Wallabies v Springboks
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@Mick-Gold-Coast-QLD said in Wallabies v Springboks:
Back to the start and NTA's pen picture of Suncorp on Saturday - from the very beginning of Super Rugby the reliable barometer has been Waratah rugby, where the money and the numbers of people are concentrated. When they win the ordinary supporters and the corporate supporters literally pour through the gates, it's the place to be seen. When they are losing the ground is like a mausoleum. Sports business is too fragile an environment to entrust the future of the game to fools.
Actually Mick, even this no longer holds true IMHO.
A bit over a decade ago, the Tahs could draw an early-season crowd north of 30k even when they lost the odd one at home, because they were playing attractive rugby. After the mid-season slump, they would dwindle.
Then in 2014 the people started to come back ONLY at the end of the season, culminating in a semifinal crowd of nearly 39k for the semifinal against the Ponies, then around 62k for the final. That is a record that is unlikely to be broken any time soon, as not many grounds in the competition hold over 60k.
First few rounds of 2015, the crowd numbers were back below 25k. Why? This was a successful team. It was the defending premier. Even for the first game against the Force (which they lost due to a lack of brains) the crowd was somewhere below 20k from memory.
Of course, it was a beautiful summer Sunday, and the rah-rah crowd probably had somewhere to be. Down the beach I suppose? Watching Foxtel from their delightfully appointed balcony in Vaucluse?
Could be the ticket prices too. One month's Foxtel subscription to get a decent seat in a shabby stadium showing its age, with poor service and facilities.
The point is, success is no longer tied to attendance or participation in Australian rugby, even in Waratahs land.
Despite this, no matter which game I attend, there will be some elbow patched yuppie sitting within earshot of me (quite a wide area; I can be loud) who will look disapprovingly in my direction when I yell and scream and support my team. It interrupts the networking opportunities, don't y'know...
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@akan004 said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@Kirwan said in Wallabies v Springboks:
Looks like a couple of atheists standing out back waiting for the nonsense to finish
No offence but you sound like an arrogant .....
You've been absent for some cracking threads on religion in Off Topic!
Come and join the fun next time, it'd be great to have at least one person defend it...
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@No-Quarter said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@akan004 said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@Kirwan said in Wallabies v Springboks:
Looks like a couple of atheists standing out back waiting for the nonsense to finish
No offence but you sound like an arrogant .....
You've been absent for some cracking threads on religion in Off Topic!
Come and join the fun next time, it'd be great to have at least one person defend it...
Apparently it's arrogant to not believe in the Easter Bunny.
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@NTA said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@Mick-Gold-Coast-QLD said in Wallabies v Springboks:
Back to the start and NTA's pen picture of Suncorp on Saturday - from the very beginning of Super Rugby the reliable barometer has been Waratah rugby, where the money and the numbers of people are concentrated. When they win the ordinary supporters and the corporate supporters literally pour through the gates, it's the place to be seen. When they are losing the ground is like a mausoleum. Sports business is too fragile an environment to entrust the future of the game to fools.
Actually Mick, even this no longer holds true IMHO.
A bit over a decade ago, the Tahs could draw an early-season crowd north of 30k even when they lost the odd one at home, because they were playing attractive rugby. After the mid-season slump, they would dwindle.
Then in 2014 the people started to come back ONLY at the end of the season, culminating in a semifinal crowd of nearly 39k for the semifinal against the Ponies, then around 62k for the final. That is a record that is unlikely to be broken any time soon, as not many grounds in the competition hold over 60k.
First few rounds of 2015, the crowd numbers were back below 25k. Why? This was a successful team. It was the defending premier. Even for the first game against the Force (which they lost due to a lack of brains) the crowd was somewhere below 20k from memory.
Of course, it was a beautiful summer Sunday, and the rah-rah crowd probably had somewhere to be. Down the beach I suppose? Watching Foxtel from their delightfully appointed balcony in Vaucluse?
