The Waratahs Berrick Barnes kicks the ball against the Sharks during their Super 14 rugby match in Sydney on Saturday, March 7, 2010. The Waratahs defeated the Sharks 25-21. AAP Image/Paul Miller.
Carlos Spencer said it, and I believe it. Super 14 crowds are nothing compared to what they used to be.
Once upon a time, the Super 14 was one of the hottest tickets in town, particularly in Sydney which is its biggest Australian market. But crowds in the Super 14 are falling away, to the point where the Waratahs are expecting a paltry turnout of about 10,000 for their match against the Lions tomorrow night.
I’m sorry. 10,000? On a Friday night after work? Jeez, it’s not like you have to go to church the next day.
How unbelievable is it that in the biggest rugby market in the country, we can’t even half fill the Sydney Football Stadium for a South African touring side playing our boys from the Waratahs. It’s not like we’ve got another team to compete against, unlike the NRL who muster similar figures (give or take a few thousand) for each of four or five Sydney matches each weekend. The Waratahs only have seven home games a year, for Christ’s sake.
It’s a totally unacceptable result, and heads must roll. For too long the culprits have been allowed to hob-nob in their ivory towers – criticising players, coaches and referees and calling for law changes. They’ve embraced players one minute while their form was good, and then plunged the knife into their backs the next.
They’ve been the first to divert the attention from anything they might be able to do for the game instead preferring to place the blame at the doorstep of the mythical “Them” and “They”. Blessed with the cloak of invisibility when it comes to having to defend their views, they revel in the luxury of saying whatever they like, about whomever they like, whenever they like, knowing that they’ll rarely be called to task, and hardly ever sanctioned officially.
The unfortunate thing about this shadowy cartel is that many of them enjoyed the game in their youth. They were happy to take from rugby when it could provide them with something, but now that the time has come for them to fight for its future, they choose to do nothing.
By now you’ve worked out who I’m talking about, and it’s not the ARU, or any of the state unions, or the IRB, or the referees.
It’s the fans. Yeah, that’s right. You guys.
I can now hear the clatter of pitchforks and the whuff of torches being lit as the peasants prepare to storm The Roar castle and lynch the heretic, but I’m ready to go. If the door breaks down and I’m dragged away in the next few sentences by a rabid mob, I’ll die happy, knowing that at least I wasn’t one of you faceless couch-sitters. After all, everyone knows that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
“How dare you talk to me like that?” I hear you say, but since we’re talking (albeit while you’re sharpening that castrating knife and Googling my home address), have a think about the last time you heard anyone say anything really positive about rugby?
What about you? I bet what you actually heard or said was a critique of the rules, the play, the players and their pay, all backed up with the catch-all disengagement….”I don’t bother to go anymore”…as if to say “That’ll show ‘em”.
The problem is, you’re not showing anyone anything, except that rugby people have morphed into a sorry group of home-dwelling, flat-screen watching, IQ-button-tickling, remote critics.
What those critics mostly don’t realise is that you have to earn the right to criticise.
You can earn it in several different ways. Great ex-players earn it by spilling blood on the paddock. Writers try to earn it by building a body of insightful work and putting their head on the public chopping block once or twice a week.
Certain fans also earn the right to criticise by being there through the easy going, and the tough times at altitude. They’re the ones who stick by their team through torrential rain, and early-season heatwaves. They’re always there for the curtain raiser, and they stay for that extra drink after the game is over. They go down to the fence to clap the boys off, even when the game hasn’t been that great.
Unfortunately for most of us, we think we earned the right to criticise by paying our Foxtel subscription on time.
In case you missed it, rugby has got a war on its hands. But unlike rugby league, which is fighting for a big chunk of market share, and AFL which is fighting for new markets, we’re fighting for our very existence.
And like most wars, it comes down to money. Walk into any group of rugby people at any pub anywhere in the country and you hear the same tired old refrain “The (insert union here) should be doing more to develop the game” as though the unions are all out to lunch pissing it up, while the rest of us are running coaching clinics in the rain somewhere with two torn tacklebags and a flat ball. Yeah, right.
