With the 2015 Rugby Championship upon us I thought now would be a good time as any to review the relevancy and history of the Tri-Nations and its successor.
While most expectations are that this year’s tournament will be little more than a warm-up for the big three in their quest for World Cup glory, their real hopes seem to be consolidating their final squad.
But I still sense it is not just this year’s TRC that lacks the same interest and intensity of years gone by, especially in South Africa, with empty stadium becoming more common at Springbok matches. And it is not just because of the upcoming World Cup.
The writing of this article stems from a quote by world rugby chief Bernard Lapasset, who said, “at the moment one has the Six Nations, which is successful, and the Four Nations, which is less so”.
While I always loved the TRC there is no denying that it does not come close to matching the passion of the Six Nations, which fills bars around the world.
So let’s look back over the past few years of the Tri-Nations and TRC and examine the range of different items, including the format and teams involved.
1996-05: Double round robin – average crowd, 50,509 (2015)
2006: Triple round robin – average crowd, 45,211
2007: Double round robin – average crowd, 51,833
2008-10: Triple round robin – average crowd, 49,412 (2008); 44,344 (2009); 49,111 (2010)
2011: Double round robin – average crowd, 46,497
2012-14: Double round robin – average crowd, 40,676 (2012), 35,882 (2014)
I thought that the triple round robin was a drawn out and overplayed card, much like when the Wallabies and All Blacks where playing four-Test Bledisloe Cups. Though their average crowd figures for those tournaments from my less than scientific research appear to still be quite strong.
Now we all know the reason why the average crowds have dropped off in the last three years and that is because of Argentina. But their presence has also affected the crowd and general interest for the big three in their home games. A case in point is the 24,000 that showed up in Perth last year for a Springbok game that only a few years before was always close to a sellout.
To get back to the point of Lapasset, less is more. As with the double round robin of the Tri Nation, where each team played two home games and two away games and every game played was crucial to who would win the tournament, let’s take a note out of the Europeans’ book and make the TRC a single round tournament.
What’s that I hear you say? The ARU is broke? And Australia would only get one home game every two years? Well the answer is simple, on the back of the All Blacks’ Test in Samoa the fifth team to enter the tournament would be the Pacific Islands team. Each Pacific Island nation could share the hosting duties, putting some much needed money back into their coffers.
And if every thing is about money and ticket sales I dare say the Wallabies playing a Pacific Island team on the Gold Coast would get a better crowd than the 14,281 when the Wallabies played Los Pumas in 2014.
Five teams, two home games, two away, and every game matters.
Still not enough money for the ARU? Well we can play the All Blacks twice in the Bledisloe Cup, maybe even a third game that we can sell to Japan or the USA while we are at it. That would mean a minimum of three home games every second year for the ARU.
That’s how we fix the TRC (if you think it is broken). With a single round robin, plus a Pacific Island game, everyone is happy!
What do you think, Roarers?
Akari
Roar Rookie
Fair point and I understand that less than 40k attended last night's test.
Higgik
Guest
6N will never be a warm up for anything. With a single round RC and 2 tests prior, in non RWC years, then a lions trip could be organised so that the host country has a bye in week 1 of RC.
Redbull
Guest
100% on the money. A fifth team from Asia-Pacific. Could be a mixed team or rotate PI team and get combination team for World Cup years. Always has to be an odd number so that home-away is the same. Will free up calendar for proper domestic "super" competition in conjunction with Super Rugby champions cup. Bledisloe can be extra game. But just two games. Like football, call the winner from agreegate home and away Rarify the Test Match. This year there is open discussion of TRC being a warm up for RWC. I don't think that was how 6 nations was treated
Higgik
Guest
A new format that addresses these issue has already been suggested. 2 divisions of 5 championship (based on WR) NZ, SA, AUS, ARG, SAM challenge Japan, USA, Fiji, Canada, Tonga Play home or away in group, (4 matches over 5 weeks) Top 4 in Championship Group play semi finals and final at single venue event, rotated around nations, like mini World Cup 5th in Championship and top 3 in challenge group do likewise, (perhaps at same venue as finals), with the winner of this event gaining promotion to Championship for following year. The bottom two challenge teams are the only teams not to get Minimum of 5 matches. I would suggest that the whole international match system needs changing including the timing of 6N, and tour matches.
Johnno
Guest
nos agreed, makeing it cheaper and taking the game to smaller markets may promote it better.
