State of original heavenly bliss

Sydney

As the rest of the world revs up for the Olympics in Beijing, Sydneysiders are throwing themselves headlong into what they call the 'Festival of the Boot' - the annual State of Origin rugby league contest between New South Wales and its despised northern neighbour, Queensland.

Invented in 1980 as a one-off publicity stunt, the State of Origin is now the biggest thing on the Sydney sporting calendar, generating more passion, newspaper headlines and sponsorship dollars than any other domestic contest.

Origin mania has even spread throughout the Pacific. The three-match series is watched avidly in rugby-playing nations such as Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. But nothing exceeds the response in Papua New Guinea, where the event has a quasi-religious following and villagers gather around communal television sets kitted out in blue (NSW) and maroon (Queensland) footy shirts. Queensland are odds on favourites to retain the title, which they have held since 2006.

Exactly why this inter-state clash has become so popular is hard to fathom - although the intense rivalry between the two Eastern seaboard states is a big factor; as are the dramatic on-field punch-ups.

'Origin remains the most spectacular success Australian rugby league has ever known,' said Ray Chesterton, a respected commentator. 'It unites supporters in NSW and Queensland in tribal enmity against each other.'

Tensions were notched up for the 2008 series, which kicked off in Sydney last night, when it emerged that Queensland had recruited a Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach to beat the 'grapple tackle', a type of neck lock used by some NSW players.