Editorial: Give Kiwis a sporting chance

We are not all sports fans, not all sports fans are football fans and not all football fans are rugby league fans. But somehow most of us find sport to be the great leveller.

Be that as it may or may not, rugby league gets its day in the sun tonight, with the Kiwis playing Australia at Hunter Park in Newcastle.

Despite the three wins in a row through 2014 and 2015 - the two in Australia each by more than 12 points - no one seems to be giving the Kiwis a show, including the TAB.

Last night it had Australia a warm $1.19 favourite to win, with the Kiwis a $4.55 longshot. In Australia the heaviest-backed option of all was Australia to win by 13 points or more.

Regardless - and defying the fact that rugby league numbers are dwindling, as they are in most team sports, tonight's game will have a significant following. There'll be up to 33,000 at the ground and at the 10pm kickoff a six-figure New Zealand television and online audience, which will double if Shaun Johnson scores the first try.

It doesn't matter that the sport seems halfway down the gurgler and at times a bit of a basket case: it doesn't take long for the black and partly-white jersey to unite us all.

This begs the question: why do we even bother having a flag when, at the risk of refiring another debate, it is the jersey that matters so much?

The flipside is that it could be a long weekend if the Kiwis get the rogering the bookmakers are forecasting but we'll soon be right with a few other football games on the telly, a bit of netball and a bit of yachting.

The game will go on.