Could be the ticket prices too. One month's Foxtel subscription to get a decent seat in a shabby stadium showing its age, with poor service and facilities.
The point is, success is no longer tied to attendance or participation in Australian rugby, even in Waratahs land.
Despite this, no matter which game I attend, there will be some elbow patched yuppie sitting within earshot of me (quite a wide area; I can be loud) who will look disapprovingly in my direction when I yell and scream and support my team. It interrupts the networking opportunities, don't y'know...
I wonder if the ARU shouldn't just take a few leaves out of the successful sports in Aus
The big bash and afl pitch for families and inclusion. They're incredibly successful
The AFL saturate their coverage with slow mos of the kiddies running around at halftime. Mums must love that shitMake rugby synonymous with families. Have ads with folau etal with kids and participation to the fore.
League has it's bogan misbehaving niche. Soccer has it's tribal niche. Tap into the family niche - it's wildly successful in big bash, the adult rugby supporters are solidified so make the game accessible and about the families. Promote positivity.
Or am I dreaming?
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It looks like they're doing things. The women's 7s rugby in particular is taking off. Was at Rams v Spirit on Saturday and they were running a tournament there.
In any case, its early days but hopefully that takes off. A televised product is essential, even if it is a double-edged sword.
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@Kirwan said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@No-Quarter said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@akan004 said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@Kirwan said in Wallabies v Springboks:
Looks like a couple of atheists standing out back waiting for the nonsense to finish
No offence but you sound like an arrogant .....
You've been absent for some cracking threads on religion in Off Topic!
Come and join the fun next time, it'd be great to have at least one person defend it...
Apparently it's arrogant to not believe in the Easter Bunny.
I hope they've all written their letters to Santa, Christmas isn't far off.
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@Mick-Gold-Coast-QLD said in Wallabies v Springboks:
Back to the start and NTA's pen picture of Suncorp on Saturday - from the very beginning of Super Rugby the reliable barometer has been Waratah rugby, where the money and the numbers of people are concentrated. When they win the ordinary supporters and the corporate supporters literally pour through the gates, it's the place to be seen. When they are losing the ground is like a mausoleum.
I've witnessed that happen to the Brumbies and Reds.
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@Kirwan said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@No-Quarter said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@akan004 said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@Kirwan said in Wallabies v Springboks:
Looks like a couple of atheists standing out back waiting for the nonsense to finish
No offence but you sound like an arrogant .....
You've been absent for some cracking threads on religion in Off Topic!
Come and join the fun next time, it'd be great to have at least one person defend it...
Apparently it's arrogant to not believe in the Easter Bunny.
Im not sure i get where you are coming from. Why would anyone not believe in the easter bunny? Who else delivers the Chocolate eggs? What about those paw prints and nibbles carrots? Next you will suggest Santa doesn't actually fly around the world on xmas eve.
Oh i get it, you are creating a diversion to through people off the scent so they don't discover the secret chocolate burrow.
What were we talking about again? oh yeah rugby. One thing i think would make a huge difference to rugby in Australia is more free to air coverage. There is fuck all. The odd premier grade game on a saturday arvo on ABC and the odd Super rugby game replay on a sunday morning on One. The only thing near prime time are the tests.
Will be interesting to see which Bok team shows up next week. They really looked toothless on attack in this game and were kicking it away with 5 mins to go down by 6.
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@pukunui said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@Kirwan said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@No-Quarter said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@akan004 said in Wallabies v Springboks:
@Kirwan said in Wallabies v Springboks:
Looks like a couple of atheists standing out back waiting for the nonsense to finish
No offence but you sound like an arrogant .....
You've been absent for some cracking threads on religion in Off Topic!
Come and join the fun next time, it'd be great to have at least one person defend it...
Apparently it's arrogant to not believe in the Easter Bunny.
