The Current State of Rugby
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Highlanders are a great example of the kiwi tyranny of distance and sparse population. Plenty here in Central Otago that would love to go to games but a round trip to Dunners is out of the question. The realistic crowd catchment for the Landers is very small and without the students with cheap/free passes to the zoo the stadium would be very light on numbers.
Yes, if the team performed better and the likelihood of a positive night out was in the offing, more would go but there's still a relative cap on spectators in a general sense.
The opportunity though is that rugby can still be the big offering in town. Other options are taking games to Invercargill and Queenstown. -
@Crucial the fanbase of the North Queensland Cowboys calls bullshit
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@taniwharugby said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Steve yeah the lack of bums on seats is poor optics, and will probably sway a few dollars from TV sponsors, although if NZR/Sky have good viewer stats, again, not a major right now.
@nzzp yeah I'm with you, I'm not bothered if I miss a super game anymore, although this weekends games do move up in importance.
Sky has changed the way we watch as well though, I mean it is at least a dozen years since I last got up in the middle of the night to watch a test, and worse, in recent years, I'll look at the result and then decide if I want to scan the game, watch extended highlights or skip it all together.
The punditry is too nice and friendly these days.
We actually need the odd contrarian who nails his colours to the mast and slates the odd player.
Watching the breakdown they basically name every candidate for a shirt and say "yeah he's tracking alrite, he could be in with a shout".
Just make some bloody statements. "Beaudy is stinking the place out and shouldn't be in the 23" for example.
They are too close and too pally pally with the incumbents.
At least Marshall will fight them in the streets
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@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Crucial the fanbase of the North Queensland Cowboys calls bullshit
Fair enough although I'm not sure that family attendance due to inbreeding should be counted as an example.
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@Steve said in The Current State of Rugby:
@taniwharugby said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Steve yeah the lack of bums on seats is poor optics, and will probably sway a few dollars from TV sponsors, although if NZR/Sky have good viewer stats, again, not a major right now.
@nzzp yeah I'm with you, I'm not bothered if I miss a super game anymore, although this weekends games do move up in importance.
Sky has changed the way we watch as well though, I mean it is at least a dozen years since I last got up in the middle of the night to watch a test, and worse, in recent years, I'll look at the result and then decide if I want to scan the game, watch extended highlights or skip it all together.
The punditry is too nice and friendly these days.
We actually need the odd contrarian who nails his colours to the mast and slates the odd player.
Watching the breakdown they basically name every candidate for a shirt and say "yeah he's tracking alrite, he could be in with a shout".
Just make some bloody statements. "Beaudy is stinking the place out and shouldn't be in the 23" for example.
They are too close and too pally pally with the incumbents.
At least Marshall will fight them in the streets
So essentially you just want the NRL360 journo versions of NZ rugby.
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@Nepia said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Steve said in The Current State of Rugby:
@taniwharugby said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Steve yeah the lack of bums on seats is poor optics, and will probably sway a few dollars from TV sponsors, although if NZR/Sky have good viewer stats, again, not a major right now.
@nzzp yeah I'm with you, I'm not bothered if I miss a super game anymore, although this weekends games do move up in importance.
Sky has changed the way we watch as well though, I mean it is at least a dozen years since I last got up in the middle of the night to watch a test, and worse, in recent years, I'll look at the result and then decide if I want to scan the game, watch extended highlights or skip it all together.
The punditry is too nice and friendly these days.
We actually need the odd contrarian who nails his colours to the mast and slates the odd player.
Watching the breakdown they basically name every candidate for a shirt and say "yeah he's tracking alrite, he could be in with a shout".
Just make some bloody statements. "Beaudy is stinking the place out and shouldn't be in the 23" for example.
They are too close and too pally pally with the incumbents.
At least Marshall will fight them in the streets
So essentially you just want the NRL360 journo versions of NZ rugby.
Get Chris Rattue in there instead of Muliaina
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NRL360 doesn't talk about playing form
They try to get coaches fired, make up stories about clubs that are losing, and blame the NRL administration for everything.
They have a fair bit less to say about off-field stuff now that old mate Kenty turned out to be just as bad.
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@Steve said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Nepia said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Steve said in The Current State of Rugby:
@taniwharugby said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Steve yeah the lack of bums on seats is poor optics, and will probably sway a few dollars from TV sponsors, although if NZR/Sky have good viewer stats, again, not a major right now.
@nzzp yeah I'm with you, I'm not bothered if I miss a super game anymore, although this weekends games do move up in importance.
Sky has changed the way we watch as well though, I mean it is at least a dozen years since I last got up in the middle of the night to watch a test, and worse, in recent years, I'll look at the result and then decide if I want to scan the game, watch extended highlights or skip it all together.
The punditry is too nice and friendly these days.
We actually need the odd contrarian who nails his colours to the mast and slates the odd player.
Watching the breakdown they basically name every candidate for a shirt and say "yeah he's tracking alrite, he could be in with a shout".
