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'If New Zealand and France aren't playing it doesn't excite me'
Danny Care has approved of the new World 12s competition scheduled to launch next year in the belief it could be the spark needed to improve rugby as a spectacle. Former England scrum-half Care was an influential figure as Harlequins lit up the Gallagher Premiership last season with a thrilling attacking style that swept them all the way to the title.
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Just weeks after Quins had stormed Twickenham in swashbuckling fashion, the British and Irish Lions fought out a dreary three-Test series against South Africa that was a hard watch even for purists. It is hoped that the World 12s, a competition that has similarities to cricket’s Indian Premier League, will attract new fans by having fewer players on the pitch – twelve on each side – using adapted laws designed to speed up play in games that last only 30 minutes.
Taking place in August and September, the hope is that top players from across the world enticed by large salaries will be auctioned to appear for eight privately funded franchises. It must first overcome several major stumbling blocks but while the response of governing bodies has so far been lukewarm, Care believes it could be the shake-up the sport needs.
“I can see issues with it, like player release, clubs and unions not wanting players to go and play it, but I do see the sport needing change,” Care said when representing Harlequins at the virtual 2021/22 Premiership launch. “If you watch the majority of international Test matches at the moment, if New Zealand and France aren’t playing then it doesn’t really excite me, I’ll be honest with you.
“If there are any ways of trying to change that and inspire kids to pick up a rugby ball then I’m all for it. I tried to get my son to watch the Lions tour and he was like ‘what is this’? I’d like to think our club tries to play in a way that inspires kids to play. I know international rugby is very different to club rugby and they say ‘you can’t play like that in international rugby’. Why not? Why can’t you? You can if your coaches let you play like that. Maybe the 12s thing is an opportunity for coaches to look at that and think ‘maybe we could play more of an expansive game’. It’s certainly something I’d want to watch and maybe get involved in – if I make the auction!”
It was August 7 when Northampton talisman Biggar limped out of the Lions Test series decider versus the Springboks
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 9, 2021
Exeter boss Rob Baxter fears the competition will put players and clubs in a difficult position and the problems surrounding player release are the biggest hurdle it faces. Care, however, insists players would welcome the opportunity to earn more money. “If we have all the best English players playing in England for the majority of the year, the English team is going to be better,” added Care, the seasoned 34-year-old Harlequins half-back.
“Let them do that, but also allow them to go and earn a bit of money. Let’s be honest, not many players earn enough to not have to go and work the day after they retire. We’re very lucky to do what we do but it’s not cricket, certainly not football, so if we can bring more money into the sport and attract more who want to play it then it’s only a good thing for the game.”
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It's been an incredibly busy off-season in England and here is the exhaustive list of ins and out at all 13 clubs for the new 2021/22 Premiership campaign https://t.co/GO20PpllQu
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 8, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s a good, timely wake up call for NZ Rugby (seem to be a few of them lately!) - sort out the bureaucratic nonsense at board level. We can’t expect to stay the number one option without keeping fans/players engaged. We’ve obviously been bleeding players to league for years but can’t let the floodgates open (although I think this headline is hyperbolic as it’s a result of a recent Warriors pathways system where they are tracking things more closely) Understand the need to focus boys on rugby if they’re at a proud rugby school too, don’t think it’s harsh at all re Barakat in Hamilton. Reward the committed players with squad positions. An elite 1st XV system in NZ has done more for league than they even realise, think it’s good to protect our game further.
6 Go to commentsDon’t pay a blind bit of notice to Lukie… he likes the sound of his own voice and is always looking for something controversial to say. He has been banging on about Leinster's defensive system all season like he knows something Jacques Nienebar doesn’t. Which is the reason why he didn’t apply for the job obviously
14 Go to commentsWho got the benefits out of Schmidt, Lowe, Aki, and Gibson Park?
14 Go to commentsWhat’s new its a common occurrence, just the journos out there expecting a negative spin. The outcome will be beneficial to jordie and Leinster. The home grown lads hav got some experience to step up to and be more competitive, that or spend the 6 months keeping the bench warm.
