If there’s something about rugby that never fails to bewilder, it’s the demands for national action to address problems in Australian rugby that are mostly local.
Regardless, a massive problem is gripping Super Rugby in Australia. It needs urgent attention at both franchise and national levels.
After just 6,311 people enjoyed the ample space on offer while the Brumbies ran away to a dominant 22-10 bonus point win over the Bulls, the South African conference leaders, the extent of the Brumbies’ shrinking attendances became as obvious as the empty grey seats at Canberra Stadium.
After seven matches, the Brumbies crowd in 2019 is currently sitting just below last year’s record low average.
In context, the Brumbies crowds are no worse than the Reds, Waratahs and Rebels. Currently, the Waratahs indicative average of 13,336 is sitting around five thousand above that of the Brumbies. The Reds’ is about 1300 fewer than that, and the Rebels another thousand below again.
But I deliberately use the word ‘indicative’. In coming to these averages, unofficial crowd numbers have to be used in lieu of actual announced attendances.
The Rebels’ current average of 11,209 just happens to be their one and only confirmed figure, the Highlanders game back in Round 3. I can’t imagine subsequent crowd figures have been kept quiet because they’re higher.
On that front, perhaps the Brumbies’ biggest mistake in 2019 has been announcing any crowds at all, never mind doing it every game.
When viewed alongside the populations of Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, Canberra’s 8,332 doesn’t look too bad at all. But when viewed next to the 14,913 the Canberra Raiders are currently enjoying, the number is as bad as it looks again.
Over the years, and as recently as a few weeks ago when I asked some punters for a TV story, the popular and most common answers to the question of ‘what will bring the Brumbies crowds back?’ have been ‘win games’ and ‘play attractive rugby’. ‘More afternoon games’ is never far behind, either.
But in 2019, all three of those common fan demands have occurred and they haven’t made a lick of difference.
The Brumbies opened their season with one of their best performances in years in putting fifty on the Chiefs. They followed that up with a gritty win over the Waratahs, the team more than any other Brumbies fans love beating.
Part of the stand showing the sparse crowd at the Brumbies’ home ground. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
They went to South Africa and beat the Stormers at Newlands; something few foreign teams have done in the last decade. Dan McKellar labelled that win one of the best he’d ever been associated with.
Then they came back from the Republic and kept winning. A grinding win over the Blues. A clinical thumping of the Sunwolves. Friday night’s demolition of the Bulls.
They’re easily the most adaptable of the Australian sides, and probably only the Crusaders match them in terms of being able to play the right game to beat different opposition in 2019. The Brumbies have won playing expansively, they won playing grinding breakdown contests, and they’ve won tackling themselves in the ground.
They are playing great rugby. They are winning games, six on the trot at home in fact. They have played in the afternoon. And they deserve to be playing in front of much bigger crowds than they are.
At the start of the season, Rugby Australia were making noises about making a significant investment toward marketing Super Rugby. Save for a couple of bus stop posters around Canberra ahead of the Waratahs game back in March – which at the time Brumbies knew nothing about – I’ve not seen much evidence of this investment.
Generally speaking, game marketing has been whatever the Brumbies can muster themselves, which for the Bulls games last week was widespread: radio, TV, print, online, emails, social media, roadside signage. It didn’t help.
Scott Sio of the Brumbies (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
‘Playing games on a (ACT) long weekend doesn’t help,’ people told me when I vented my frustration at the 6,311 figure over the weekend. That same reasoning didn’t appear to hurt the Raiders when more than double that number turned up for the North Queensland Cowboys game the next day.
And so this is where RA and SANZAAR need to step in. Clearly whatever the clubs are doing on their own isn’t enough. The Melbourne and Canberra crowds prove that winning games and playing style alone isn’t enough.
If the clubs’ best efforts both on and off the field can’t lift the awareness and perceptions of Super Rugby, then RA and SANZAAR need to do more. Or ‘something’, in SANZAAR’s case.
This isn’t even just an Australia-only issue. Crowds in New Zealand are similarly scarce. South African stadia have appeared ghostly, to the point where just over seven thousand attended the Bulls-Waratahs game at the cavernous Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria earlier this month.
It’s an incredible irony that the Sunwolves remain the one side consistently drawing good crowds at home, despite becoming SANZAAR’s latest sacrificial offering. What will happen when the 14-team round robin and fewer local derbies doesn’t change anything? What will SANZAAR cut off next?
