Craig MurdockHull F.C.'s  Craig Murdock
Hull F.C.'s Craig Murdock

“So, from my perspective, I don’t think the games have ever been as close as they are now.

“I don’t think it would be beyond the realms of possibility that a hybrid style would be a success.

“Don’t get me wrong, there always has to be both games. But to take rugby to that next platform – to truly make it global – I do think it has to be a hybrid of both.

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“I think there is a desire for that to happen and this idea of the All Blacks against the Kangaroos just whets the appetite.

Victor Ubogu (right) of Bath charges away from the  Wigan defence in the Rugby Union leg of the clash of the codes, Rugby Union and League, at Twickenham, London. (Picture: Mike Hewitt/Allsport)Victor Ubogu (right) of Bath charges away from the  Wigan defence in the Rugby Union leg of the clash of the codes, Rugby Union and League, at Twickenham, London. (Picture: Mike Hewitt/Allsport)
Victor Ubogu (right) of Bath charges away from the Wigan defence in the Rugby Union leg of the clash of the codes, Rugby Union and League, at Twickenham, London. (Picture: Mike Hewitt/Allsport)

“It’ll be interesting to see if it does go ahead – and if it then gets taken on by the world. Anything we can do to raise the platform of rugby, I’m all for.”

The Cumbrian, who scored 23 tries in 68 games for Wigan before joining Hull in 1998, rounded off his career with Hull KR and still resides in East Yorkshire.

Working in the NHS and as a player agent, Murdock added: “The last five or six years I think rugby league has lost some of its entertainment value.

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“We have become too structured in the way we play; the ability to do something unexpected or off the cuff is coached out of players now.

“For me, that’s what rugby was all about – entertainment – and I think we’ve gone away from that a little bit.

“I want to see people throw the ball about, keep it alive. There’s no Tommy Martyns in our game now or Sean Longs, Bobbie Gouldings or, going back further, Tony Mylers.

The Wigan and Bath packs scrum down in 1996 (Picture: Mike  Hewitt/Allsport)The Wigan and Bath packs scrum down in 1996 (Picture: Mike  Hewitt/Allsport)
The Wigan and Bath packs scrum down in 1996 (Picture: Mike Hewitt/Allsport)

“Where I think we need that flair and unpredictably and maybe by creating a new game it gives a whole new breed of player a chance to excel.”

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Murdock, 46, looks back fondly on the time he tried his own hand at the 15-man code.

“I’m probably the only rugby league player in history whose greatest game was playing rugby union!” he joked.

“It probably was the highlight of my career that day; scoring two tries at Twickenham at any time is a great achievement but to score those two especially given what fantastic tries they were.

“Obviously, I just finished them off but the interplay beforehand really was fantastic. I remember that game really well; it was different and a strange experience, but a great one.”

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He added: “It was on Sky recently and it was the first time I’d watched it. It was quite interesting, especially for my kids who saw me playing for the first time. That was quite bizarre.

“We blew Bath away at league and made a lot of changes. People like Andy Farrell went off and other big players and we could have probably scored 100 points.

“But I don’t think that would happen today; the union players are a lot fitter and their defensive systems are so much better.

“A lot of union clubs have rugby league players who are their defensive coaches so the games are very similar and the skills are compatible. I’d love to see what a hybrid game would look like.”

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