Just make some bloody statements. "Beaudy is stinking the place out and shouldn't be in the 23" for example.
They are too close and too pally pally with the incumbents.
At least Marshall will fight them in the streets
So essentially you just want the NRL360 journo versions of NZ rugby.
Get Chris Rattue in there instead of Muliaina
Would be funny to have a guy just talk about the Warriors for the entirety of a rugby show.
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@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Crucial the fanbase of the North Queensland Cowboys calls bullshit
You talking about attendance? Is Townsville similar to Dunedin or is it more like Otago in size?
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@Bones said in The Current State of Rugby:
@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Crucial the fanbase of the North Queensland Cowboys calls bullshit
You talking about attendance? Is Townsville similar to Dunedin or is it more like Otago in size?
Population is about 50k more than Dunners if Wiki is to be believed.
In perspective if 1 in 20 of those extra folk attend a game thats another 2.5k bums on seats -
My point was large numbers of fans from Cairns and Mackay and Mt Isa, all basically four hours from Townsville, travel regularly for cowboys games.
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@Steve said in The Current State of Rugby:
This argument of TV money vs bums on seats balancing out surely has more nuance to it.....
The Heineken cup (or whatever it is called now) up North has a sense of occasion about each game.
The stadiums have atmosphere and are generally rammed.
Seeing Danes Coles run on for his final home game to 12 people and a dog is just deflating.
The optics are terrible.
I find it jarring when I watch the highlights and the commentator be it an Aussie or Kiwi is trying to give the viewer a gee up "week 11 in super rugby and its a top of the table clash between Brumbies and Chiefs".....cuts to two teams running out to a handful of people. It's all quite odd.
It seems unsustainable to me. If the locals are that disenfranchised. Either its too expensive, on at inconvenient times, or people don't care enough any more. And that should worry the various Unions and Authorities involved.
Yes, great points. Population is one factor, but the main difference is that the supporters want to go to the games / the occasion. It's a completely different mindset.
For those that disagree, could you please tell me why Im watching an Auckland / Canterbury semi-final in the main domestic competition in front of a non sold out small stadium?
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@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
My point was large numbers of fans from Cairns and Mackay and Mt Isa, all basically four hours from Townsville, travel regularly for cowboys games.
In Ozzie that's a small trip, in NZ that's a weekend away
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@mariner4life said in The Current State of Rugby:
My point was large numbers of fans from Cairns and Mackay and Mt Isa, all basically four hours from Townsville, travel regularly for cowboys games.
That makes it much easier to understand.
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Ok I have a smile. posters saying the crowd looks terrible on tv, you realise you are the reason that crowds look no good on tv, while sitting at home watching the game? But it's the world we live in most of us can't be buggered getting off our arse and going to things. So only measure then becomes who watches game on tv!
I will add what time are games played? When it suits TV, not crowds going to games.
Christ even the so called journos are worst, they seem to sit at home watch game on tv and then pretend to be reporting on game! Remember when proper rugby reporters actually went to games, could tell you what how players went on whole field, they sent a whole group of them on AB tours etc, so you had more idea of what actually happened! -
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@Dan54 i mean....lots of us either live overseas or those that live in NZ do seem to talk about going to games
but part of the point some of us are making is how little NZR/unions/franchises do to attract fans to the ground though, is it all on us (when we can) to find out when games are on because theyre not advertised well....pay above the odds....to go on a cold winters night because they dont do may day games and watch reasonably predictable results...everyone plays rugby for a few weeks and in the end the crusaders win?
before joined my local club i went and watched my local VFL aussie rules team play quite a bit, cheap tickets, day games in the local community, local pubs advertise lunch before or dinner after, they sell loads more merch than any rugby team i've see so it would be unusual to be around port melbourne and not see someone in the "Boroughs" beanie/hoodie/scarf/scarf any given day....so you have that constant reminder they are playing
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@Kiwiwomble said in The Current State of Rugby:
@Dan54 i mean....lots of us either live overseas or those that live in NZ do seem to talk about going to games
but part of the point some of us are making is how little NZR/unions/franchises to to attract fans to the ground though, is it all on us (when we can) to find out when games are on because theyre not advertised well....pay above the odds....to go on a cold winters night because they dont do may day games and watch reasonably predictable results...everyone plays rugby for a few weeks and in the end the crusaders win?
before joined my local club i went and watched my local VFL aussie rules team play quite a bit, cheap tickets, day games in the local community, local pubs advertise lunch before or dinner after, they sell load more merch than any rugby team i've see so it would be unusual to be around port melbourne and not see someone in the "Boroughs" beanie any given day....so you have that constant reminder
It is quite apparent how different the approach was for the women's world cup and the way the warriors try to market their games, in comparison to men's rugby. Cheap tickets and entertainment pregame, make the game an entertainment experience. My FIL went to the Waratahs game, said tickets especially for kids weren't super cheap. Why not make the tickets really cheap or even free for small kids and try to pack out the ground? The money they lose on ticket sales would probably be made up at the concession stand, and the ground always looks better when it's full
