Sports 🏉 Rugby

[CWC]

This was a really good podcast that I assume that @Lord Gnome of Mooloolaba has listened to based on his comment about no increase in salaries.
I had never heard this point on South Africa's exit before (from 4:24):

View: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0pofsVn54CxIFHOqu6qjzA?si=dsLI9YdbRTaxmoZCAh3rVA&t=264&pi=New64uoxSX2So

Weird they haven’t talked about wahs for ages? Not popping up on my timeline anyway

Super Rugby was initially a brilliant competition, they had the right formula, and then messed with it when it became a you know what measuring contest within SANZAR.

The initial 5, 4, 3 structure between NZ, SA and AUS was about right in terms of markets, player base and interest.

It's actually hilarious how much it's been mismanaged since around 2005. SA wanted more teams and went through the whole court process of the Cheetahs and Southern Kings. Both ended up in URC after failing in Super Rugby and both are now dead as franchise teams at the elite level. Same in Aus, first the Force, then the Rebels. The Force they kicked out then let back in and the Rebels died after losing an astonishing $23m AUD. Invite in Japan, now gone. Invite in Argentina, gone too. Create a new NZ franchise which was never realistic.

What's left is a competition where the original franchises make up the current top 8, and the original SA teams, once they went to franchises, are the ones left in the URC. Surely that's a pretty stark realisation they messed up a good thing with all the duff, non-viable expansions.

Feels like they have two options. Either beg the South Africans to come back and run a 22 home and away game Super 12 season, or collapse the entire thing and go back to a pre-Super 12 style comp where you have, for arguments sake, the top 8 finishers in the previous season's NPC, a Fijian rep side, a Tongan rep side, a Samoan rep side, a Japanese rep side, and the 4 Australian teams in a 4x4 group stage tournament with quarter finals, semis and a final. A bit like the European Rugby Cup or Champions League in football. It could run concurrently with the NPC.

I can't see the current tournament continuing in its current form with 10 teams.

Started watching in 1997 and I think it had a short slump after the 2007 world cup disaster and then it did well till 2019 with Japan hosting the world cup, Argentina improving as a team and national side, SA still in the comp and winning the WC, then post covid it went to crap and Webby took over the warriors in 2023

The blues vs crusaders 2022 final was still an event but it’s just got worse since

 

[snake77]

The rugby administrators have some challenges ahead of them. The Rebels and now Moana Pasifika folding due to financial issues. The competition in effect shrinking is a tough sell to broadcasters.

Before the NRL got out of the 10 year deal signed after the Super League war they were struggling financially. Clubs close to going under. The NRL would step in similar reasons to their concerns during covid. They are contracted for a specific amount of games per week.

The broadcasters will want a stable competition and to know they will get the number of games they are paying for. Also now it means less when they negotiate they have less content to provide the broadcasters.

About 10 years ago they were obsessed with expansion with teams in Argentina and Japan. Covid may have just sped things up in terms of the competition shrinking. I know South Africa leaving is often sighted as a big thing. Football wise it would be good having them. The financial side was overated in my opinion.

The current structure is more workable. Your team won't go missing for a few weeks while they play in South Africa. I doubt many people were watching those games live.

 

[sydneywarrior92]

anyone watching Chiefs vs Hurricanes? The super rugby games have actually been quite entertaining this year.

 

[Lord Gnome of Mooloolaba]

Shame NZ rugby is going to be bankrupt in 5 years....

 

[CWC]

I see these ads for super rugby with kfc…why can’t they get healthy food companies to sponsor it, we know all the hospital clogs and obesity/poor health in this country and they are pushing the fans and kids to the junkiest food to clog up the capillaries

Even Wendy’s is not as fried and oily as kfc

A lot of medicine and junk food commercials and promos but lack of healthy nutrition awareness campaigns

 

[Lord Gnome of Mooloolaba]

Looks like Moana Pacifika are going to default on their debts too (including $2.7m to Sport NZ aka the taxpayer)

 

[CWC]

Looks like Moana Pacifika are going to default on their debts too (including $2.7m to Sport NZ aka the taxpayer)

You wonder how much of our incomes are robbed to pay for these crap eh while the rates and insurances blow up by 20-50%, even when the housing price is DOWN

 

[Lord Gnome of Mooloolaba]

Be interesting to see if the government eventually bails out the NZRU to "save" the all blacks in a couple of years too.

 

[sup42]

Be interesting to see if the government eventually bails out the NZRU to "save" the all blacks in a couple of years too.

Hope not.

That mindset is how we end up being lumped with white elephants like Eden park, old boys networks, ex Grammar schools gin drinking ruddy cheeked dunderheads.

 

[CWC]

It’s quite insane when ABs can’t sell out a home game, we’re suppose to be the Brazil of rugby (although Brazil’s downgraded from S to A-tier these days too)

 

[Lord Gnome of Mooloolaba]

Silver Lake is likely to demand that all black "home" games are played in LA, Tokyo, Dubai etc in the coming years to ensure that they get their $400m out before the predicted insolvency.

 

[Falcon]

I took great delight as a long suffering league fan and the numerous ‘state house rugby’ jibes over the years to see the great Tana Umanga quoted this week following the demise of Moana Pacifica , that the pacific nations now risks losing their talent to ‘Rugby League’ .. take a minute and let that sink in.

 

[CWC]

I took great delight as a long suffering league fan and the numerous ‘state house rugby’ jibes over the years to see the great Tana Umanga quoted this week following the demise of Moana Pacifica , that the pacific nations now risks losing their talent to ‘Rugby League’ .. take a minute and let that sink in.

NRL really need to look at NZ expansion in 5 years and I'd love for the game to be developed in South Africa, they'd be a power house in international games