What the self-righteous do-nothings prefer not to get is that by opting out and waiting for rugby to somehow fix itself, they play a very active part in reducing the money that filters down to the grassroots.
To give you an idea of the numbers, in 2008, the AFL distributed $188 million to its clubs and associated entities. The NRL distributed $53.6 million. The ARU, by contrast, gave out around $8 million – just 4% of the AFL number.
If the sports were schoolkids, AFL would be arriving on the oval in a chopper, while the ARU hopped off the bus with cardboard over the holes in its shoes.
Whatever your opinion of the ARU, you certainly can’t argue that they’re rolling in dough and holding it back from the rest of us.
In the classic movie Other People’s Money, Larry The Liquidator said “We’re dead alright. We’re just not broke. And you know the surest way to go broke? Keep getting an increasing share of a shrinking market. Down the tubes. Slow but sure”.
In rugby terms, the shrinking market he’s talking about is us. The fans. We’ve stopped going to games. We’ve stopped taking part. And according to the ratings figures, many of us have stopped watching on TV too.
Which means that the three richest sources of revenue the game has, all cop a hit. Gate receipts and sponsorship head south when we don’t go to the games, and pay TV receipts too will eventually go south if we don’t watch.
“So what?” I hear you say. “Why should I waste my money on going to the game when the rugby is rubbish? Why should I support the ARU when they do nothing to get my kid interested in the game?”.
My answer? Because by going to the game, you earn the right to have a real voice. By supporting the players, you remember what is really important in rugby – and that’s hanging in through the dark days as well as the salad days when we’re on top.
By being involved you earn the right to call yourself a genuine rugby supporter, and you earn the right to pass this birthright and tradition on to your kids.
You wouldn’t wait for the police to drop around to your place to give you kids a quick lesson on law and order, or hope that the dentist shows up to teach them how to clean their teeth.
So why are you waiting for the ARU, or the NSWRU or someone else to teach your child the joys of rugby? Why are you waiting for someone else to fix rugby before you get up and go to a game?
Rugby needs us more now than ever before, so it’s hard to believe that we’re deserting it in droves. How in the world could a warrior like Phil Waugh, who has spilt more blood than an abbatoir slaughterman and taken more hits than Evel Knievel, all for our enjoyment, be looking down the barrel of a record number of appearances for the Waratahs in front of a quarter full stadium?
We should be utterly ashamed of ourselves. Not for Waugh’s sake, but because we now care so little about taking part in the important moments in rugby.
It’s about time we woke up and got off the couch and went to the game. Those crowd numbers and gate receipts will eventually trickle back down to your little area of grassroots rugby, in the form of distributions to clubs, coaching support and other development activities. And even if they don’t amount to much, who cares. You’ve reconnected and become part of the family again.
Sure the unions are dysfunctional in some ways. But if that’s your opinion, doesn’t that make it even more ridiculous to be leaving the future of the game in their hands? Get involved yourself.
What to do? Well, I can hear the baying of a torch-bearing mob on the wind as they surge up the windy mountain path to my hideout, so I won’t go through the full million or so ways that you could support rugby.
The easiest one would be to walk out of your office tomorrow evening, grab a kid and/or a few mates, and head out to the SFS to cheer on the Waratahs and their record-breaking captain. As rugby people, it’s incumbent upon us to take the future of the game in our hands, earn the right to criticise, and most important of all, pat one of our own on the back.
Keep an eye out for me and I’ll buy you a beer. I’ll be easy to spot – there’ll be a pitchfork between my shoulder-blades.
