Roar Pro
Joined July 2012
28.7k
Views
14
Published
153
Comments
My dream is for rugby league and rugby union to merge into one code. Imagine Biarritz playing Bradford, or Leicester playing the Storm, or the Rabbitohs playing Otago. It makes the mouth water. A unified code has so much potential and petty arguments about each are counter-productive. I enjoy most sports and have a passionate love for the All Blacks, Celtic FC and Wigan RL. I am a student of history and have enormous respect for those original northern English RL clubs like Wigan, Bradford, St Helens who broke away to form what was to become rugby league. I'm also a supporter of the Blues in Super Rugby and Everton FC in the EPL.
Published
Comments
I can't escape the irony in the way professional rugby union is set up in the Australasia. Those who run the game are generally…
Forget about the All Blacks v Wallabies – as a sports lover, I want to see the All Blacks v the Kangaroos. And I…
In July this year, New Zealand Rugby Union CEO Steve Tew updated the media on the progress of negotiations to bring Sonny Bill Williams…
The origins of rugby league lay in the close-mindedness of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Having tried their utmost best throughout the early 1890s…
In an article in today's New Zealand Herald, rugby writer Gregor Paul lambasts the New Zealand Rugby Union for failing to send an All…
In my last Roar article I alluded, in an off-handed way, to the intriguing notion of the All Blacks representing New Zealand in international…
The Swans v Saints AFL game in Wellington, New Zealand provided me, and no doubt many thousands of other New Zealanders, with the first…
The late comic genius Spike Milligan wrote one of the funniest books I ever read. It was about his war days and it was…
I've often wondered why the Warriors or the Waratahs haven't won a title. I see a lot of similarlities between them. At first glance…
It's taken me a while to absorb that Welsh victory over the weekend. What a cracker of a game. It was a victory built…
I'll begin with three home truths for all Australian rugby fans. First, unless a miracle happens, putting the third tier right is going to…
In the next month or so the All Blacks will add a further, perhaps lesser known but still amazing, achievement to their illustrious list…
There's been a lot of recent speculation in the media about the possibility of an NRL Nines tournament being held each year in Auckland.…
Super Rugby has kicked off again for another season. The competition is often billed as the best rugby competition in the world, but unless…
Anyone who’s played rugby knows the head is off limits for rucking and only worst clowns stand on people’s heads. Horwill is not that type of person to do that, his record doesn’t say so. He’s a hard player, but no mug. He’e been cleared and the IRB should stick to their core role which is distributing Gilberts to 3rd World countries and organising tournaments – the IRB have no place as a party in judicial proceedings.
Horwill: Rucking was a complete accident
“What do I know about rugby league in schools in New Zealand?” – Quite a bit actually – more than you know about RL in SA it seems. I’ve lived all my life in NZ, went to school in NZ, played rugby in the school system from the age of 4 to 18 during the dark days when you couldn’t play rugby league as a school boy, and watched my son go through school in NZ as a union player on Saturday, then a league player on Sunday. Not sure what you mean by “massive chip on my shoulder” when all my article is saying is the facts about rugby league’s lack of official recognition in SA. There is no race card or victim mentality here, just the facts, and as a league fan, I thought you would’ve welcomed this expose on the plight of your beloved game in South Africa.
The plight of South African rugby league
SA, I believe SARU are scared, why else would they block RL membership of SASCOC? I agree RU is a religion in sth africa, which makes the SARU attitude all the more ridiculous – it’s like an elephant being concerned about a praying mantis. It doesn’t make sense.
The plight of South African rugby league
Rob9 – yes I’m aware there’s a lot of black players out there, but in reality there’s not enough, and as a mass sport for the black population, there’s still a fair way for RU to go. I think RL has potential to be attractive to the black community, both as a sport to play, but also to participate in politically and organisationally.