Bakkies
Guest
Like the last time Arg played there the stadium wouldn't be sold out because it was to cold which is absolute nonsense as temporary sitting areas had to be added for Super Rugby Finals to allow more people in. One of them was played when it was snowing.
hog
Guest
And that is why the code is struggling here, Super rugby was only ever introduced to maintain a professional player base for the Wallabies. The code relies on the Wallabies to grow its fan base, it is trying to grow the code from the top down, but it will never work, rugby will always struggle to gain a genuine foothold in this country until it accepts that to grow the code it can only be done through domestic penetration.
Bob Funston
Roar Rookie
Walabies fans have so much product to pick from they pick and choose what games to go to, Oz needs more high level domestic games less Intls and make the NT games so special no one will want miss them. I also find it interesting people still follow the aleague with out the worlds best players in it, but aus rugby is to scared to commit to a truly domestic comp because they are worried about player flight,
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Thats true johnno. I think that aru's prices are also not adequate for those 'lower teams' (well everyone bar the AB haha!). Argentina, boks, france or wales would attract a good crowd at the mcg or anz with the right price. 80k crowd at an avge price of $50 (say from 20 to $90) is better 30k at roughly $80 on avge imo, not so much for the matchday purse but as a long term startegy. At the 2003 rwc I went to see teams like argentina, romania, georgia and the boks for $10-15 at mid week pool games and the crowds were ok.
Johnno
Guest
nos I have found the only games OZ rugby fans like to watch live are the AB'S. Eng/France sort of but not really. Argies and Boks no one cares about, and forget about Italy/Wales/Scotland/Ireland too. I get so much more excited for wallaby away tests eg in Argentina/South Africa. Boks tests in OZ for me only work in Perth, that's it. Argies tests work no where in any big city eg Sydney/Brisbane/Melbourne.
Johnno
Guest
lol I was at clifton's that day, forget the rugby
Bob Funston
Roar Rookie
I would agree Argentina have definitely added to the comp but there away games are not the biggest crowd pullers, AB played in Christchurch because they new they could sell out 17500 seats, As for the PI team it could be the highest ranked nation out of the Pacific nations cup who qualifies, to be a single roubd robin you would really need 5 teams to have a good action packed montg of rugby.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Thats fairly normal akari. I dont expect non members of the 6N to watch, like or even get the 6N. Whats worrying though is that many southerners dont follow their own NT and that they struggle to fill stadiums for most RC fixtures. My point is we have been overfed with top notch international games here just to make more money. The Brisbane roar played a friendly football game against liverpool last night in front of 50,000. I hope we get that tonight for the boks game but not to be certain we will get this when we play one of the best team in the world is the issue. Thats what happens when you give ppl AB 2-3 times a year.
Harry Jones
Expert
That's because a braambie in Afrikaans is a blackberry and we couldn't figure out why our boys were playing blackberries. Also we drank too much blackberry wine. And Kelvin Grove had a dinner dance. And the Biscuit Factory was selling three-for-one Mbabane mules. And Clifton was bottomless that day.
Johnno
Guest
Harry, Newlands was half empty for the Stormers V Brumbies semi.
Akari
Roar Rookie
"On the other hand, whenever I see England or Ireland play my team I still have goosebumps." Good to know, NOS. I, on the other hand, lose interest within 5-10 minutes of kick-off in any 6N game and, as much as I try, I find it hard to last until about the 20 minute mark when I need to switch channels and watch a documentary instead.
Gurudoright
Guest
That's probably got to do with playing Argentina on the Gold Coast. I would love to see how a test match in Canberra would be received by the locals.
Akari
Roar Rookie
Correction, Targa, as the Stadium's capacity was reduced to 8,000. Anywhere else (including Canberra), capacity would be increased to the max with temporary seating and standing room added to make more money. Only in the Pacific where the pursuit of money is secondary to the occasion.
Bob Funston
Roar Rookie
Couldn't agree more every extra international game we ad in the season make it less special and less of spectacle less is defiantly more.
Bob Funston
Roar Rookie
Argentina home crowds have been quite solid at home games, i was more pointing to the fact about when the play away they don't pull the biggest crowds especially in Aus, the point is should not actually be about the crowds but the amount of interest the game draws in each home/hosting country, for example if only 8k filled up apia but was a sell out and they had a public holiday.