JamesG
Guest
gents, one of the key reasons S14/S15 crowds are poor is because noone knows who the players or the teams are. Who are the Highlanders? Where are they from? People buy Coke because theyre familiar with it, they wont buy Fizzo or Shpletzer because theyve never heard of them. I know some of the Brumbies players...but know none of the players from the kiwi teams, nor what area they represent. Why S14 teams have thought it wise to drop their province/state from their names baffles me.
kovana
Guest
Like hello..
kovana
Guest
Anyways.. as off this week 9.. The average crown attendance is '19'536'... And this is most likely because there was only one game is SA.. and it was the lions vs reds... none of the top SA sides were at home... Source is wiki.. i know iknow.. but i couldnt find anywhere else.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Super_14_season#cite_note-BH-2
Jim Wilson
Guest
Back on the subject: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/rugby-unions-problem-the-rules-20091126-jt5p.html "According to a leaked report commissioned by the ARU, average TV audiences watching Tests and Super 14 games live have fallen by 37 per cent in a three-year period, declining from 617,555 in 2006 to 386,287 this year. Research also indicated that rugby was "exclusive and hard to follow", and that it was the least entertaining, innovative and grass roots-orientated when compared with rugby league, Aussie rules, soccer and cricket.
Scouse Sports Fan
Guest
If you can find a single lie, please point it out to me. You are reading things that do not exist. I am not blaming anybody or anything, just trying to pose a view as to why Super 14 crowds and Tv figures are falling in Australia, which was the debating point. I was highlighting Union's strengths in the UK and giving reasons for them. As to banning sports, I went to a Union school in Liverpool, loved the game and was fortunate to captain the side. Most of my fellow Scousers wanted to play football and the woolly backs wanted to play league. When we were 16 we were told that if we played league on a Sunday we would professionalise ourselves and everyone we played with, thus causing the school to be thrown out of competitions. I remember it well, Mr Thompson was the teacher's name. Now, that sort of approach would work wonders on participation levels - get the schools playing and ban them from playing another sport. It is a perfect marketing approach. As to League's position, it is somehwere between cheese throwing and space hopping on the world sporting stage, but by its standards it is currently doing very well. I thought it was pertinent to mention them as their viewing figures in the UK and Australia may shed some light on this debate. I wandered on here by accident thinking it was a general sports web site, but if it is a Union one I am sorry, I didn't mean to cause any offence. The next time I will be going to the Quins will be for the April double header, by the way.
therealalekid
Guest
"First, there is slavish devotion in the press, who will give page after page of reports on comments, regardless of how dire the game is2 Funniest thing I've read for a while, yesterdays Times has one column on Rugby Union on average it is usually 1 page on Rugby and seven pages on football. The only exception is the Sunday Broadsheets the Telegraph and Times that have decent coverage, but far from the slavish devotion you describe. "Leeds attract gates as low as 2,000 and Newcastle’s support is dwindling" There avaerage is around 5.000 which is not great, but is actually better than SL teams such as Salford. Newcastle support has risen this year marginally. "League in contrast is doing very nicely indeed, its Super League covering 3 countries, France, Wales and England, with crowds at 40 year highs2 Attendances were down last season in the SL, with an average below 9.000. "In south Wales union rivals football in popularity, and claims to be the national sport, despite more people watching and playing football nationally" it doesn't claim it is the national sport, being a national sport is not an indicator of popularity the national sports of Pakistan and Argentina are Cricket and Football respectively. However, despite football being a more popular sport by participation at least - football does not overwhelm rugby. The attendances for the International football sides are dire, despite the good crowds of Swansea and Cardiff Wales ahs only two clubs in the football League - North Wales ahs none. And the average attendances of the semi pro game is greater in Rugby Union than it is in football where the majority of clubs in both games exist. I've stopped posting on this site because of some of the wacky contributions, but this has to be one of the worse.
MV Dave
Guest
A little unfair comparing the Welsh Rugby team ranked in the top 8 nations in the world and their football team ranked around 70-80? Perhaps if those rankings were the other way round the football internationals would draw the bigger crowds...will never know as not that many coutries play Rugby seriously enough.
