Kangaroos v Wallabies: the dream unfolds

Mark Ella. Photo / Getty Images

SYDNEY - It's long been mooted that the Kangaroos and Wallabies should meet on a football field in a battle of the rival rugby codes.

Many have tried to push the idea, but now a movement conceived by some of the top figures minds in rugby league and rugby union is pushing to make the idea a reality.

Former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer and player Mark Ella have come together with league great Bob Fulton to create the "Hybrid Code" - a 13-a-side game mixing elements of league and union.

Ella says a match between Australia's two international rugby teams is a long way off, but fans will get a chance to experience the game next Wednesday when Sydney's St Augustine's College, known for its rugby union achievements, takes on the Gold Coast's equally successful league school, Keebra Park State High.

And the former Wallabies five-eighth believes the new concept shows the two sports can be combined without a bias either way.

"This has been bandied about for years now," Ella said on Tuesday.

"But we've trialled a couple of games ... and to my surprise the games went really well."

Featuring a "shot clock" style scenario where teams have only 60 seconds in attack to either score or kick before turning the ball over, Ella believes the new code could open the door to a blockbuster exhibition match between the best in either sport.

But he was keen to emphasise his aim is not to replace either code.

"I'd like to think it is realistic but I mean the final decision is up to the guys that run the NRL and the ARU," he said of a possible super-test between the Kangaroos and Wallabies.

"We're not here to combine both teams or create a new sport, we're creating an opportunity where elite rugby league players can play a competitive game against rugby guys."

Former Kangaroo Noel Cleal believes the hybrid concept is "a promotor's dream".

"With the corporate dollar such a big part of rugby league and rugby union or any sport today, I can't see any reason why this won't have an effect on them as well."

HYBRID RULES, 13 PLAYERS A SIDE
* Rather than using a set number of tackles or unlimited possession, each team have 60 seconds with the ball to attack. Teams must score or kick within that time or the ball is turned over. Ruck and mauls are subject to this "shot clock" scenario.
* Teams must play the ball like a rugby league team when attacking in their own half of the field.
* Union-style ruck and maul play will occur when a team are attacking in their opponent's half.
* Scrums will have six players per team, and rugby union rules will apply.
* Tries will be worth five points, conversions and penalties are worth two and a field goal is one point.
* Two referees will control the match, one from rugby league, one from rugby union.

- AAP