NZ has zero need for the 10s
The underlying issue for sevens and nines and now tens is that they’re rubbish.
OPINION: Don’t bring them here, for God’s sake.
Wellingtonians are acutely aware of the shame associated with hosting a failing event. The sevens stayed at Westpac Stadium long after the carnival was over.
The party never really started in Auckland. Four editions was enough for everyone connected to the NRL Nines to flag it away, despite having a year to run on the contract.
The Queensland state government and promoters Duco have a deal to keep the Brisbane Global Tens at Suncorp Stadium till 2020. Yet, just two years into that fouryear arrangement, the drums are quietly beating for a shift across the Tasman.
Only 11,000 attended day one of this year’s tens. Nearer 18,000 were said to have rocked up for day two, leaving plenty of good seats still spare in the 52,500-capacity stadium.
It gets very hot in Brisbane at this time of year, apparently. It’s also something of a rugby league heartland. Those things have inhibited crowd numbers, we’re told, despite hardly being news flashes. Hey, but those who are here are absolutely loving it.
The logic now is that, because New Zealand sides dominate the tens and the sport enjoys an exalted status here, maybe the tournament has a brighter future on this side of the ditch.
Ignoring, of course, New Zealanders’ documented disdain for pale imitations.
The underlying issue for sevens and nines and now tens is that they’re rubbish. They feature players that few, if any, folk want to see and, worse, you’re expected to pay plenty to attend.
Weekend tickets for the tens started at $139. Hotel and ticket packages for visiting New Zealanders began at $599.
The other problem is how this event’s pitched. We’re told it’s fantastic and elite and international and high-profile players are paraded, all eager to say how much they’re looking forward to it.
Only, they don’t end up playing. Leaving us with under-20s and provincial types. Which is fine, in the right circumstances.
The Hurricanes Development team played the Crusaders Knights in Levin last year. Both franchises turned out significantly better squads than just attended the tens, meaning you saw plenty of genuine Super Rugby players.
Better still, entry to the ground was free. In fact, the match was the curtainraiser for a HorowhenuaKapiti club game.
It was a pleasant day out, but wouldn’t have been if you’d thrown in a $100 ticket, hotel, fancy dress outfit, food, grog, Carlos Spencer cameo and selfie in the stands with Nick ‘‘The Honey Badger’’ Cummins.
The tens aren’t without merit, but they’re staged at a time of year when the game’s greats are unavailable. Upping sticks for Auckland or Wellington or wherever wouldn’t change that.
In fact it would just add another cringeworthy weekend of halfempty stands, mediocre performances and commentators protesting too much about how much fun it all is.
If Duco and the Queensland government insist on staging this thing - then good luck to them.
But let it die a natural death there, rather than linger on the New Zealand sporting landscape a while.