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Three days on, and it’s still difficult to think of a Super Rugby decider that tops the Waratahs’ last-minute triumph over the Crusaders in Sydney on Saturday night.
The 2000 final, where the Crusaders pipped the Brumbies in ironically similar circumstances might come close, but it didn’t (from memory) quite captivate for the full 80 minutes like the 2014 edition did. It would seem the instant ‘best final ever’ tag is surviving the test of hindsight and retrospection.
But what now for the Waratahs? How do they capitalise on the title drought being broken?
What’s left for Michael Cheika to achieve, now that he’s done what he set out to do, and inside two years at that? For the Waratahs, it should be simple – milk this thing for all it’s worth.
If memberships, sponsorships, crowd figures, TV audiences and general fan engagement doesn’t all see a major uplift in 2015, then you’re just not doing your job properly.
The Waratahs already have a membership base in the vicinity of 20,000 and should be aiming to push that towards 30,000 and beyond next year. If the Sydney Swans can manage 40,000 members, as they’ve just achieved in the last week and for the first time in the club’s history, then surely the only Super Rugby side in New South Wales can reach a similar number.
With a large chunk of the 61,823 people there on Saturday night reportedly from outside the rugby strongholds of Sydney’s north and east – more than 20,000 was mentioned – how many of them can be converted into members?
And if this all involves revisiting the membership and ticketing structure and pricing, then do it. Make it more enticing for people and families to go to the rugby again. Queensland saw a similar upswing during and after their 2011 title, and three years on they still have well in excess of 30,000 members. That should be the benchmark for the Waratahs.
With increased membership comes increased crowd figures, but the ‘Tahs need to also make sure they appeal to the casual fan. A Super Rugby title does not entitle you to add twenty bucks to ticket prices just because you can. People finishing up work on a Friday night in the city with the decision between going to the Waratahs and staying at the pub for a couple after work – they’re the ones you need to win over.
And to do that, the game day experience has to be worthwhile. The ‘Tahs had some success launching a new smartphone and tablet app during the finals series, and that’s great, but extend that to food and beverage ordering at the ground, as an example. Or use the app to entice the aforementioned city workers with group discounts and so on.
Bring back the curtain-raiser. Whether it’s schoolboys level, or junior reps, or B teams, or women’s 15s or sevens games, it doesn’t matter. If it’s a Saturday night, put a Shute Shield match on first. Just put something on before the main game and make it worthwhile for people to turn up early.
And talk to those at Moore Park and tell them to cater for crowds better. If there’s been one social media topic to equal the Waratahs entertaining style of play this year, it’s been that the food and beer queues at the SFS are horrendous.
Send the Super Rugby spaceship cup out on a tour of the schools. Get the kids talking about rugby again, and make them enthusiastic about watching Kurtley Beale, Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Will Skelton and Jacques Potgieter. That in turn will get them nagging mum and dad to go, so I go back to that point about making tickets enticing for families again. The way to get the kids through the gate is to not rip mum and dad off.
On the field, Michael Cheika will quickly discover that winning back-to-back titles is just as tough a task as winning the first one, and maybe harder again.
No longer will the Waratahs be catching teams, they’ll be the hunted from Round 1 next year. With minimal roster change, they’ll start next season as favourites – and deservedly so, for a change – but can’t for a minute think that what brought success in 2014 guarantees success in 2015. There needs to be evolution in their game, to remain ahead of the pack.
Certainly, he has some work to do with the set piece, and like the Wallabies after their Twickenham disasters of the mid-2000s, the ‘soft underbelly’ tag and perceptions of weakness will remain much longer than might be the case in reality.
It doesn’t matter that Sekope Kepu was penalised in those couple of scrums just after halftime because Wyatt Crockett is a shocking scrummager and a chronic borer-inner-er. The perception will be there that Kepu and Benn Robinson still have issues on the ‘Set’ call.
Their lineout will still be attacked next year, regardless of how well Tatafu Polota-Nau throws, and regardless of who’s doing the calling. The obvious thing to be addressed is the speed of which the jumpers get off the ground.
One good thing is that Cheika has made it reasonably clear that he wants to stay on, and that he’s really keen to keep coaching this team. Therefore, the heat then has to be turned onto the Waratahs board, as to how long they’ll leave it before they lock the coach in for the next however many years.
In reality, by delaying it as they have, they’ve cost themselves money. Michael Cheika, the Heineken-Cup-winning-coach-who-wants-to-come-home is worth significantly less than Michael Cheika the Heineken-Cup-winning-coach-who-wants-to-come-home-and-has-completely-rebuilt-the-Waratahs-and-won-a-Super-Rugby-title. It shouldn’t matter. Ask Cheika how long he wants to coach the ‘Tahs for, and just write that date on a new contract.
In all this, the Waratahs as an organisation have been presented a massive opportunity to reconnect with their support base. In what is widely regarded as the toughest sports market in the world, the Waratahs have a chance to become cool again. It’s up to them how they cash in from here.
And speaking of cashing in – with less than a fortnight to the Bledisloe how are the ARU leveraging this Super Rugby success into Wallabies interest, as we speak?
The Bledisloe is almost here!
Tickets are on sale to what is shaping as a absolute blockbuster at ANZ Stadium (get yours here). After a cracking Super Rugby final, this promises to be epic.There’s also plenty happening in the lead-up to the game, with the Bledisloe Cup Festival a chance for true rugby supporters to get together.
And if you’re looking to introduce yourself to a few of the players, the Bledisloe Bay is your best bet on Thursday 14th August. Check it out!