Official Rugby Thread

[GotSpin]

I saw that the union had the highest ratings for sport on Saturday

 

[social]

Australian rugby tv deal pays just over $30 million per year and most games are on a second tier station that very few watch

NRL & AFL both receive more than $400 million so world of difference

Money talks & rugby can’t compete here

 

[Burgey]

Australians on here are trying so hard to convince everyone that nobody in Oz watches rugby union

"Nobody" is hyperbole, but it is nowhere near what it was in the 90s and early-to-mid 2000s. Putting the premier provincial competition on pay tv has had the effect of marginalizing it some extent. It's a lesson which I'd hoped CA might have learned from, then they went and signed a deal where a stack of Aus cricket is now also only on pay tv too.

Decisions like that have hurt its mass appeal as a sport here. That and never looking west of ANZAC Parade for junior talent.

 

[social]

"Nobody" is hyperbole, but it is nowhere near what it was in the 90s and early-to-mid 2000s. Putting the premier provincial competition on pay tv has had the effect of marginalizing it some extent. It's a lesson which I'd hoped CA might have learned from, then they went and signed a deal where a stack of Aus cricket is now also only on pay tv too.

Decisions like that have hurt its mass appeal as a sport here. That and never looking west of ANZAC Parade for junior talent.

It’s no secret that the game has been grossly mismanaged with virtually all available money hosed up against the wall on professional rugby and the ARU ivory tower

Grassroots have been left to fend for themselves and are getting swamped by programs like Auskick

Factor in the perceived danger (can tell you that it’s a real issue with parents), lack of exposure and relative cost & it’s no surprise that the game is struggling

 

[the big bambino]

Australians on here are trying so hard to convince everyone that nobody in Oz watches rugby union

just what is your problem? Rugby isn’t popular here. Participation, audience or dollars. It doesn’t matter they jagged a crowd for a game at the scg. Rugby’s problems have been self inflicted and the game has degraded as a result. No use getting upset when people point that out.

 

[Shady Slim]

I saw that the union had the highest ratings for sport on Saturday

i mean the only other FTA sport it was up against was melbourneball so not big surprise

 

[Shady Slim]

I keep hearing the Fox media line that Union is dead but you keep filling up test venues, especially for the Bledisloe, and kiwis going over there aren't that ****in rich to do it all the time.

Depth seems to be more the issue with the NRL using Aus and NZ union as their other academy.

Tbh I'd say the NRL is in far more active decline atm, with pretty mediocre turnout for non-Origin games and NZ being far too significant of a player supply line for the national winter code of NSW and Queensland. Also the Melbourne Salary Sombrero keeps winning too many titles. Union over there appears to be cruising along average as ever and will only explode again when the Wallabies start winning. Honestly this might just be the squad if they can keep it on the park. The northern scum are better but the late Cheika era side would be blown off the park by England.

I've been getting into a little AFL and whatever they're doing to get the crowds in needs to be plagiarised by like every sport in the Southern Hemisphere.

I;m extremely biased but Vaai'i and Lord are outstanding talents. They have no right to be that big and still that athletic. Vaai'i especially could be an ATG.

union sells out test venues bc it has a very insular and very dedicated fanbase - i've met more union fans at sydney uni law school than i'd met in my entire life to that point* - cf league which is a tv rights monster and crucially has an enormous casual fanbase. league turnout here has been pretty meh for as long as i've been alive, which isn't to say the game can't improve (eg returning to suburban grounds) but rumours of decline are vastly overstated. i remember only about six years ago all of the talk was how the a league was going to become a monster and eat league, but that came and went. league is the people's sport and always will be

*edit: i note also it's pretty popular among all classes for nz expats, but other than that it's by posh wankers for posh wankers

 

[social]

You don’t accept a 60% discount in broadcast rights if the game is flourishing

It simply isn’t

That’s not a knock on any other country

It’s just reality as to the state of rugby here

 

[social]

union sells out test venues bc it has a very insular and very dedicated fanbase - i've met more union fans at sydney uni law school than i'd met in my entire life to that point* - cf league which is a tv rights monster and crucially has an enormous casual fanbase. league turnout here has been pretty meh for as long as i've been alive, which isn't to say the game can't improve (eg returning to suburban grounds) but rumours of decline are vastly overstated. i remember only about six years ago all of the talk was how the a league was going to become a monster and eat league, but that came and went. league is the people's sport and always will be

*edit: i note also it's pretty popular among all classes for nz expats, but other than that it's by posh wankers for posh wankers

Wallabies rarely sell out venues anymore

 

[James]

Internationally at least, its the strongest its ever been where any one of the top eight nations can beat the other and the Rugby World Cup is in the top 10 of global sporting events and growing further. Along with player numbers booming internationally according to World Rugby. League would love to have the international presence that Union has, but no country outside of Australia is really interested (small parts of NZ/England excluded).

 

[James]

Wallabies rarely sell out venues anymore

Past 2 Wallabies games were sell-outs (SCG and Suncorp). The improvement the Wallabies are showing, and the way the All Blacks are playing, the Bledisloe is definitely in play this year so I'd expect big crowds.

 

[social]

Internationally at least, its the strongest its ever been where any one of the top eight nations can beat the other and the Rugby World Cup is in the top 10 of global sporting events and growing further. Along with player numbers booming internationally according to World Rugby. League would love to have the international presence that Union has, but no country outside of Australia is really interested (small parts of NZ/England excluded).

League doesn’t care as it’s traditionally been run by ex players who aren’t interested in or capable of achieving global domination

NRL rights $400 million

ARU $30 million

To put that into perspective, the A league is worth 25% more than union here

 

[social]

Past 2 Wallabies games were sell-outs (SCG and Suncorp). The improvement the Wallabies are showing, and the way the All Blacks are playing, the Bledisloe is definitely in play this year so I'd expect big crowds.

It’s England & the All Blacks which are massive draws

Now do virtually any other country

 

[James]

League doesn’t care as it’s traditionally been run by ex players who aren’t interested in or capable of achieving global domination

When it comes to Australia, don't disagree.

I'd love to see the NRL done away with and have all the players join the ARU - that would be some team once they got used to the game. Would never happen though of course.

 

[James]

This shows just how big Rugby has become globally:

Organizers of the Rugby World Cup, as well as the Global Sports Impact, state that the Rugby World Cup is the third largest sporting event in the world, behind only the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics.

 

[social]

When it comes to Australia, don't disagree.

I'd love to see the NRL done away with and have all the players join the ARU - that would be some team once they got used to the game. Would never happen though of course.

Players aren’t interested due to money and the game itself

I played union for many years and am a lifelong fan but this is where we’re at

 

[social]

This shows just how big Rugby has become globally:

Organizers of the Rugby World Cup, as well as the Global Sports Impact, state that the Rugby World Cup is the third largest sporting event in the world, behind only the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics.

It’s huge due to lack of competition in most markets

Australia is very different as most of our best athletes play other sports for a number of reasons

 

[James]

Players aren’t interested due to money and the game itself

I played union for many years and am a lifelong fan but this is where we’re at

It's a shame because the Wallabies has an awesome legacy and certainly has the potential to get back to where they were. Hopefully the World Cup here in a few years will get kids interested in the gam.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

League would love to have the international presence that Union has, but no country outside of Australia is really interested (small parts of NZ/England excluded).

PNG

 

[James]

PNG

Well you learn something new every day. I knew they played it, but didn't realise it was their national sport until I googled it.