Dave
Guest
Stop lying SSF. Wales internationals has been selling out for over 100 years now. How many Welsh pay to watch the only professional soccer team in North Wales ? When did rugby union crowds and TV viewing start falling in England ? When did rugby union ban other sports on this planet ? So your blaming rugby union for the media not interested in writing or reporting minor sports in the UK ! When your sport start getting more than 20,000 to its international games then I suppose you can have a go at England rugby with their 80,000 crowds. lol
Dave
Guest
Scouse Sports Fan . Whats it like to pretend you played rugby union and have rugby union friends ? Im sure you forgot to tell us about Harlequins RL and their crowds and Leeds rugby who has more crowds than Salford in rugby league heartland. Since you live near Harlequins rugby league why don't you grab yourself some free tickets for their next home games against Huddersfield. Harlequins are letting everyone in for free on saturday, If they reach 1500 fans on facebook. http://www.totalrl.com/index.php?showtopic=199259
Scouse Sports Fan
Guest
On Wales' internationals, they illustrate one of my points, which is that Union do big events fantastically well, and should be proud of that. If you head to north Wales, say, football is a much bigger sport, and more people play football and pay to watch it each year than Union. Gateshead is not going so well. They get their act together intermittently and then lose their backers. Like a lot of clubs, including Newcastle, they need a backer to thrive. I am not sure which closet I have come out of - is that wit? - but I was posing a possible alternative spin as to why Union crowds and viewing figures have fallen. If you increase participation levels (and banning other sports and/or using influence in posh schools seems to work) and control the media Union will be well placed to recover. It is a wonderful game to play, with many nuances and different challenges. There must be enough very tall/ very heavy/ big kickers who can't play league or AFL who would love to play Union. Target those, and then you'll build up the sort of loyalty that leads to packed houses to watch England play Union completely regardless of whether there is any entertainment on offer.
JK
Guest
So you played 100s of games of Union, but have now come out of the closet and realised you're really a League fan, nothing wrong with that, your post just got a little confusing. And I'd love to see the global participation figures for F1.
True Tah
Guest
Scouse "In south Wales union rivals football in popularity, and claims to be the national sport, despite more people watching and playing football nationally" In light of this statement can you explain why the Welsh national futbol team was unable to draw anymore than 30,000 to ANY of their home FIFA WC qualifiers, whereas the national rugby team always seems to be able to draw full houses for their games in 6 Nations and against the Tri Nations, hell they even got 60K when Wales played Canada, which in futbol terms would be the equivalent of Wales playing India! I know that Cardiff City would normally outdraw the Cardiff Blues, but may the depth of support is not as great as you make out if crowds are not much bigger for the national side. In respect of England, rugby will always live in the shadow of the EPL and will never be the dominant sport. But in spite of this, it can still run a successful competition, as can rugby league, which again lives around the biggest name in world sport, Manchester United. The only thing lacking these days is a successful national team. Whilst Newcastle's support may be dwindling, I can remember when getting 3,000 to Kingston Park was an achievement. How are the Gateshead Thunder going these days?
