'Disappointed': Ex-All Blacks underwhelmed by inaugural Super Round event

A pair of former All Blacks have expressed their disappointment of Super Rugby Pacific’s inaugural Super Round event in Melbourne over the weekend.

AAMI Park hosted all five of Super Rugby Pacific’s round 10 matches, the first cross-border fixtures of the season between New Zealand and Australian teams, in the first-ever iteration of the Super Round.

Those matches were played in front of half-empty crowds, though, as Super Rugby Pacific attracted a reported figure of only 30,000 attendees across three days of matches.

What the All Blacks squad could look like halfway through Super Rugby Pacific | Aotearoa Rugby Pod

What the All Blacks squad could look like halfway through Super Rugby Pacific | Aotearoa Rugby Pod

Concerns have since been raised about public interest in the event, and Super Rugby Pacific as a whole, with All Blacks great Jeff Wilson taking aim at the quality of rugby that was seen in Melbourne from Friday through to Sunday.

Speaking on The Breakdown, Wilson said he was left underwhelmed by the maiden Super Round event, saying it failed to live up to his on-field and off-field expectations.

“I’m disappointed about that, the fact that this was supposed to be a Super Round, there was supposed to be big crowds,” Wilson told The Breakdown.

“The upper tier was empty. I’m assuming they tried to sell tickets for it. I went into this weekend excited, looking forward to the contest.

“I thought there was a lot of penalties, I thought there was a lot of scrums. Once again, we had ill-discipline. I’m hoping it’s going to improve between all of these sides going forward.”

Wilson’s views were shared by former All Blacks loose forward Steven Bates, who told The Breakdown that Super Rugby Pacific officials should have resorted to giving away free tickets if necessary in order to provide a sell-out spectacle.

“I think as a showpiece for a Super Round, even if you’ve got to give away tickets, this is a showpiece and the stands had to be full,” Bates said.

“They’re trying to make a mark, they’re trying to make an imprint, and you look at the cameras, I was at home and the wife goes, ‘There’s a good crowd’, and the cameras pan out and then you see the top tier.

“Even if they had to give away tickets, I think they had to, to say ‘We are here, this is a Super Round, look how many people want to watch a game’.”

Melbourne’s poor Super Round turnout paled in comparison to that of the AFL match between Richmond and Melbourne on Sunday evening, which drew a crowd of more than 70,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The Melbourne Storm’s annual Anzac Day NRL clash against the Warriors at AAMI Park on Monday is also expected to attract a typically large crowd, illustrating the disparity of interest between rugby union and its rival codes in the Victorian capital.

Nevertheless, Wilson found one positive from the Super Round in the performance of the Fijian Drua, who impressed against the league-leading Blues despite falling to a 35-18 defeat on Saturday evening.

“I did enjoy the Fijian Drua, the way that they played, the enterprise, they took the Blues head on,” Wilson told The Breakdown.

“They weren’t good enough to get a win, but they were the one, for me, highlight out of the weekend in terms of the fact that they were there to compete and they were there to do the best they could, and it wasn’t quite enough.

“Blues, though, showed the signs of a really, really good team.”