Rugby Australian boss Phil Waugh is adamant speeding up the game and having the ball in play longer is paramount to winning back disillusioned fans.
Waugh is in Auckland for a Super Rugby Pacific interim board meeting with his New Zealand Rugby Union counterpart Mark Robinson, which many might also describe as crisis talks for the ailing code in Australia.
While Super Rugby Pacific interim chair Kevin Molloy rejected the assertion that the competition was “in strife”, the heavyweights of the SANZAR alliance agree they must be proactive to stop the decline in interest.
Molloy said Monday’s meeting was an important “starting point” in which the board brainstormed for hours about how to “reignite the flame” among fans, with boosting “fan engagement” considered an easy fix to help get the competition back on track.
“I don’t think it’s fair to say we’re in strife,” he said.
“But it’s fair to say that we are really cognisant of the fact that we’re not just competing with the powerhouses of the NRL and other major sporting events.
“But we’ve got an entertainment industry out there and it’s tough for people at the moment.
“It’s tough in terms of where they spend their discretionary dollar.”
Out with the old and in with the new: New Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh (R) and New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson (2nd R) are trying to help reignite Super Rugby. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Waugh is convinced fans need to see the ball in play more and says stoppages must be minimised.
Incredibly, statistics showed that the ball was actually in play for less than half of the 80-minute match times during the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Improvements were made this year, with less intervention from television match officials (TMOS) but Waugh said even more tweaks were likely to be in store during 2024.
“We’ve been leaders of innovation probably when Super Rugby started (in 1996),” he said.
“It was innovative, it was fast and it was the best provincial competition in the world. We need to get back there.
“If you think about what can we tinker with, interestingly, if I talked about ball in play, it was actually ball out of play. It was stoppage time when really you lose a lot of the consumer engagement.
“So for the fans, how do we actually shorten the ball out of play? Maximise ball in play to actually speed the game up?”
Trans-Tasman leaders are trying to help speed up the game of Super Rugby. (Photo by James Worsfold/Getty Images)
With Australian wins over Kiwi opposition few and far between over the past decade and more, Waugh accepts improvement must be made by the ACT Brumbies, Queensland Reds, NSW Waratahs, Melbourne Rebels and Western Force for the competition’s integrity.
“We know our performances across not just the international game but the Super Rugby performances haven’t been the level they need to be,” he said.
Former RA chairman Hamish McLennan was previously a proponent of a Super Rugby Pacific draft to help create more interest and, perhaps, even up the competition.
Robinson said there was an acceptance that both parties needed to be “open-minded” about ideas that could help breathe life back into the competition, but downplayed the prospect of any radical eligibility changes any time soon.
“I think another key thing that came through today was being open-minded,” Robinson said.
“A key principle around that was competition integrity and balance of performance and results across the competition.
“Certainly, there’s an open-mindedness to considering conversations like that. However, at the moment, we’re also quite clear that our eligibility protocols are very clear and we from time to time have conversations about those and will be willing to do in the future, but we think there are a lot of opportunities that sit there in the competition at the moment that we can focus in on at moment.”
Molloy also conceded even in these tough times that the Australian and New Zealand governing bodies may need to invest more in order to revive interest levels in Super Rugby.
“I think there is a fiscal reality that they are going to have to invest more than what they have invested in the past,” said the interim chair.
Meanwhile, after a change in leadership at RA following McLennan’s ousting as chairman, Robinson tried to downplay any bad blood between the trans-Tasman neighbours.
“There was enough said on both sides of the Tasman back then. We’re moving on. We certainly passed on our regards to Hamish and wished him well at the time of his resignation and we’ve welcomed Dan [Herbert] into the space and we’ll find the right time to spend more time with him as well. Very much focussed on facing forward,” he said.
“We might go through the odd moment, the odd challenge, but there’s a strong Anzac spirit between the countries. It appropriately has its moments of contention, it’s appropriately fierce on the field, but people like Brett Robinson, John Eales, George Gregan, Paul McLean, Mike Hawker, who all served RA with great distinction and now through to Dan and Phil, we have a huge amount of respect for.”
AAP with staff writers
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
Auckland-Canterbury rivalry goes back decades before that. Actually, any team vs Auckland really. There were a couple of classic Auck-Cant clashes in the 1980s, if I recall rightly. And the Blues could get a good crowd; it's just that the crowd needs a good reason to attend. They know a good game when they hear one; Blues vs any Aussie teams are not those games. And I think the Blues fans realise not all is good with their team. The Blues management still haven't sorted their act out. If they did, that would be reflected on the scoreboard and in the gate takings.
Rugby Tragic
Roar Rookie
Yep mate, I was aware of that but I was referring more to the promotion of the game rather than maintaining their existence.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
For now yes but its about the money not the rest period or you would have more players take a year off and go play MLR. They may be trying to build a relationship with Japan but right now it is if Japan want something NZR or RA will name their price. That is a buyer seller relationship and it only works as long as you have something to sell. In the case of RM J1 club went to the player and brought off him. We also saw with the fight between NZR and RA that in that case NZR were the buyer and RA were the seller and it cost NZR about a SPR wage bill of the Highlanders to buy games against 5 Oz teams. When NZR/RA can't or don't make them members of SANZAAR and the RC how much longer will they be buyers.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
How far back does the Auckland-Canterbury rivalry go or is it the kings of the North v Kings of the South. I know North Harbour were created in 1987 and quickly rose to the top level. The 1994 Final between North Harbour and Auckland is exactly what fans want. Maybe not the 7 citing's but the rivalry. and a reason to pack a stadium. It seems like Auckland for its size and number of blowins from around New Zealand you would think the Blues would be getting bigger attendances for certain teams.