Something’s got to give. The Queensland Reds game on June 15 and any home finals they happen to earn will be the last chance the Brumbies have to improve on what has been the only disappointing element of their season.
And even then, they face the very real prospect that earning a home final could cost them money, once they pay the opposition team upwards of $75,000 per SANZAAR revenue-sharing guidelines.
And in the most perverse of rewards, a qualifying final win could secure a home semi-final and yet more financial pain if there isn’t a significant uplift in attendances.
Last Friday, it was really interesting to hear NRL CEO Todd Greenberg admit that the Raiders and other regional NRL clubs probably haven’t been given enough love over the years. His first visit to the Capital for the year was part of a national touring schedule, designed to ensure all 16 clubs know where the governing body want to take the game.
The Red seats of Suncorp Stadium have been a frequent sight this year. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)
Greenberg committed to regular ongoing visits to Canberra, too, not just annual meetings.
Do any of the Super Rugby sides know where SANZAAR wants to take Super Rugby? Does SANZAAR know where SANZAAR wants to take Super Rugby?
Andy Marinos is the SANZAAR CEO – based in Sydney, too, for what it’s worth – but I couldn’t even tell you the last time he put out a public statement, let alone fronted the cameras.
The silent, faceless way that Super Rugby is administered off the field is echoed directly in the complete lack of cut-through the on-field product is currently achieving, despite how good it might actually be. That’s why stadium atmosphere in most cities remains underwhelming.
And until that changes, we’ll continue to have this depressing and frankly illogical stand-off where rugby fans are ignoring the very things they say they want more of, all because they claim they don’t know it’s happening.
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Ex force fan
Guest
More than 12,500 watching the Force Tonga game in Perth tonight. RA axed the wrong team.
Starlight
Guest
It seems the main complaints and criticisms, in this crisis, keep walking around the elephant in the room, the NRL. We must face the fact that the nrl , now has the AFL , worried, because the TV ratings, now are higher for NRL. This means the next TV deal could easily be much larger for the NRL. Where does all of this leave RU ? RU is way back in a distant 4th spot. Let's face it , RL is number 1. I know this is hard to admit. RU , for all the years it has been played in this country, it has been blatantly arrogant, that attitude has caught up . We have to admit, RL is faster game, more exciting and made for TV, more so than AFL or RU. The first place to start, is major changes to rules , even if ARU have to break from the international body. The game is to slow, fans want speed and excitement, 1. Get rid of scrummaging 2 get rid of lineouts 3 cut the number per team to 12 Maybe there is more changes needed, but drastic action must be taken. RU can't sit around for another 10 years, winging about how bad the people are, who run the game, or believing that their game, was made in heaven, and suddenly the people will see the light, and come rushing back. It's not going to happen.
Dirkdiggler
Roar Rookie
Poor crowds at Super Rugby yep, we all know why. But what about a good news article about the crowds at local sydney grade rugby and schoolboy??
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
Easts Leagues Club are sponsoring players to Waverly College.
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
TWAS, you say, ''It now has the money to survive through the RWC year decline in revenue.'' As at 31 May, it may have the funds, but it may have to, 1, Bailout Melbourne Rebels 2/ Bailout NSW Waratahs 3/ ???? Qld Reds & ACT Brumbies. 4/ Provide for considerable $$$ for legals if IF sues in the courts & wins.
Jaybes
Roar Rookie
Player get's access to education. I should have probably spelled out my thoughts being this is relevant for those on League programs who come to a Rugby school as part of their league deal. It is common place in Qld where the Broncos are sending kids to GPS & AIC schools.
Jaybes
Roar Rookie
Fair play. Can you highlight your points as I may have missed them?
Jaybes
Roar Rookie
That would come from playing games at Homebush who do anything to get content. That's concerning isnt it. With Suncorp the basic rule of thumb is that you need 15,000 full paying customers through the door before you start making a cent - not good!
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Which would be near the same for the Force without pre-2011 profits that kept them afloat?
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Australian Rugby stayed afloat. It now has the money to survive through the RWC year decline in revenue. That was why. It's achieved it's goal. The devastation in WA beats the same times 5.
Ex force fan
Guest
The main stand is almost sold out
Ex force fan
Guest
All Black games in Sydney and Melbourne or even in NZ do not sold out in 3 days... does not add up to kill rugby in a state where there is so much inte
andrewM
Roar Rookie
No that’s the $30 million that the Rebels lost, not the $50 million that Twiggy offered to the Australian Rugby Foundation nor the $20 million for running the Force till the next agreement. Again I ask the question – How much was the Vctorian government prepared to pay Rebel?
