Wednesday was an epic night to be a sports fan and we had it all covered at SSC with a smorgasbord of live action keeping a full clubhouse entertained.
The headline event was the State of Origin decider but we also saw the commencement of the Ashes, continuation of the Tour de France and the men’s quarter-finals from Wimbledon.
Queensland proved far too strong in the night’s rugby league action, breaking all sorts of records on their way to a thumping 52-6 win over New South Wales.
A crowd of 52,500 turned up to Suncorp Stadium to witness the demolition as Mal Meninga’s side racked up the biggest winning score and margin in Origin history.
It means the Maroons have wrestled back the trophy they lost last year and have now had in their possession for nine out of the last ten years.
Jonathan Thurston’s nine goals saw him set a new Queensland mark, while Greg Inglis became Origin’s most prolific try-scorer by taking his tally to 17 in trademark style.
Michael Jennings scored the lone try for the ill-disciplined Blues, with Broncos forward Corey Parker named player of the series for his exploits across the three matches.
At the same time things were kicking off in Brisbane, the Aussies were sent into the field on the opening day of the Ashes summer against England.
Playing on a flat pitch in Cardiff, Michael Clarke’s men got off to a blistering start, having the Poms 3-43 in the first session.
However they were made to pay for dropping Joe Root on naught as he went on to make a century, helping England to 7-343 at stumps on Day 1.
It’s also that time of year that the world’s best road cyclists gather in France for the pinnacle of the Grand Tours.
Stage 5 was one for the sprinters with German Andre Greipel charging home fastest to claim his second stage victory, while compatriot Tony Martin retained the yellow jersey for the overall lead.
Of course it’d be amiss of us not to mention the magic we’ve seen at Wimbledon over the last fortnight as we move into the business end of the world’s most prestigious grand slam.
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray have all progressed to the semi-finals in clinical fashion along with Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
The top three male seeds all claimed straight-sets victories to seal their passage, while Gasquet, who knocked out Aussie Nick Kyrgios, beat Stan Wawrinka 11-9 in a marathon fifth set.
On the women’s draw world no.1 Serena Williams will take on Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwańska will play Garbine Muguruza in the last four on Thursday night.
You can be sure we’ll have all the remaining finals from the All England Club along with the Ashes and Tour de France live throughout July so we hope to see you in the clubhouse soon!