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State of Origin
This is one of many PartyOz information guides to Australian Events & Festivals.
For official times, dates & venues of festivals or events, or for booking, tickets & program info, refer to the Official Event Links further on the page, as details are subject to change.
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The State of Origin is the name used for Australian rugby league matches, where players are selected to represent the State in which they first played.
The annual rugby league State of Origin Series is one of Australia's most popular sporting events, highly anticipated by rugby fans across the country.
 The State of Origins actually begin with a focus on Australian Rules Football, intended to help remedy the trend of talented players joining the Victorian Football League (VFL), and the impact this had on interstate matches.
A similar situation existed in regard to the New South Wales Rugby League which until the 1980s had been recruited the best players from the Queensland Rugby League.
New South Wales and Queensland played their first state of origin match on July 8, 1980. Although the AFL State of Origins were cancelled due to flagging interest, the rugby State of Origins were a huge success and continue to be a favourite of rugby fans to this day.
The 2005 State of Origin, with two matches held in Queensland, saw an attendance of over 187,000 people.
Since the first series held in 1980, the popularity of the rugby league State of Origin matches hasn’t waned in the slightest and it remains one of Australia's biggest sporting events, popular both in Australia and overseas where other nations celebrate the sport of rugby.
In 2001, inspired by the huge success of the Australian State of Origin games, England saw a revival of rugby league inter-county games, under the name Origin Series.
Interesting Facts:
The first recorded call for state of origin matches was made in 1900 by a journalist known as "The Cynic". Writing for a rugby union periodical called The Referee, he suggested that Stephen Spragg, who had moved to Queensland, should be able to play for his state of birth, New South Wales. However, the concept has never been used in rugby union.
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