Im not sure i get where you are coming from. Why would anyone not believe in the easter bunny? Who else delivers the Chocolate eggs? What about those paw prints and nibbles carrots? Next you will suggest Santa doesn't actually fly around the world on xmas eve.
Oh i get it, you are creating a diversion to through people off the scent so they don't discover the secret chocolate burrow.
What were we talking about again? oh yeah rugby. One thing i think would make a huge difference to rugby in Australia is more free to air coverage. There is fuck all. The odd premier grade game on a saturday arvo on ABC and the odd Super rugby game replay on a sunday morning on One. The only thing near prime time are the tests.
Will be interesting to see which Bok team shows up next week. They really looked toothless on attack in this game and were kicking it away with 5 mins to go down by 6.
The Boks have looked toothless on attack for the best part of a decade now. It's their D that has kept them in games.
I'm expecting it to be close at the 60 minute mark, but the ABs to pull away and win by 20+.
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My Dad's a pretty strong God botherer, but he hates that praying stuff that goes on at sporting events. I think his words on Saturday were: "It's a game of rugby you dickheads".
I really don't know what we can take away in terms of the Bok's performance. They pretty much always play like little bitches in Brisbane. IIRC they even dropped one here when they were killing it in 2009.
They will be much much harder at home. Reckon they should play Goosens at 10, but maybe quotas prevent that?
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@Hooroo said in Wallabies v Springboks:
I've seen the Memes regarding them all praying but what were they actually praying for? Lelieafano??
pay attention hooroo - chocolate, from the easter bunny. woulda thought the boks already had their quota though.
i'll see myself out.
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*@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Wallabies v Springboks:
My Dad's a pretty strong God botherer, but he hates that praying stuff ...
@Hooroo said in Wallabies v Springboks:
I've seen the Memes regarding them all praying but what were they actually praying for? Lelieafano??
@reprobate said in Wallabies v Springboks:
...pay attention hooroo - chocolate, from the easter bunny. woulda thought the boks already had their quota though.
i'll see myself out.*
Heathens. I'm surrounded by bloody heathens. I'm going to have to go to Mass twice next Sunday to pray for your sorry souls!
Stand by for an organ recital to help youse all reflect on your wanton ways.
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@Mick-Gold-Coast-QLD said in Wallabies v Springboks:
No matter where the debates meander on why the players do as they do and fail as they fail, who is the right coach, what is wrong with this coach or that, the referee is a dunce and so on, this is what is happening continuously, the inevitable erosion and contraction of a once valuable institution which is a central part of community life.
You cannot imagine the deep disappointment and sense of loss one feels after a lifetime involvement, from mid teens, witnessing the decline of Australian rugby.
It's something of a mystery to me as to where Australian rugby has gone wrong. But, on the plus side, I think that we've only won one cricket test against you guys in the past 25 years and that hasn't in the slightest killed cricket in New Zealand, so I expect all the grave fears for the death of Australian rugby are both premature and overstated. Unless you guys are much bigger wet blankets than I think.
That's the sop - now here's the boot.
In the period of around 1998-2003, you fucking Aussies were thrashing us at everything. The Commonwealth games would come around and we might as well have put "Advance Australia Fair" on constant cycle, cricket, league, netball and, appallingly, even fucking rugby. People were leaving our country in droves for your balmy shores, you guys seemed to be paid about twice as much as us and, frankly, it was a fucking depressing time to be a New Zealander.
I consoled myself that you guys, your sportsmen at least, were doubtless all on drugs!
A decade or so later and the boot is on the other foot. We may not beat you guys, but in a lot of sports we're going in on an even footing in terms of hope, if not expectation. Our Crown Jewel, rugby, we've jumped away from you and your government has been a source of ridiculous delight to me - lurching from shambles to disaster.
We've got better - but, you guys have definitively also got worse across many spheres.
This isn't really to put the boot in too much, but maybe you should send this frank assessment to your Prime Minister, because Jesus, you guys have made a bollocks of things and need to lift your game!