The plight of South African rugby league
Axel, what the article is saying is there must be a fair go. To insist rugby league must come under the umbrella of rugby union is plain wrong – you know it, and I know it. Also, the SACOC Article of Association quite clearly should allow RL membership immediately, but they are breaking their own rules – not rules I’ve made up or pulled out of nowhere – their OWN rules, as published on their web site. All I’m suggesting is fairness and equity – what’s the problem with that?
The plight of South African rugby league
AR, this is not a victim piece. It is merely putting on the table the facts. The fact is SASCOC’s refusal to admit rugby league to its membership is not based on any proper legal or moral or historical reason. This is ‘not playing the victim’ card – I am just trying to inform readers.
The plight of South African rugby league
Good article, but first thing is I simply won’t believe he’s signed with the Bulldogs until I see it. Media reports nowadays about code hoppers have zero credibility.
Izzy, you’d be better off in rugby
Whoa that is a shaky Wallaby squad. They are going to find it tough against this Lions outfit. Will make for interesting viewing. On paper, at this stage, you’d have to go with the Lions.
Wallabies 2013 Lions Tour squad announcement: Live blog
Cheers matt, some valid points there. It’s not just about helping AFL, but also about giving the NZRU access to the lucrative Victorian based sports market, which it is never going to crack by playing rugby union. There’s an untouched market of 10 million sports fanatics, responsible for a 1.3 billion dollar tv contract on the NZRU’s doorstep, waiting for exploitation. It would be a greedy, self-centred approach by the NZRU to take, but its only a matter of time before capitalism in big sports will reflect the greed and lack of ethics we regularly find in big business around the world.
International Rules: a new frontier for the All Blacks?
Brendan, thanks for your comments. My article looks at what might be in 30 years time. There’s no way an AB AFL team could start up now, or even in the next decade, for the very reasons you mention. But over time things will be a lot different if the AFL continue to develop in NZ. I remember when the Winfield Cup first came on NZ Tv around 1989. No one in their wildest dreams thought there would be an NZ team in that comp. Within 5 years, the Auckland Warriors were born and look at how hugely successful that club has been for the sport of league in NZ (not necessarily on field). Things can happen very quickly, and attitudes can change very quickly. More and more kiwis, either locally developed ones or ones who grew up in Australia with NZ heritage, will be playing top level AFL in the coming years. The CEO of Aussie Rules in NZ was on the radio the other day saying 30,000 kiwi kids participated in ‘Kiwi Kick’ (aka ‘Aus Kick’) last year. This is only going to grow. So while today, there would be no foundation for a national NZ team, the building blocks are being put in place to change the situation over time.
International Rules: a new frontier for the All Blacks?
My initial thoughts were he is too old, and there’s lots of young talent at 10 – Farrell, Sexton, Biggar, but if Wilkinson can shine in the Heineken finals, I would pick him in the squad.
Wilkinson wants another crack at Wallabies
I am all for shirt sponsorship, but in this particular case you have to look closely at AIG and think ‘is this the type of company I want the ABs to be associated with?’ given AIG’s track record. I also referred to the AIG sponsorship as an example of how quickly our seemingly ‘entrenched’ attitudes can change. Ten years ago I would have been dead against any form of sponsorship on the shirt, passionately. Now I support it, but just have a problem with the sponsor. A silvery white Apple logo on the front of the shirt, now that would have been something to behold.
International Rules: a new frontier for the All Blacks?
thanks for the comment Allanthus. Yes there are risks, as you correctly point out, one of them is the weakening of the brand aura.
International Rules: a new frontier for the All Blacks?
30 years is a long time Brendan, I think that would be heaps of time, especially if say an AFL franchise started in NZ in the next decade. Look at how much international rugby union has progressed in Italy for example over the last 3 decades.
International Rules: a new frontier for the All Blacks?
I agree Nick, in the event of the ABs entering a new arena, I am sure they will bring all those qualities I mentioned in my article to the table – eg, respect for the jersey, technical superiority, conditioning etc
International Rules: a new frontier for the All Blacks?