Scouse Sports Fan
Guest
A few things on this... The Union World Cup may consider itself the 3rd biggest sporting event in the world, but it is deluding itself if it genuinely does. It isn't remotely a world game like Formula 1, Football, Cycling, Golf, Tennis, Track and Field. Fr more people will watch the Super Bowl each year or any India cricket game than the any Union World Cup game. As to why Aussies (and New Zealanders) are losing interest in watching Union, my direct knowledge is limited, having only spent 2 months in all on the east coast of Australia, but I cannot say I am surprised. I played 100s of games of Union and loved most of them, and made many life long friends. I would still watch a Union game if my mates were going along - I now live near London so watch Harlequins. It isn't an interesting game to watch though, live or on TV. Nothing happens for long periods and much of the action is spent looking at piles of bodies or watching people kick. That is just the nature of the game. I have played lots of squash and enjoy that but wouldn't pay to watch it. One of the reasons it is good to play is that you can be most shapes and sizes, you only have to master a very limited number of skills (at least at the level I played to - Blues Reserves, or the 60s) and don't have to be that fit because the ball is often out of play. Having played perhaps a dozen games of league at uni and afterwards, it is an absolute killer of a game, with nowhere to hide. Fiendishly difficult to play well and you have to be super fit. People comment on how well Union is doing in the northern hemisphere and that is a great reflection on a combination of things. First, there is slavish devotion in the press, who will give page after page of reports on comments, regardless of how dire the game is. Second, there is a real social feel to the events. I know a number of people who have watched games at Wembley this year who have absolutely no idea what they are watching, but enjoy the sense of bonhomie created. If you look at England south of Birmingham (which is all the press is interested in) then you would have to conclude all was well. Attempts to sell the game to the north have struggled and are heading south. Sale (who don't play there, any more than London Irish or London Wasps play anywhere near London - but if the World Cup is the world's 3rd biggest sporting event Reading can be considered London) may be relegated this year. Leeds attract gates as low as 2,000 and Newcastle's support is dwindling. That said participation levels are huge even up north for the reasons I mentioned above. League in contrast is doing very nicely indeed, its Super League covering 3 countries, France, Wales and England, with crowds at 40 year highs and viewing figures on Sky far higher than the Guinness Premiership. I am sure that sounds familiar to Aussies. It is a smaller sport but growing since people have stopped being banned for life from all union activities for playing it. Everything is relative, and league remains a far smaller sport than union but these are boom times for the Code. One of the reasons is that Sky is democratic. While union may have 10 times the number of southern based journalists to report on the Guinness competition, Sky and crowds can choose for themselves. In Scotland, union is a tiny sport, with poorly supported professional teams and fewer players than England has referees. In south Wales union rivals football in popularity, and claims to be the national sport, despite more people watching and playing football nationally. In Ireland union is booming as it is in southern France. Union in Italy does its best but is tiny in playing and spectator numbers - Craig Gower plays at 10 for them, which will bring a smile to any Aussies who were wondering what he did after retiring. So, world dominance is some way off. If Australia lacks the participation numbers that back up southern England's affection for union and/or a dutiful press still writing articles about Jonny W 7 years after his drop goal as if he is a national hero, then you are left with people making the choices on the basis of what they see in person or on the TV. It isn't union's fault it is slow and impenetrable compared to other sports. Enthusiasts may thrill to big lads lifting other big lads up, but it isn't going to lift your heart beat like a piece of skill from Hayne or Inglis. To turn it round, you need the press to talk up the game at every opportunity, sack as many writers on other sports as you can (what else is the old school network for) and ban anyone in your schools/communities from playing other sports. It has worked for southern England, it could work for you!
Dave
Guest
What doesn't exist Rod ? Don't you have foxtel ?
Dave
Guest
No John Ryan. Its an examble that needs to get into your heads, Its not about which football is fast or exciting as you guys claim rugby league is. AFL, rugby union, American football, gaellic football and rugby league are all exciting sports in their own markets. But you guys claim rugby league is the best thing since slice bread(which is not) but rugby league in NZ, England and France aren't jumping out of their skin.
Dave
Guest
The game is not garbage otherwise Kiwi's, British and French rugby union fans and players will be all playing and supporting rugby league Karlos. But they are not. Sorry.
Karlos
Guest
Seriiously fellas. The game is not supported because it is garbage. Australians have choice. RU supporters are not staying home to watch the games instead of going along, they are watching NRL and/or AFL.
Melb Rebel
Guest
lets move the Adelaide 7's to Melbourne. and put it back to back with Wellington before S15.
rugbyfuture
Roar Guru
samecan be said for your opinions hammer
hammer
Guest
I'm sorry but that's just bullsh1t - present some facts not opinion - what you're saying is completely impractical - not enough countries are capable enough in 15s to make it a meaningful competition, the game is such that a full world cup type competition couldn't be concluded in a fortnight and there is no corresponding womens side which would be considered acceptable - you're suggestion that Rogge would have pushed it through regardless is not based in fact - saying it doesn't it so