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At a rugby bar in San Francisco last week, I met a guy who’d been an assistant to the legendary 49ers coach Bill Walsh during much of his reign in the 80s, when his team won three Super Bowl titles.
The assistant – he’s now retired but doesn’t want his name mentioned for pro reasons – has been a rugby fan for years, and he had some interesting things to say about the game.
So seeing my two interviews with Rex Goodwin, the Rugby Vampire, seemed to have been quite well received, I thought I’d use the same format for this post.
ME: Your career has been in the NFL, but you’re also a rugby fan. How come?
COACH: A lot of coaches, college as well as NFL and their scouts, keep an eye on world rugby. We’re always looking for a good ball carrier, a dependable kicker, or a big, fast man who can knock a runner down.
ME: Is there anybody now playing in world rugby you think could make it in the NFL?
COACH: Very few. You have to be able to do everything in rugby, while in American football you can specialize, but you have to be terrific at that specialty. For example, when the Eagles’ winger, Ngwenya, burnt Brian Habana on the outside, in the RWC, that got a lot of notice. That’s the kind of speed we’re looking for. Wilko was once offered a tryout as a point-after and field goal kicker. And I think Nonu got a call from the States recently. With his size and acceleration, he’d make a pretty good halfback.
ME: You saw the Spring internationals? The three SH teams in Britain and France?
COACH: I watched them on Setanta, yes.
ME: See any forward who’d make a linebacker in the NFL?
COACH: Bakkes Botha. Very big, very fast, and a real hard man. He’d make a great outside linebacker.
ME: How about Richie McCaw?
COACH: Plenty quick enough but not enough bulk for a defensive back. They’re looking for a combination of Richie and Jerry Collins.
ME: How about past players? Who would have made the NFL?
COACH: No question. Hands down, flat out it’d be Jonah. What a tight end he would have made. Nobody now playing in the NFL is 6 feet 6 and can sprint the way Jonah could. He got lots of offers, and could have made a fortune, but he didn’t want to leave New Zealand. He would’ve been hugely popular over here. He’s a very brave guy.
ME: How about Campese?
COACH: A wonderful runner. But he would’ve gone into the huddle and argued with the QB’s call.
ME: What do you think of international rugby today?
COACH: I think it needs some serious revision if it’s to attract a larger world-wide audience.
ME: Could you expand on that?
COACH: Well, there are very few sports that don’t revolve around money these days. The owners and organizations are looking for bigger attendance, bigger sponsorship, bigger network deals. For example, Chicago is the favourite for the 2016 Olympics, and NBC is talking about offering a billion five for the rights. That’s huge. As for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the free-to-air, Pay TV and Radio rights worldwide will total another long string of zeros. The Super Bowl? The price of a TV spot works out to around $9,000 a second. These are numbers the IRB can only drool over for their RWC, but they’re doing very little to enhance the value to sponsors and advertisers.
ME: Keep going.
COACH: Some rugby officials claim they’re in the sports business, not the entertainment business, but any pro sport, if it’s televised – and you’ll be pauperized if it isn’t – is in the entertainment biz. Therefore, you have to entice the folks into watching, and keep them from switching channels. We’re not talking about rugby diehards here, but the average sports fan in a world in which rugby is an esoteric sport. The IRB will spend big bucks promoting the RWC, and millions will take a look at the opening rounds, and if there were 16 teams instead of 20 you’d guarantee some quality players on the screen from the getgo. 40 pool games is too many, and there will be some blowouts later on, and that’s going to leave the viewers shrugging and switching away.
ME: Okay, I’ll buy that. But I get the impression you mean more than that when you talk about entertainment.
COACH. Damn right. The game has to change because rugby has always been designed for perfection. You’re supposed to be perfect or you’re penalized. And that results in player and crowd frustration at the stop/go nature of the game.
ME: What do you mean by perfection?
COACH: Like when a rugby half, with a couple of flankers breathing down his neck, nudges the ball forward an inch at the base of the scrum, and the ref blows it up for a knock-on. That’s absurd. The half should be allowed to get a grip on the ball. I’d also allow any runner to fumble the ball without it being called a knock on. If the other side recovers the ball, fine. But if the runner or one of his team mates recovers it, keep going.
ME: What else?
COACH: Revert to the old rule that does not allow the flankers or the half to follow the ball through
the scrum. People want to see running rugby, not spoiling rugby.
ME: How do you fix the scrum resets and penalties?
COACH: That’s the hardest question in rugby today. New rules for the engagement should be worked out and put into place so that the scrum becomes a test of technique and strength. Any prop who pulls down should get an immediate yellow.
ME: Would you keep the present scoring system?
COACH: I’d go for six points for a try, eight for a converted try. That would lessen the attraction of penalty goals and drop goals which I think would be a good thing.
ME: Back to the entertainment question. How do you amp it up?
COACH: You need to rethink the entire presentation. You need a lot more than two minutes of fireworks and some pretty girls waving pom poms. The IRB should take a look at any big US college game. Any NFL game. Just the halftime show alone is a mini-olympic spectacle. Plus, the NFL networks try to be inclusive by having somebody like Pam Oliver down on the field giving injury reports or whatever because they know women watch the game, too. And women want to see women on the screen. Rugby has a big female following, but it’s passed over. The IRB has got to get more women watching rugby so that the TV carriers can sell more screen time to corporations that make other products besides beer and power tools.
ME: What’s your recipe for a successful RWC in NZ?
COACH: Change the rules starting next season to promote a wide open running game. Get creative on the visuals. Make sure you have a blimp camera. Hire people with personality to call the game, people who’ll stay away from the usual stale cliches. Tell the viewers about the players themselves – what makes them special or different. Have analysts comment as the game progresses. Also, to attract more advertisers, cut the game into quarters. Have a 3 minute commercial break in the middle of each half. Three minutes isn’t a lot of time for a stadium crowd to wait, and the players will welcome a short breather. Also, a large, very visible game clock would be an improvement. In a close game, it adds a lot of excitement as the minutes tick down.
ME: I don’t know about a game clock but I do know the NZRU is in the process of revamping some stadiums.
COACH: I hear they don’t have the money they want which is a great shame. Some of the venues are still going to be pretty ordinary, as are some of the games, so it’s important to prepare for that and have something up your sleeve. New Zealand is an amazing country that punches way above its weight in just about everything from sports to the sciences. Maybe there’s some great homegrown theatrical talent that can choreograph a super show, I don’t know. But if there isn’t, import some. Pay money for expertise.
ME: You think the All Blacks will win it?
COACH: They’ll have the best team. The question is, will they be able to withstand all that hometown pressure?
ME: Thanks for the interview. Maybe we can do this again. I think the Roar readers would like to get your thoughts on the Wallabies.
COACH: I have quite a few thoughts on the Wallabies. So next time you’re in town …
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.