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The National Rugby Championship has started with a big bang on the field but with a bit of a whimper off it.
The rugby has been fast paced and entertaining, the law variations have had a positive impact without changing the fundamental nature of the game and new talent is breaking through.
On the other hand, the competition is largely invisible to many, excepting the most diehard fans, crowds have been small and none of the TV games have rated in the top 20 for the day on Foxtel.
It must be acknowledged that this first season has been put together in a very short time frame. There is limited money for a national advertising campaign or a PR blitz. With these limitations in play the NRC is doing okay.
But the competition has a long runway of growth ahead of it. Despite the financial limitations I believe there are a number of initiatives that could boost the NRC from next season.
1. Live streaming
Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way. It is imperative that all non-televised games in the NRC are streamed live online at a decent quality and with commentary. This should not be up to the clubs to organise separately. One YouTube channel and the NRC website should be the home for all streamed matches.
Having all the matches in one place will increase awareness, viewing numbers will grow and tribal support will develop. The competition will not grow without tragic rugby fans becoming tragic NRC fans and advocating to others. And tribal support will not develop while 75 per cent of games can’t be seen.
The Australian Ice Hockey league manages to live stream matches. American College rugby teams manage to live stream matches. A professional competition run by an organisation with a turnover of $100 million in 2013 can certainly figure out a way to live stream matches. Especially as part of the cost can be mitigated through sponsorship.
2. Challenge Shield
The biggest prize in domestic rugby in New Zealand is the Ranfurly Shield. Crowds and interest in shield games are significantly higher than regular ITM Cup games. For those unfamiliar think of the shield as like a title belt in boxing – one that the holder defends every time they play at home.
An Australian rugby fan at Green and Gold Rugby has proposed introducing a similar shield to the NRC named after the late Brumbies player Shawn Mackay. The Shield would initially be given to the winners of this year’s NRC (in addition to the NRC trophy), and would be defended at their first home game of 2015.
While the prestige of the Ranfurly Shield exists through decades of tradition there is no reason a similar concept can’t work in Australia. It would be unique in Australian sport and something Australian rugby fans, players and coaches would buy into from the start.
This is a brilliant idea and all the ARU would have to do is endorse it. The cost of creating the shield can be crowd sourced and presented on behalf of fans.
3. Double-header events in Sydney and Brisbane
I’d like to propose that each season of the NRC feature a weekend of double-headers – one in Sydney on a Saturday afternoon featuring the four New South Wales teams, and the other in Brisbane on the Sunday featuring the two Queensland teams playing against inter-state rivals.
These should be more than just a couple of rugby matches – they should be events with a rugby theme. Think local bands, sevens matches before and between the main games, kid zones and a mini street food and craft beer festival.
I suggest these events should either open the season or be played the week after the NRL grand final. Keep the prices low, promote it as a festival for the rugby community at good venues and the people will come. With clever promotion there’s no reason such events couldn’t attract big crowds at the Sydney Football Stadium and Suncorp Stadium.
4. Combined Super Rugby and NRC memberships
The easiest people to convert to the NRC are those that regularly attend Super Rugby. Given the crowds to the NRC so far, this has not yet been achieved to any great extent.
When people sign up for a Super Rugby membership they should have the option of adding on an NRC season ticket to their package. In the one-team cities this is easy enough, but it’s not much more difficult for the Waratahs and Reds to provide a choice of NRC memberships.
5. Free NRC passes for junior rugby players
Every registered junior and student rugby player from the cities holding games should receive a pass (in the form of a plastic card) that provides free entry to all NRC matches.
The physical pass would increase awareness, encourage more families to attend and is something kids would enjoy having.
6. International marquee player allowance
Before the NRC began a lot of the publicity the competition received was because of a rumour that Johnny Wilkinson was going to be signed for a few matches. For whatever reason, this didn’t go ahead.
In a crowded sporting market it is very difficult for the NRC to attract significant media attention. Having a player like Wilkinson involved would have been a huge boost for the competition – not just the team he played for.
If NRC teams are willing to fund the acquisition of an international marquee player I think they should be allowed to. There would unlikely ever be more than two or three involved in the competition at any one time and there would be no huge advantage to those teams that signed one. For the competition the publicity would be valuable and would cost the ARU nothing.
7. Stop calling it the third tier
Since its conception the NRC has consistently been talked about as a third-tier competition. Or a player development competition. It’s the worst branding imaginable for a new sporting league and negatively affects the perceptions of casual fans. Why would anyone want to go to something that is essentially labelled third rate? Or that is purely designed to develop players for other competitions?
Australian rugby fans, administrators, commentators and media need to stop obsessing about tiers. You never hear this word used in other sports. Technically the NRL is the third highest level that Australian rugby league players can be selected for, yet you’d never hear it called third tier.
The NRC has to stand out as a competition in its own right as the highest level of domestic rugby. Teams should be aiming to win the national title (and hopefully in future, the shield) above anything else. Player development will occur naturally as a result of that.
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.