14 Go to commentsI’m all for speeding up the game. But can we be certain that the slowness of the game contributed to fans walking out? I’m not so sure. Super rugby largely suffered from most fans only being able to, really, follow the games played in their own time zone. So at least a third of the fan base wasn’t engaged at any point in time. As a Saffer following SA teams in the URC - I now watch virtually every European game played on the weekend. In SR, I wouldn’t be bothered to follow the games being played on the other side of the world, at weird hours, if my team wasn’t playing. I now follow the whole tournament and not just the games in my time zone. Second, with New Zealand teams always winning. It’s like formula one. When one team dominates, people lose interest. After COVID, with SA leaving and Australia dipping in form, SR became an even greater one horse race. Thats why I think Japan’s league needs to get in the mix. The international flavor of those teams could make for a great spectacle. But surely if we believe that shaving seconds off lost time events in rugby is going to draw fans back, we should be shown some figures that supports this idea before we draw any major conclusions. Where are the stats that shows these changes have made that sort of impact? We’ve measured down to the average no. Of seconds per game. Where the measurement of the impact on the fanbase? Does a rugby “fan” who lost interest because of ball in play time suddenly have a revived interest because we’ve saved or brought back into play a matter of seconds or a few minutes each game? I doubt it. I don’t thinks it’s even a noticeable difference to be impactful. The 20 min red card idea. Agreed. Let’s give it a go. But I think it’s fairer that the player sent off is substituted and plays no further part in the game as a consequence.
2 Go to commentsThose are pretty good draws for the two top Aussie teams. I certainly wouldn't want my Chiefs to have a quarter final in Brisbane. None of the top teams will want the Crusaders.
1 Go to commentsHonestly, I am a bit lost here …. Ireland - RSA was (at least in my opinion) perhaps (from a purely technical / rugby-skills-show point of view) the pinnacle of the RWC2023 - almost flawless playing (putting aside the kicking of RSA which was the difference between the two teams), rugby at it’s very best …. if I were a Bok and after the game some Irish lads came around saying “see you in 5 weeks same place”, I definitely wouldn’t have thought of it as being in any way “arrogant”, rather a sort of jolly “if we both continue to play like this, no one could stop us” - besides, few of us fans would have, at that time, been surprised to see the same teams playing on 23 september and 28 october 2023 ….. well, we all know Ireland chose to hit a slump to keep the QF curse alive …..
135 Go to commentsThere’s value gleaned from having an All Black star running and training with your team. How many games he starts (or even where he plays in the backline) will be decided on a week by week basis based on the needs for that week. But the overall learning and growth for all concerned, I’d think, is massively beneficial. Especially for Irish players.
14 Go to commentsSon, whith just " raw athlete “ , you are able to beat “ better rugby players “ by 74 points…. May be England should recruit in athletics….
1 Go to commentsPffft. It’s not a one-way street bud and Irish teams don’t seem to have had an issue taking kiwi players previously.
14 Go to commentsParticularly great to have captain Scott Barrett back after going off last week for the Crusaders. Codie Taylor a real leader and mighty Tamaiti Williams join Fletcher Newell in the front row. Those 2 will make a big difference. Great bench with the likes of Tom Christie, Jamie Hannah etc who are playing well. Should be a great derby.
1 Go to commentsDoes a blitz defence not have a weekness against a well-placed grubber kick, perhaps angled cleverly. All the defence is up and the full-back can only cover so much ground. Thoughts?
28 Go to commentsWhile Iose is destructive in the Canes set-up, he is not big for an international 8 and could struggle against the top teams. With his speed, he could be developed into a seven but, as Ben points out, he doesn’t show a scavenging game with the Canes or make dominating tackles. Sotutu has shown a step up this year and attitude plus motivation seems to be the big areas of growth. Deserves another AB shot imo.
3 Go to commentsNaholo is my only question mark for this side. He wasn’t the only one who had a forgettable game against the Brumbies but he was passive, defensively poor and generally lacked energy. Needs to get a whole lot busier for me. I would have liked to see Sullivan on that wing with Higgins on the bench (if staying with a 6-2 as BeegMike points out on here!)
3 Go to commentsWell, I am sure that Eben said exactly what he meant to say, exactly how he meant to say it. Does he strike you as a man that doesn't know arrogance when he sees it. He should know it because he has shaken the arrogance out of many foes before.
135 Go to commentsPls get it into your thick arrogant heads that the final was played by two Southern Hemisphere teams. The best against the best and that Argentina was just unlucky otherwise non of the Northetn Hemisphere teams would have seen the light of day.
135 Go to commentsAs long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
6 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
135 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
14 Go to comments