Boomshanka, thanks for your comments and insight. You raise an excellent point regarding the AIG sponsorship. Only five years ago, the idea of an insolvent American insurance company blazing it’s logo across the AB jersey would have been viewed as sacrilege. If it happened ten years ago, there would have been blood in the streets. Yet when the AIG deal was announced last year, there wasn’t even a whimper. As a society our attitudes to everything from gay marriage to sports are changing rapidly. I can see a time in the future when the corporate greed which ran rampant in outfits like AIG will imbue our sporting organisations in Australasia too.
International Rules: a new frontier for the All Blacks?
Mark, keep putting your head in the sand. Rival codes, clubs and their owners are already helping each other out, all over the world. There’s so many examples of this already happening. It’s not a case of ‘helping out another code” anyway, but of generating more and more income. The AFL All Blacks would make MORE (and lots more) money for the NZRU, not less. And whether you like it or not, making money is going to become the sole focus for all sports. And, yes I can imagine the Wallabies giving their name to the Aussie Rules team, just as I can imagine one day, Man U, Celtic FC, the Dallas Cowboys and other great sports brands will be branching out into other commercial spheres and markets that may not necessarily include the same sports for which they became famous for.
International Rules: a new frontier for the All Blacks?
Dave, yes it is pure fantasy for the moment, but in business nothing is sacred any more. Change in sports and society is so rapid that I don’t think you can discount entirely the notion of a sport or brand investing in another. It’s already happening, on a small scale. Barcelona FC are looking to establish a rugby union club. The IRB invests in Murderball (wheelchair rugby). For many decades Fullham FC owned and operated the only professional rugby league club in London. The owners of Wigan Athletic is virtually the same outfit who own Wigan RL.Many of the American owners of EPL clubs also own franchises in NHL, NBA or NFL. One way or another, this mutli-sports ownership model will make its way into our sports landscape. And like Rachel Hunter says, it may not happen over night, but it will happen.
International Rules: a new frontier for the All Blacks?
Mark you need to read the article closely. I’ll spell it out for you slowly, so you can understand. This is crystal ball gazing 30 years into the future when the landscape will be much different from what is now. If the AFL experiment in Wgtn continues for a sustained period of time, over a period of decades (NOT one game) who is to say it “will never happen”? I’m thinking long term bro. Look at how much the AFL, NRL, Super Rugby and soccer have changed in this part of the world over the last 30 years. Sport is big business. It’s cut-throat out there. Big fishes in small ponds like the AFL and NZRU need to find innovative ways to generate more income. Innovative sports organisations, whether the All Blacks, Man U, or others where the brand name means everything will look to expand income streams, and it would be totally stupid to discount investing in other sports, especially where commercial benefits could be lucrative. Nothing is sacred anymore in business. It’s all about making money, money and more money.
International Rules: a new frontier for the All Blacks?
Boomshanka, most kiwis couldn’t name more than 5 AFL clubs, but Collingwood is a different story. Before the ANZAC game I’d never seen a full Aussie Rules match before in my life, but since I was a boy, I’ve known who Collingwood are. They would pull more people for the simple reason that they would have more of their supporters come over from across the ditch, and they have a higher recognition factor in NZ than either St Kilda, or the Swans (prior to the ANZAC game).
Of course I do not believe the NZRU would contemplate an All Blacks branded AFL team – if you look closely at my article, I refer to it as “dreaming”. The NZRU have always been commercially conservative, and therefore by definittion don’t have entrepreneurial guts to take a risk. But I believe the idea is intriguing. Could the All Blacks mana and history of outstanding success be transported into another code? Food for thought (or dreams).
Dear AFL, welcome to New Zealand
As a kiwi I thought the match was a huge success. For many, including myself, it was the first time I’d seen a full, professional Aussie Rules game. The skills and speed on display were impressive.
New Zealand ANZAC Day fixture is here to stay
Where and when? And was he found guilty? I’ve never seen or heard of him of being found guilty of rucking another player’s head?
Horwill: Rucking was a complete accident