'We want to make sure our friends in the other codes know we're in town'

Wallabies director of rugby Scott Johnson says July’s Test in Townsville against Fiji sends a clear message.

“We want to make sure our friends in the other codes know we’re in town,” he said.

“We should scream from the ceiling how good our sport is.”

Johnson was in Townsville, home of the NRL’s North Queensland Cowboys, with former Wallabies great David Campese on Friday to spruik what will be the team’s first ever Test in the city.

International rugby was last played in North Queensland 17 years ago, when Fiji played Japan in Townsville at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

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“It’s a shame that we didn’t get the opportunity in our day to play around the country,” Campese said.

“It’s about enjoying the game and telling the kids … rugby’s a sport you can go anywhere in the world, plus (compete in sevens at the) Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, Rugby Australia has gone to market with a ‘whole of rugby’ package for the next five-year broadcast media rights cycle.

Will this kid ever catch a break? 19-year-old @Reds_Rugby star Jordan Petaia missed basically all of last year's #SuperRugby season through injury too, before debuting for the @Wallabies in the World Cup.https://t.co/lAsR3h6ZQz

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 14, 2020

For the first time the code will offer a package that includes content and competitions from across every level of the game from club rugby through to the Wallabies and Wallaroos, on top of the SANZAAR package of rights which includes Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship.

Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle said the strategy had been months in the making.

“We have created alignment across our competitions which has enabled us to go to market with a rights package encompassing all levels of the game, with the aim of expanding the reach of our competitions and growing the audiences for the sport across each level of the game,” Castle said in a statement.