Rugby botches opportunity to boost fans
"Commemorating Anzac Day is something the NRL does well; Super Rugby Pacific not so much."
Rugby is doing a pretty good job in losing the battle for hearts and minds amongst the sporting public.
That battle comes amidst evergrowing hype surrounding the Warriors in the NRL, but that hype should be tempered.
Just in the past eight months rugby here has been put through the wringer, with the terrible handling of Ian Foster’s exit and Scott Robertson’s entry as All Blacks coach, mandatory Super Rugby Pacific rests continuing to strip the best players from key matches, ongoing concerns about brain injuries and now the governing stoush that includes calls to force New Zealand Rugby’s board to stand down.
As the latter three issues have festered, crowd numbers at Kiwi Super Rugby Pacific matches continue to look sparse. If Super Rugby Pacific and New Zealand Rugby were to ask themselves if they are putting on a good product that is engaging fans, the sight of tens of thousands of empty seats at matches is a pretty clear answer.
Rugby league’s Warriors are not having the same problem. All of their home games so far this year have been sold out, including Thursday’s commemorative Anzac Day clash against the Gold Coast Titans — a game that sold out two weeks ago.
Commemorating Anzac Day is something the NRL does well; Super Rugby Pacific not so much. The NRL had three matches scheduled for Anzac Day, including the traditional Dragons v Roosters clash. NRL administrators are smart enough to know public holidays — and daytime footy — are scheduling winners when it comes to fan engagement.
Unfortunately, that message still seems to have not got through to those in charge of the Super Rugby Pacific draw.
While fans packed out NRL grounds on Thursday — including memorial services honouring those who sacrificed so much for their countries — the Super Rugby grounds were empty.
Instead, Super Rugby Pacific had its inaugural Anzac Weekend round, with matches played on Friday and Saturday; one and two days after Anzac Day.
In announcing the initiative, Super Rugby chair Kevin Malloy said:
“Anzac Weekend Round is an opportunity to acknowledge the Anzac spirit and the connections that brought all countries in the Pacific closer. It’s really special to be able to bring teams and our fans together and take a moment to pay tribute to the sacrifices made.”
That’s a nice sentiment. But how hard could it have been to have scheduled at least one match on Anzac Day?
And how hard could it have been to have scheduled a daytime match, which would have got bums on seats.
On this side of the Tasman, rugby seems two steps behind what is happening around the Warriors in terms of fan engagement.
Some rugby fans reacted sceptically when Warriors boss Cameron George spoke in the past week that he believes rugby league has a chance of being the No 1 footy code in New Zealand.
It is a big dream, but one, given the incredible fan engagement the Warriors are getting — and rugby’s ongoing issues — that might not seem so grandiose.