The sounds, sights and scents of more than a century of Australian history are infixed in the timber and iron of the Sydney Cricket Ground. It is a true suburban sporting temple, place of athletic legend and legends that began as a patch of grass open for public recreation in the middle of the 19th century.
Rugby union has long lineage there: it was at the SCG in 1899 that the Australian national team played for the first time, beating a touring party from the British Isles 13-3 in front of the Members’ and Ladies’ Pavilions that still stand, largely unspoiled, providing grand backdrop in the northwestern corner. Across the next 80 years or so, the Wallabies’ visits were relatively frequent. The great Ken Catchpole’s career was ended there in 1968; eleven years later, the All Blacks’ 30-year run of Bledisloe Cup dominance was at last overturned on SCG soil.