jeznez
Roar Guru
G'day mate. Structural cohesion I'm with you but the rest I think we are going to need to agree to disagree. For me, more spots, similar starter salaries, more games for developing players. Revenue wise there are more meaningful matches to sell to a broadcaster, more home games for attendances, more jerseys to sell sponsorship on and less costs in travel. Yes there are cost associated with more players but the with overall salaries down and the additional revenue opportunities mentioned, we can build something. And it only starts weakened. If we can repair the financials then we can keep more of our best onshore. We just should never bankrupt ourselves to do so. No way we should cut a team, the core priority of RA is to increase player numbers. We don't get there cutting pro teams. We should instead be looking at how we grow more of them to inspire kids in their local communities. We can't do that in Super (not and compete with NZ sides), we can do it with our own comp.
JD Kiwi
Roar Rookie
No worries Jez. Currently both RA and league are able to tell kids that "If you do well enough we'll be able to pay you big bucks in future." If RA can't say that it has to put them at a huge competitive disadvantage in attracting the best kids. As for the NRL not poaching many top mature players at the moment, clearly it will be much easier for them in the future if RA are much less competitive on top end salaries. Most players want the option of living in Australia - that's a big part of why most of your top players play most or all of their career at home. Then you have the structural performance issues for the Wallabies. Cohesion will be a huge factor, then you have the problem that foreign based players don't tend to be available for the whole of the Wallabies season - and even if they were, when would they get an off season? And you can forget about ensuring player welfare and attendance at camps. Even the finances are a problem. You're paying more players, running more teams, all with a development comp's income. You'll still have to pay players for international duty and it'll be harder to sell the compromised Wallabies. If money's your overriding concern you'd be better off with the Super teams playing more matches, with a standalone SRAU, and/or getting rid of your worst performing Super team.
Dan James
Roar Rookie
Your are clueless. Brilliant. Is shooting your own foot off a sport where you come from? I've only just become aware that you tried to refute my post. All that frothing and you came up with nothing. I haven't seen so many lies linked together since Trump's last speech.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
No Jez that was never the deal NZR agreed to. It was what Hamish wanted but didnt happen. What its actually referring to is the "new" SR competition, which will be supposedly run independent of the Unions, and will have its own TV deals. NZR will still negotiate its own TV deals for the rest of NZ rugby. Its impossible for Aus to expect half of NZs income for the ABs when the Wallabies are so low.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Well they wont then I guess.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
What ifs dont mean didly squat. What if some generous benefactor gives NZR 200Billion? What ifs are dumb.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Again its got nothing to do with where they sign. Its about whether they have signed for NZR. A sabatical in Japan allows them to come in and be available for their SR team so therefore available for NZ. If they arnt then they have to play an NPC game as part of their contract with NZR to then be available for NZ. If you followed NZ rugby you would know that but you are too keen to find fault rather than find facts.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
What was wrong with how they were treated? Piatau left for more money and SBW roamed where he felt like roaming. Every NZ player knows the selection policy and makes their own financial decisions. Piatau was a very average player at the WC. It showed how much UK club scene is a bit of a bludge. NZ certainly did not miss him and I cannot think of 1 NZer who was overseas that we would have loved in the team. Not 1. Its working 100% for NZR.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Hows the EPL going? Only 6 teams have ever won it since it became the EPL and Man U and Man U, Man City and Chealsea have won 25 of the 31 seasons since it became the EPL. You DO NOT need a comp where every team has a chance to win. EPL proves that, as does pretty much every sporting comp around the world. NRL has had same team win 3 years in a row.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
You seem to believe money means success. I have proof it doesnt. You do need enough money to compete but you dont need owners ego's wasting millions then pulling out. Not 1 SR club has dropped out yet so no, they arnt failing like the NH clubs are.
Richard Patterson
Roar Rookie
Great thoughts. One more... 5. Keep medical and training staff off the park when not necessary. This notion of "get a player down so we can flood the park with medical staff (code for kill opposition momentum) and needlessly stop the game for 60-90 seconds" MUST stop. Taking one hour to play one half of professional rugby is farcical and killing the game.
fiwiboy7042
Roar Rookie
The real rivalry in NZ SR is Blues and Crusaders (built on the Auckland-Canterbury NPC rivalry). Then you have Highlanders vs Crusaders. The Chiefs catchment area is slowly morphing into a greater south Auckland region!! :stoked: :stoked:
piru
Roar Rookie
I was never a fan of young Quade, but mature Quade is a different story to me.
Ballymore Brumby
Roar Pro
Disagree. The South African games generally tended to pull the smaller crowds in the regular season and unless it was the early kick-off, there were handful of viewers for the usual 2AM matches. Do agree though :shocked: about just having a full home and away season though. Or go the other way and have a short championship series between the top two Kiwi and Aussie sides after playing a full separate domestic home and away series.
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
I think they are giving special treatment players who play in Japan Rugby League One: 1) as they want to give an incentive for players to play there, rather than in Europe, as the standard of play is less damaging to the players - so they are in better shape for international duty. 2) They are trying to build a relationship with Japan.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
I wrote an article on it. Needs to include all 4 leagues including SLAR. If you invite them they will improve. Longer SRP waits the less bargaining power it will have.