For Western Plains Rugby Union president Peter Holcombe, hosting the Classic Wallabies is the obvious next step for Coonamble and the surrounding region.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The line-up of national representative veterans will head to the town in April for a friendly match against the Western Plains Barbarians, similar to the fixtures hosted in Orange and Moree in recent years.
"Sure, it's absolutely massive for our area, but it makes sense," Holcombe said.
"People out here, they love their footy a lot, the communities really get around it, you've only got to look at the grand final last year to see that."
READ ALSO:
"We've had heaps of people out at Warren and the Country Championships out here as well and they were hugely attended."
The visit, set to be held Saturday, April 18, will feature a match between the Classic Wallabies and the Western Plains Barbarians as well as the Classic Wallaroos and the Western Plains Womens side.
Junior and senior matches will also be held between the local teams as a curtain raiser and there'll be skill clinics held by the Classic Wallabies to kick off the day.
"It'll be great for everyone, but especially with the kids, having those guys coming out and teaching them, showing them different skills, that'll be huge for everyone right up to the twelve year olds," Holcombe said.
"We're hoping we can arrange some high school aged games as well, some of those kids would have grown up seeing Stephen Moore play, so it's really good not just for them but for the development of rugby in the area as well."
Holcombe said that the bulk of the organising for the vent had been handled by the Coonamble and District Education Foundation, after efforts to draw the event to the region last year had fallen through.
"Last year we tried but it fell through and they ended up in Moree, but the Coonamble Education Foundation did a huge amount of work getting them out there."
A number of fundraisers and auctions will be held to benefit the foundation, but Holcombe's focus at the moment is on the Rugby side of things; putting together a team and officials for the day's matches.
"We've got a team together, it's all guys that have played for Western Plains and the rule we're going with is that you have to be over 35," Holcombe said.
"There's a lot of guys we've included who have retired in the last few years and a few of the older heads too, we're basically treating the chance to play as a reward for those guys who've been around a while and put a lot of effort into their individual clubs and strengthening Union throughout the region."