Australian rugby has a heartbeat. Just.
That much is certain after the Reds and Waratahs played out a highly entertaining contest in their season opener in Brisbane. But it's only a faint pulse and Rugby Australia will be hoping fans around the country are willing to bear another turbulent year before things conceivably brighten in 2025.
After a grim opening night in both Melbourne and Perth, it was Brisbane's turn to fly the flag for Australian rugby, show the hangover from last year's Rugby World Cup is lifting, and prove to doubters there's still life in Super Rugby Pacific -- at least from Australia's side of the ditch.
The outlook for rugby's future was mostly positive from Reds fans. On the walk from the bustling Caxton Street to the stadium, several supporters told ESPN there's a belief Queensland can turn their fortunes around, following a disappointing dry patch over the last few seasons. And the crowd numbers proved it, with over 14,500 fans -- it could easily have been more had it not been for humid, wet weather that kept last minute walk ups away -- donning their red and cheering their side to victory against the archrival.
Despite it being bigger than any home crowd the Reds played in front of last year, club CEO David Hanham still wasn't satisfied, a sign the sport is heading in the right direction.
"We wanted to get to 20,000, but I know after being around this environment for a long time, if we can sustain success on field, there's 10 or 15 thousand more fans that will come and watch the team play," Hanham told ESPN. "So, your average crowd will grow pretty quickly.
"I think we can shift the dial quicker than people might think and there definitely is the hangover from last year to a point, but there's no better way to fix that than getting out there and playing games and winning footy.
"We've already seen about 85 percent renewal [in memberships], and we're probably about 600 up from where we were last year, so our target this year was to get a total of 8,000 ticketed members -- that's people coming through the stadium -- and our goal is to be hitting the 10,000 by the end of next year.
"You know you sell hope. Every sporting team sells hope in the offseason, right? Everyone's a champion until you've played your first round, so I think there's a lot of opportunity. I know in Queensland there's 70,000 people that play rugby, so there's enough of a base there to get behind a successful team and it's the same for the Wallabies."
Perhaps the greatest drawcard of the night was new Reds coach and former Queensland State of Origin player, Les Kiss. There was widespread hope Kiss would bring something fresh and exciting to the side, and it didn't take long for fans to warm to his attacking style of play.
The Reds ran in five tries and were awarded a penalty try. Tom Lynagh proved a steady hand at fly-half, while Jordie Petaia produced flashes of brilliance.
The Waratahs had their own highlight reel-worthy moments -- Dylan Pietsch's second try worthy of a rewatch -- but the night was marred by mistakes. There was plenty they didn't get right, namely their lineout, something that had previously been a weapon, on the night it was picked off multiple times. The back row also failed to match it with the Reds.
The positivity from fans stopped short at the Reds, however, with many still feeling disillusioned and hurt by last year's disastrous World Cup campaign and the Eddie Jones saga that followed. Add to that the dire predicament of the Rebels and the financial woes for Rugby Australia, and there's little for Australian fans to feel positive about.
Entering voluntary administration ahead of the season, there's little hope the Rebels will exist following the 2024 season. The club has been given just 60 days to come up with a deal to pay off their AU$22 million debt, with liquidation looming as the only viable option.
On the pitch, the Rebels looked as shambolic as their accounting books. Errors riddled their game, particularly set pieces. Big name signing Taniela Tupou appeared to suffer an injury to his hand, while captain Rob Leota was denied a try in the closing minutes because of an earlier indiscretion from Vaiolini Ekuasi.
For the measly crowd that turned up to show their support for the struggling club it was hardly an incentive to return. The Rebels failed to crack 5,000 fans at AAMI Park, though it was always going to be a struggle given tickets were only released on Monday afternoon. It only raises further questions ahead of next week's Super Round, the showpiece for Super Rugby Pacific, which Rugby Australia are hopeful will see an uptick in ticket sales in the days leading up to kick-off on Friday.
Interestingly though, $25,000 worth of merchandise was sold on Friday night according to an RA spokesperson.
The Western Force fared no better, failing to fire a punch until late in their loss to the Hurricanes. Their crowd numbers sat just above their season average from last year, and still thousands short of what had turned up for the Perth Sevens weekend last month.
As usual, it's the Brumbies keeping rugby's heart beating, now with some support from the Reds. But more will need to be done from the Waratahs to keep things afloat.
SRP only gets tougher from here for Australia with the Tahs, Reds and Brumbies all taking on New Zealand opposition in Melbourne - Crusaders, Hurricanes and Chiefs respectively. While there's no worry of rugby truly flatlining over the year, at least one win over Kiwi opponents next week will be needed to keep the pulse steady.