The one thing Ardie Savea would 'love to see change' about rugby
All Blacks back-rower Ardie Savea has revealed the one thing he would love to change about rugby, predicting that the popularity of the sport should explode in the coming years. He also named the two players who most influenced him growing up as a youngster in Wellington. The 29-year-old has featured as the cover story of the latest Rugby World magazine, the 68-cap Savea joining England’s Maro Itoje in a wide-ranging joint Q and A interview about a wide variety of rugby aspects.
Savea is currently in the UK where the All Blacks are preparing to face Scotland in Edinburgh after he won his 68th cap last Saturday in the comprehensive Cardiff win over Wales. Asked if he could change anything about rugby what would it be, he replied: “One thing I’d love to see is the marketing of rugby (change).
“People come for the rugby game but what American sports and South Africa do really well is make it an event. So you go to a game but there will be, say, a braai before the game, everyone is there to connect. The game is there but there are a lot of things happening around the game, around that space.
“It’s having a family day, getting food trucks and live bands playing so people get there two hours before the game and it’s not just about watching the rugby game, so it’s more appealing.”
Read our exclusive interview with Ardie Savea and Maro Itoje in the current issue – on sale now! https://t.co/A4NIbBkW2w pic.twitter.com/GO3Q0rX5Yv
— Rugby World (@Rugbyworldmag) November 5, 2022
Reflecting on his career so far, he nominated digital marketing as the biggest change he has witnessed in rugby. “There has been a change in the marketing of the game digitally. That has been amplified over the last couple of years and we’re just scraping the surface; it should explode over the next couple of years. The marketing of the game and the players has massively increased since I started.”
All Blacks regular Savea would like to see even more promotion, though, as he believes rugby must make more of its individual stars – the players. “I’m really a big advocate of players going direct to fans and cutting out the middle man, people doing their thing. Content creation helps boys grow their personal brands outside of footy.
“I personally believe rugby is at a stage that it wants to change in that space. In order to do that there needs to be a change, maybe creating hero players for the public, stars. At the same time, if players get too big for their boots, teammates and team cultures bring them down, there will be conversations.
“We don’t market rugby like American sports; there are great personalities but they don’t get showcased. If players want to show their personalities, it’s great for the game and those players. On the other side, in terms of building a brand, it’s good for their teams and organisations as well.
“Players who start to have their own personal brands, other opportunities come from that. There are opportunities to grow the game and to help individual players create income outside of footy and for life after footy.”
What is the best way to go about increasing that popularity? “It’s governing bodies and teams being more open. All teams have content creators in the environment, so it’s being more open and heroing individuals. It’s getting to the stage now where it’s about growing the game,” continued Savea, who made his All Blacks debut in 2016.
“A lot of the content side can depend on if you win or lose; if you are winning you get anything you want, if you lose there’s no access. But to grow numbers, to grow ‘x’ amount, people want to see emotions win or lose. It’s how you balance all those things.
“We have seen what that [Drive to Survive] has done for F1. Rugby is full of characters, you only have to spend 20 minutes in a rugby environment, the culture, to see the characters that exist in the sport, it just needs to be showcased.”
Reflecting on his love of rugby growing up, Savea nominated two former All Blacks as the players who most left an impression on him. “I have two players that I loved,” he said. “Joe Rokocoko on the wing and Ma’a Nonu. Rokocoko scoring tries and Nonu bumping off people caught my attention I guess.
“My game as a loose forward, I don’t play like a traditional forward. As a kid, it was who caught my attention and that shaped the way I play a little bit. A few of the tries I’ve scored I’ve done the Joe Rokococko dive and that’s exactly where it came from.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I hope WRU cops a 12 month ban.
1 Go to commentsOuch. Pumped. Even Nohamba is a better flyhalf than Ford.
2 Go to commentsI hope Leinster’s proud of themselves fielding a poor team. They should decide if they’re all in or not.
2 Go to commentsJordie is looking at 16 games maximum if Leinster reach both the URC and champions cup finals. Thats not guaranteed. Some of those home URC fixtures will be cakewalks as well for Leinster and there is not much doing during the 6 nations in Feb and March so he can probably get a decent rest then. He will have to really put in it for maybe 7 or 8 games max. It should be a good move for both.
13 Go to commentsThe game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
27 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
13 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
13 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
6 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
26 Go to comments