Super Rugby 2023
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@Kiwiwomble I'm not as pessimistic. I think success, both of teams and competitions, and of the sport in general, comes in waves. We're in downward part of the wave now; I believe it will go up again.
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@taniwharugby said in Super Rugby 2023:
@Nepia I think league is making a bit of a comeback in some areas, the Northland wide domestic comp has had good numbers for the past few years and the Takahiwai Warriors (One Tree Point/Ruakaka) have been playing in one of the Auckland comps.
Even seeing some school teams now too, although TBF those are often made up of mostly rugby kids anyway.
It's dead in HB, to the point the region didn't even rate a mention in the NZRL annual report. There used to be a decent Sunday school comp back in the day and there was generally a 4 team senior comp.
It might be a Bombay Hills split with gains up there while still dropping in the rest of the country. Although this article suggests numbers in Auckland are even dire (with only some blame on Covid): https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/477577/startling-decline-drives-auckland-rugby-league-into-action
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@Nepia I know up until say U16s some kids can play both, City team up here used to have pretty much the same team in both a league and rugby comp, had to default on a Rugby game as they had semi-finals for the league on same day.
TBH, outside of up here I have no idea anyway, I'm pretty insular
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@taniwharugby said in Super Rugby 2023:
@Nepia I know up until say U16s some kids can play both, City team up here used to have pretty much the same team in both a league and rugby comp, had to default on a Rugby game as they had semi-finals for the league on same day.
TBH, outside of up here I have no idea anyway, I'm pretty insular
My league team in schooldays had one player who didn't play rugby on Saturdays, he was from Auckland originally and was a diehard rugby hating leaguie which you don't find very often in NZ but still find in abundance in Oz (despite league dominating over here).
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@Kiwiwomble said in Super Rugby 2023:
I think the issue is other sports are still very popular, i thin the AFL had record crowds in the first couple of rounds, so i feel we're watching rugby slowly die, not sport in general
AFL thrives because there's nothing else to do in Victoria. Only slightly kidding.
The more i think about it them more i think rugby needs to decide,
a ) do whatever we need to have the "best" international game, which is what we're doing now, possibly ignore things like AB players playing in aus etc, ignore introducing more possibly weaker teams in new areas
b ) do what is needed for "the game in general" to be more sustainable and popular
I feel focusing on A means we might see the game die other than international, looking at B might mean lowering the overall quality and might mean some fans need to accept the sacrifice but well have local rugby to watchPutting aside the obvious arguments about participation base, the history of success for the All Blacks means in the modern professional era all endeavours must be directed towards the maintanence of the record (Hansen - Foster's attempt to ruin the legacy not withstanding).
But I do agree that the game could bet better served at the community level in New Zealand and Australia by increasing the length of the season with additional teams. Admittedly the standard would decrease in the shot term, but this could result in a viable product. Of course there will be losers in this equation, but can anyone honestly say that the glory days of domestic competition hasn't already been tarnished beyond repair?
Bums on seats is a result of three factors in my mind:
- Community spirit.
- Time of fixture (not night in the middle of winter).
- Standard of rugby and entertainment value. Also the price of tickets, food etc.
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Schedule planning looks to have been done to deliberately lose fans' interest.
Two weekends in a row of only four games and to make it worse , this weekend has only one game involving NZ sides.
Heard quite a few people comment over Easter that it felt like there were more games to come. -
@Crucial The byes are always in the middle of the competition. Unless you know of a way to move Easter, I think this was unavoidable. The only thing they maybe could have done differently is not having so many NZ teams having the bye at the same time, but maybe they tried and it didn't work out?
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if im honest, i dont know why we have byes if the comp has an even number, im sure the reason is a rest but surely we're better to try and build more depth and keep the interest up
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@Kiwiwomble said in Super Rugby 2023:
if im honest, i dont know why we have byes if the comp has an even number, im sure the reason is a rest but surely we're better to try and build more depth and keep the interest up
Just like the AB resting I think it should be part of the coach/manager's job to adjust rosters to keep players fresh. Get rid of the bye altogether.
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The NZPA and it's Aussie counterpart might not agree with a competition without byes.
I also think getting rid of byes would create an unfair disadvantage to teams that are already stretched due to injuries, or teams with little depth.
I really don't see the problem with byes. How many of the people "complaining" about byes watch every single game each weekend?
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@Stargazer said in Super Rugby 2023:
The NZPA and it's Aussie counterpart might not agree with a competition without byes.
I also think getting rid of byes would create an unfair disadvantage to teams that are already stretched due to injuries, or teams with little depth.
I really don't see the problem with byes. How many of the people "complaining" about byes watch every single game each weekend?
I'm gonna take a stab at "most" for one hundred thanks Alex.
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Reds lock Angus Blyth handed three-match ban following Brumbies red card
Queensland Reds lock Angus Blyth has been handed a three-match ban following last Saturday's defeat to the Brumbies.
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@Bovidae said in Super Rugby 2023:
I pick and choose which games I watch each round, and only saw the Sat games over Easter. This weekend will only be the Hurricanes-Chiefs game.
I will make watching a Chiefs match a date if at all possible but other games are out of convenience. The less opportunities for that convenience to occur the less I watch. Surely the mark of a good comp is when fans watch games other than their team?
Also, for those of us that pay Sky, when you have a gap without watching anything on their vehicle it does make you question your interest in paying them. -
@Stargazer said in Super Rugby 2023:
The NZPA and it's Aussie counterpart might not agree with a competition without byes.
I also think getting rid of byes would create an unfair disadvantage to teams that are already stretched due to injuries, or teams with little depth.
I really don't see the problem with byes. How many of the people "complaining" about byes watch every single game each weekend?
why would i need to watch every game every week? i watch my team every week so its quite noticeable when there isn't a game, are you saying i should watch another team and thats pretty much the same thing/.
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@Kiwiwomble That's not what I said or meant, but I can't be bothered explaining my comment. We don't have to agree.
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@Stargazer ....its hard to agree when we don't know what you mean
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@Kiwiwomble said in Super Rugby 2023:
@Stargazer said in Super Rugby 2023:
The NZPA and it's Aussie counterpart might not agree with a competition without byes.
I also think getting rid of byes would create an unfair disadvantage to teams that are already stretched due to injuries, or teams with little depth.
I really don't see the problem with byes. How many of the people "complaining" about byes watch every single game each weekend?
why would i need to watch every game every week? i watch my team every week so its quite noticeable when there isn't a game, are you saying i should watch another team and thats pretty much the same thing/.
Back in Super 12 days, I used to watch every game (except some weird SA hours). Massively high quality, great rugby
