Opening Ceremony
On Sunday night, 26 October, the Sydney Football Stadium hosted the Opening Ceremony of the World Cup. It started with Greg Inglis reciting a speech about "Playing Fair". Following Inglis' speech there was an Aboriginal Smoking ceremony to welcome all the athletes and participants. This included a rather large sized Rainbow Serpent which represented the Aboriginal Dreamtime. The last part of the ceremony involved a performance of the Rugby League World Cup anthem "Hero" by Natalie Bassingthwaighte. A curtain raiser to the Australia vs. New Zealand match included an Indigenous Australian squad playing against New Zealand Māori which featured several prominent NRL players and rising stars, including Chris Sandow, Wairangi Koopu, Preston Campbell, Sam Thaiday, Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Carl Webb.
Welcome to the Country Match
As part of the official opening of the World Cup on 26 October, an exhibition game was played between an Aboriginal selection and a New Zealand Māori side.
| 26 October 2008 | Indigenous Dreamtime | 34–26 | New Zealand Māori | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 34,157 Referee/s: Tony Archer |
| Try: Wesser (2) Jensen (2) Carney Gordon Goal: Soward (5) |
(report) | Try: McKendry Kenny-Dowall Stanley Rapana Taumata Goal: Goodwin (2) Stanley |
Read more about this topic: 2008 Rugby League World Cup Matches
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—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“Every ceremony or rite has a value if it is performed without alteration. A ceremony is a book in which a great deal is written. Anyone who understands can read it. One rite often contains more than a hundred books.”
—George Gurdjieff (c. 1877–1949)