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Charles Piutau set to launch rugby's first NFT

By Sam Roberts
Charles Piutau /Getty

Charles Piutau has retreated outside to his garden. The family home is too busy and bustling with kids over-excited about the impending promise of Christmas to take a video call safely. Those magic feet of his, so often used to make other rugby players look foolish, have tiptoed outside. His fleeting thought to me as our call begins is that he hopes it doesn’t rain.

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His brow furrows as we talk about Bristol and how things are going. The turnaround from the side so dazzling for the last couple of seasons is flummoxing. With just Bath beneath them in the Premiership table, before the EPCR postponement news of their fixture with Stade Francais, Bristol were no doubt trying to realise some form in Europe, helped by a Covid pass in the first round.

“Yeah, we did well last weekend- a five-point victory!” he laughs. “The points system is so tough in the pool stages and we’ve been given the best result in round one… It’s tricky, we’ve just heard that this Sunday has been postponed and we don’t know when that will be. It’s always tough when we can’t play rugby as that is what we look forward to every weekend. But in saying that, it is important to keep every safe and healthy. Our minds have quickly shifted to Leicester next week and we are already preparing for that challenge. It’s been a difficult start in the Premiership. One we probably didn’t see coming. Especially with how we felt in pre-season. But we need to keep learning. It’s a very tough competition.”

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Also unexpected has been the recent announcement from World Rugby around international availability, allowing countries like Tonga to repatriate players who have played for other countries.

“I didn’t see it coming. Through Pacific Rugby Welfare, we’ve made a bit of noise about it before and not much came of it, so I was really surprised to hear the announcement from World Rugby. It is incredibly exciting and I love the thought of playing for Tonga. It’s a huge boost for Tier 2 nations, specifically the Pacific Nations, it will make them more competitive. Names like Vae’a Fifita, Malakai Fekitoa, Ngani Laumape, to see them in a red jersey representing Tonga, that gives me goosebumps for sure. If they want me, I’ll be there. It would make my whole family very proud.”

We talk about the World Cup in two years’ time and how great it would be for the game to see repowered Pacific Nations. We talk about trying to stay fit and agile, and the way age can creep up on you but then he lets slip an intriguing revelation. Perhaps one that shouldn’t have been surprising, knowing how well the former All Black can spot an opportunity: Non-Fungible Tokens (or NFTs). All of a sudden, we are talking about the very latest piece of investment to hit the market.

For the uninitiated, an NFT is a digital token. Something like a bitcoin, but different in the sense that they are unique and cannot be traded like for like. They are the original ownership of the intellectual property, be that video, picture or, as in this case, artwork form. They are starting to get investors very excited and, most recently, World Rugby themselves announced their intention to move into the digital collectibles marketplace. Their own press statement read: “World Rugby plans to launch a programme of digital collectibles to engage fans and transform its commercial models. World Rugby seeks suppliers to co-develop a non-fungible token (NFT) programme.”

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“I’ve always been in property myself,” explains Piutau, “But then, a friend called Ryan Anthoney, who I knew through our kids, and who also does a lot of work in Bristol with Recharge Fitness (gyms and gym equipment), came to me with an idea. And weirdly, I knew all about NFTs from NBA Top Shots. I knew that they can be really popular. And we had this idea to make these for rugby World Cup heroes and it’s gone from there. We launched Ruggerz NFT and went through a fair few trial stages and the first set go on sale proper this weekend. It is something very different and that makes it interesting.”

“It’s a balance, too. Between celebrating the superstars of our sport, but also trying to grow the game. We’ve been crying out for something like a good video game to reach a younger audience and while this isn’t it, it might reach different people and maybe a different generation.”

Exeter Bristol Premiership
(Photo by PA)

“Ruggerz has a Discord group and I’ve already been online and been talking to fans with Siale (Piutau) and Chris (Vui). We want to try and bring people together from around the world, build a good rugby community from this, too. Coming into the different places I have with my rugby career has always meant I got a lot out of rugby communities, I think we need to push this idea out more and I’m happy to be a part of it. Money from any sales will also go back into the Pacific Rugby Players’ Welfare Fund. It was a no brainer for me. We will just have to see how it goes!”

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I ask who has the rights to the Charles Piutau Ruggerz NFT card. He laughs.

“At the moment, it is World Cup stars that we are concentrating on for the NFTs. And I haven’t played in a World Cup, have I? Maybe in the future, 2023, with a Tongan crest on my red shirt? How much would you pay for it?”

I grimace, knowing I probably won’t have enough money. And my mind is taken back to his opening comment of our exchange. Charles Piutau has done a great deal already in a glittering rugby career; it’s an ambitious business idea but seeing how well it has worked in others sports, is Charles Piutau about to make it rain?

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J
Jon 31 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

32 Go to comments
j
john 3 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 5 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 7 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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