CAMPO: More of the same from the Australian sides

if the souths roosters game was a friday saturday or sunday arvo game the crowd would have been 30,000 plus

what a coincidence, last one i attended as well. was kind of the peak of the sydney comp imo when wallabies still regularly turned out for their clubs

except you wouldnt necessarily have the best players playing in it. a lot of good players play for teams that dont win the comp.

Thanks Allbackfan. The problem I have with the NZRU is that they seem pretty one or two dimensional in the way the make money. Revenues have stayed fairly steady over the years, and there does not appear to be any growth in revenues. The only strategy the NZRU seem to have in growing revenue is putting on an extra test against the Welsh each year. I reckon there's millions of ways you can increase global revenue from one of the world's great sporting brands, but they all seem to pass the NZRU by because I don't think they think outside of the square enough.

I have been watching rugby since the early 80s in this country Kovana, and the product today is the best it has ever been. I sat through some crap matches at Ballymore in the 80s and 90s where the players and the game were rubbish. Rugby has its issues, like anything really, But it at its strongest today then at any other point in history.

bit harsh there, TGGN. The NZRU savings are kept in a hedge fund using US currency which can increase, or descrease, depending on currency fluctuations. In addition, there are different levels of sponsorships for different levels of competitions (ie players). There is merchandising (which Adidas helps with) although I think they can do a lot more in that regard (ie DVDs, player dolls etc). The problem the NZRU has is that NZ is a small economy; everyone's scrapping for a piece of the small pie not to mention idiot outside parties like the NRL and AFL wanting a piece of that pie as well (ie outside NZ). Don't even get me started on natural disasters!!! ... OJ, I'm sure Iveco's deal is also noteworthy

Wasn't last year generally regarded as a good Super Rugby season? Did anyone ever stop and think that maybe the reason the ARL and NRL are so successful in Australia is because people don't spend their time complaining about how rubbish they are? SANZAR's biggest failing is their inability to hype Super Rugby properly. If it's supposed to be entertainment market it as entertainment. Create stars. Sell the crap out of it even if it's not good. Just don't rely on people to get fired up about things because of history and tradition. They really need help in this area. The entire product is marketed to pre-existing rugby fans. If you watch American sports for the first time you can become a fan over the course of a single game because they never fail to drive home who the stars are and what the storylines are. With rugby if you haven't read the papers you're lost. The broadcasters try pre-game, but it's the in game commentating that's a problem. It hasn't changed since 1996. Unfortunately, rugby is so inherently conservative that I doubt anything will change on this front.

Indeed I did - but I actually also thought the thought process behind it was correct ...

I..

The All Blacks make most of their money from their huge Adidas contract.

Glorious movie.

Remember how good Super Rugby was with the "daylight" rule interpretations of 2008? I hope nobodies forgotten what a good all round season of rugby that was. The matches were all of a consistently high quality, defenders weren't given undue license to spoil the game, and all the players were loving it as well as the fans! Even the smaller and the more conservative teams were throwing it around because having possession favored the attacking team, not kicking ball away and playing this territorial rubbish. Of course as is typical of the the rugby refereeing administration the very next season things were changed to restore a "50/50 balance for the defending team". Until consistently applied non discretionary rules are enforced in the interests of running rugby, and stay enforced, we're going to be complaining every season and lamenting on the stalled progress of the game to attract new fans and to grow.

I guess we will get a better picture after the first NZ teams match against the Australian teams this weekend.

i dont thin he is being harsh. hes telling the truth. aussie rugby is a bore at the moment.

I said it after week 1 of this years competition. The australian teams are playing old rugby... which is waiting for turn over ball and then attack. NZ is playing free flowing running rugby. High risk. I am yet to watch a full australian game. It's so boring. They are turning there supporters away and are at risk of being made look like school boys against the kiwi sides. Why dont they back themselves and have a go???

And it was always great to watch, even if as a Brumbies supporter I was reluctant to acknowledge it at the time. The only times I find kicking tactics unbearable to watch are when they are negative kicking tactics, that being either aimless box kicks due to lack of other ideas, or constant forward pick-and-drives that do not aim to actually make ground but just play for penalty shots. Watching a fullback get lined up by four defenders as he goes up to catch a precision Garryowen is hardly boring stuff.

How about a different view Why not consider kicking 2 of the underperforming teams out and using that money to fund a lower tier because right now those 2 teams take up a lot of funds for woeful returns. Just a thought

That wasn't humble pie - it was sour cream after being cobbled by your double agent. The humble pie was for stumbling across the line against the French and needing plenty of help to do it .

Exactly my point - if these Tahs guys are any good they should beat the Highlanders, and supposedly test standard players such as Horne and AAC should shine.

8)