Hugh McGahan: The passion of Origin goes beyond all borders

Other codes and regions have tried to copy the Origin formula but without success. Photo / Getty images

You can't match State of Origin. It's rare and distinctive.

I love Origin and appreciate the exclusivity it holds over every other sporting event. Other codes have tried to replicate similar competitions but struggled to find the right ingredients to emulate the rivalry.

Its uniqueness is built out of big brother New South Wales recruiting Queenslanders into the then-Sydney club competition, now the NRL. Year after year, Queensland would be embarrassed by a NSW team largely represented by their own players.

This hurt the validity of the event and thought was given to scrapping it because of the one-sided nature of games. For the 1980 series, Queensland Rugby League chairman Ron McAuliffe successfully negotiated the Origin concept.

The formidable and highly respected Arthur Beetson, who was in the twilight of his playing career, was named captain. He had previously represented NSW and listened to how NSW players belittled Queenslanders and treated them with disdain.

His punch which landed on his Parramatta team-mate Mick Cronin sparked the revolution and instilled the culture we experience today.

Queensland won and dominated the first few series as NSW struggled to match the intensity of the Maroons. The Blues have always had class players but have struggled to emulate the passion of Queenslanders. They only imitate it.

The Australian Rugby Union tried a similar concept but couldn't generate anything. The AFL also tried to introduce a game between Victoria and South Australia but failed miserably.

Other sports have tried in vain to generate interest in their interstate competitions. The New Zealand Rugby League have also tried to come up with a similar version but finding the hook to attract an audience is difficult. Fellow columnist and good friend Richie Barnett is championing a game between a Pacific team and New Zealand, which has been supported before and has the attributes of a good fixture. But it shouldn't be done at Origin time.

A Pacific team would be extremely competitive, but there would be more feeling within the team itself against each other than their opposition.

The passion between Samoa and Tonga alone would be difficult to harness if trying to play another country.

And what would be the motivation of this team? The closest rivalry New Zealand currently have is against Australia because of the big brother/little brother mentality. Unfortunately, we struggle to consistently compete against them. What would be our motivation in another at Origin time?

This country has embraced State of Origin with as much fervour as Australians. There is a split of NSW and Queensland supporters here where even All Blacks have a loyalty to one. You cannot escape it.

It's a great time of year so let's not try to deflect it with an imitation of the real thing.