Ex force fan
Guest
After everything we seen in 2017-18 years, no-one should be able to argue that the decision to axe the Force was correct. The few $ saved was just not worth the devastation of WA rugby and the reputational fallout. One of the reasons the crowds continue to stay away was the dismal way this was executed. Ironically although rugby in WA was put back 5 years Australia rugby wil take longer than a decade to recover. The governing body will continue with a struggle with integrity and trust issues for many years to come even when Clyne moves on.
piru
Roar Rookie
Well... to get involved with the discussion, but the fact is I have no idea why the eastern rugby sides are struggling for crowd numbers this year. The games I have seen seem to be at a higher level than in recent times and finals are still a prospect for several teams. The WA situation is much different so not really worth commenting on here.
Istanbul Wingman
Roar Guru
Dunedin's population is 130,000. The provincial population is 230,000 spread over a vast, mountainous region that is often covered in snow in the weekend - and they don't have been freeways like the American Midwest. So Otago punches above its weight. But it's also true that if they're not getting half decent crowds, that's cause for concern, because they don't have much else to do down there except chase sheep and stuff.
robel
Roar Pro
When the ARU backstabbed the Force, it was the start of the end. The ARU made it plain to see that they don't care about making the sport national. The Force had the same number of wins as the Brumbs that year, and bigger crowds than pretty much all the other Aust sides, and definitely the Brumbs and Rebels.
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
is it far-fetched to think that the whole of Otago should back and support Highlanders? They have an amazing stadium. A couple of the best players in the world. Nothing much else goes down in Antarctica. They should have better numbers. Something is broken.
Beans
Guest
This is a chronic issue with the remedy being as simple as the timing of kick-off & the venue. Both International & Super Rugby's primary ailment in Australia is its devotion to broadcast dollars and the wedded belief that large stadia is required to fit in the masses who are now turning away in droves. Unfortunately however, in their blind greed for the almighty dollar and need to pay over inflated salaries to players, coaches and admin staff, the effects of reversing the trend will be too hard for the rugby codes to palate until its too late. Perhaps it already is. Broadcasters should not in charge of, and never be again, the timing of games. Venues should be available as demand requires, not the reverse where we see the venues themselves demanding usage via $$ incentives for teams to camp in an uninhabited & sterile shell. Rugby is a game best played during the sunlight hours. We repeatedly see this fact across the code where in the UK, France and SA games are consistently played during the day and in venues with tradition and atmosphere. This fact has dawned upon local club rugby administrators, not that they really had a choice, but the result is that game quality is up, crowd engagement is up and, as a result, ticket prices inflate & slowly so too does the demand for live broadcast. A kick-off time of 7:30pm (edging closer & closer to 8:00pm to allow for more ads) quite simply strips many young parents of the will to attend. This is family time and for many young parents (lets say between the ages of 25-35) the demands of family take precedence over attending innocuous rugby games. This means that for approx. 10 years those supporters are deciding that they'd rather be at home with the family than spend $50-$100 to sit in a cold stadium to have PA systems blasting rubbish music and streams of warnings & announcement that thou must not..., queue for 15mins to pay for over priced beer, wine & awful food or queue for 10mins to go to the loo. These are the supporters who are being disenchanted and, rather than head to super rugby, are heading to a local grounds to watch club rugby, possibly never to return to Super Rugby. A simple thing such as moving back to a 3pm kick -off and moving away from large stadia towards more family friendly venues would stop the rot. It may not immediately address the financial concerns but it would bring back the traditional sights and sounds of rugby. Images of a hill and jumping castle full of happy kids, the scent of the BBQ hanging over the ground, the murmur of groups of people talking over a few drinks with friends after the game, kids running around kicking the ball on the ground at full time and everyone in the car and home in time for dinner. At the moment the tail is wagging the dog. Or, as Shoeless Joes said to Ray Kinsella said in Field of Dreams, "If you build it, he will come."
Istanbul Wingman
Roar Guru
Don't think so. I've lived through a Midwest winter and people were doing long road trips as much as ever. Milwaukee citizens consider the Packers their team as much as the folks of Green Bay do. There's been some debate in the past over which city should host the team, in fact. Green Bay gets the nod only because its a publicly-owned franchise.