Shining light on country club rugby
IT used to be the domain of the paid and powerful.
But now the hinterland and the grassroots of the game is getting in on the act.
Games being played under lights have always been around the sport but have taken on more precedence over the past couple of years.
In the Otago country area, more and more games are taking place at night as lights get installed and weekends become more valuable for players.
The opening of the duckshooting season had games moved to darkness but night games are now becoming more than a onceaseason affair.
So far in the Southern region competition, seven out of 20 games played have been staged at night.
Maheno Rugby Football Club installed lights at its grounds in 2018 and plenty of games had been played since then at night. The side took on Old Boys under lights last Friday night.
Club president Michael Hore said the lights worked well for the club.
‘‘We have got them for training as well as some of the weekends — like duckshooting, or a long weekend where the guys want to get it over and done with as there are other things on,’’ he said.
‘‘Times have changed. Rugby used to be all you did in the weekend but there are other things on now.’’
He said the games appeared to be popular and the lights were of high quality. The lights cost between $80,000 and $90,000 to have installed.
Hore said a good crowd usually turned up to watch a night match although the bar takings were below what was usual on a Saturday.
Kurow had installed proper lights this year and had already played games under the new lights this season. With many of its players working on farms seven days a week, players found it easier to play at night.
West Taieri had installed lights last year to help with training and also host games.
The lights, which cost about $80,000, had given the club the option of staging games at night. The team had played the Thursday before Easter to get the game out of the way so players could have the holiday weekend off. It had then played a game against Clinton at Outram as the visiting club had wanted to play the game at night.
Club president Darryl McKenzie said the preference was to still play on the weekends. Depending on who the opponent was, a decentsized crowd would turn up.
Clinton has had lights for many years and its preference this year was to play games at night.
The club was struggling to get enough for a team at the start of the season and when prospective players were asked to join the team, many said they could only play if it was played during the week.
The club had hosted games at night and also played away games during the week under lights.
Club committee member Ken Campbell said playing numbers
would be impacted if the games were played every Saturday.
‘‘A lot of guys have got other stuff going on in the weekend. They might want to go hunting, or be working, so can not play,’’ he said.
‘‘So far we have had good buyin from other clubs. Some can not play during the week which is understandable.’’
There had been some good crowds turning out to the games during the week, which was another plus for the club.
AUCKLAND: The Rugby Championship will be split between New Zealand and Australia this year, while the Bledisloe Cup series in August could be played in three consecutive weeks for the first time in almost 50 years.
The New Zealand Herald understands that while Sanzaar was considering the option of hosting the Rugby Championship in either Australia or New Zealand, an agreement has been reached to stage the tournament in both nations.
But while a decision has been reached in principle to share the Rugby Championship hosting, the detail on what a split looks like is still being determined.
Australia hosted the tournament in its entirety last year amid concerns New Zealand’s Covid19 quarantine requirements were too tough for visiting teams to adequately train and prepare.
The logistics in terms of where the Springboks and Pumas will quarantine and how they can effectively use the travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia are still to be worked through.
It is hoped, however, that once both teams have spent 14 days in one of the Tasman nations, they will be able to travel to the other without any further need to quarantine.
On that basis, New Zealand would like to see the games split so the All Blacks play the Springboks and Pumas in New Zealand, with the Wallabies doing the same in Australia — a scenario deemed the most equitable.
Regardless of location, these games will be played in September and October.
The tournament will, however, begin in August when the All Blacks and Wallabies meet on three consecutive weekends — with two of those tests doubling as Rugby Championship encounters.
The plan is for the first Bledisloe to be played on August 7, possibly in Wellington, with the next in Melbourne on August 14 and the third at Eden Park on August 21.
The Bledisloe hasn’t been played as a threetest series in consecutive weeks since 1974 and it is believed this is the first time such a series will be split between the two nations.
The Herald understands the decision has been made to play the second test in Melbourne to ensure the game there is not a dead rubber.
Melbourne was due to host the All Blacks in 2020 until the outbreak of the pandemic forced a major restructuring of the season.
µ The planned two tests against Italy in July will no longer be played, with the Azzurri having indicated they will not be coming to New Zealand.
Instead, the All Blacks are hoping to play Fiji at least once, with talks ongoing to see if the visitor can be persuaded to play twice now that it has been confirmed Ireland will not be visiting the Pacific nation as planned due to Covid19 concerns.
The All Blacks are also expected to play a third international against a yettobeconfirmed opponent.
The schedule for the July tests and the Rugby Championship will be announced in the next two weeks.
Last week, the Welsh Rugby Union confirmed a test between the Six Nations champion and the All Blacks will take place on October 31, outside of the World Rugby international window.
Ian Foster’s side will also face Ireland, France and Italy on their European tour later this year.