Time for fans to vote with their feet: How Super Rugby Aotearoa could usher in a new era of rugby in New Zealand
Super Rugby is back.
This weekend, the Highlanders will host the Chiefs and the Hurricanes will travel to the Blues for the first round of Super Rugby Aotearoa – and the first weekend of rugby around the world since the global shutdown due to the Coronovirus pandemic.
It’s been a challenging time for a number of reasons but fans across the New Zealand – and seemingly around the world – finally have some rugby to get excited about.
“New Zealand is the first to see the sun, the first to celebrate New Year’s, and now we’re the first to get live rugby back,” Tex Texeira, SKY Sports’ Director of Sport and Broadcasting, told RugbyPass. “Not only that, we’re also the first to get any sport in the world back with live crowds.”
While some professional sports took just a small break and pressed forward – notably the Belarussian Premier League – teams have had to play in front of empty stadiums. Super Rugby Aotearoa will go ahead with live crowds, however, and likely some of the biggest crowds that New Zealand has seen in the last decade.
At last count, this weekend’s two matches should bring in over 60,000 excited fans.
“Believe it or not, it’s been almost three months [since Super Rugby stopped] and it’s just incredible how the world has changed,” said Texeira. “We’ve had to learn how to adapt and we’ve had to prepare for all kinds of scenarios but we’re finally back in New Zealand and hopefully going ahead with rugby as we’re accustomed to – live crowds, live on TV, live on SKY.”
Navigating the uncertainty of the past few months has been challenging for the likes of New Zealand Rugby (NZR), the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association and SKY, who’ve all coordinated to try get rugby back on screens as soon as possible – providing, of course, that it’s safe for players and other staff involved.
The original expectation was that fans wouldn’t be allowed to attend matches at least for the early stages of the competition, which created a few problems to solve.
“For us, from a production point of view, we watched other sports coming back slowly, like the NRL, and we could see what a challenge not having crowds is,” Texeira said. “Our colleagues in Australia were doing a really good job but let’s face it, having the crowds – not only for the players but for the production, the fans and the people at home – is the ultimate experience.”
There were solutions in place, should New Zealand had not progressed to the point where large public gathering were feasible.
“We did have on our list ways to improve the empty stadium experience,” Texeira revealed.
“We had crowd noise on standby. We’d monitored what had been going on in the NRL and because we have dual audio options, we were going down the road of audio 1 would have had this crowd effect and audio 2 would have just had stadium effects and commentary for people that didn’t want to hear the enhanced audio.
“Virtual crowds were also something that we would have loved to have done but we realised very quickly you kind of needed to green screen the stadium and we realised that we’d lose the ball in the air. But of course, there’s no need for any of that now!”
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While rugby has been hit hard by the pandemic, it’s also fast-tracked some fresh thinking, which will see one match played on a Sunday afternoon every week.
Fans across the country have long called for afternoon matches – which would make attending matches a lot easier for families who don’t want to be out until 10PM. Given the global audience that tunes into Super Rugby every week, matches have been played in the evenings to maximise viewership – but that could change if the current trial times reap the benefits of larger crowds.
“There’s nothing better than a full rugby stadium,” said Texeira. “We want that as much as New Zealand Rugby, as much as every single player.
“We’ve been talking about [playing afternoon games] with New Zealand Rugby in the past and this was the opportunity to try it. We’ve been getting reasonable crowds in Super Rugby but, to be honest, not the crowds we were accustomed to 10 years ago.
“If the fans do come back and we do fill up stadiums again to a really good number, we’re more than happy to work closely with NZR and ensure that, at the very least, we have Sunday afternoon games. The ultimate and final decision does rest with NZR but we have a really good partnership with them and we have for a long time.
“A full stadium is a great experience, whether you’re at the stadium or you’re at home. We’re very supportive of anything that raises the atmosphere of the game, that raises the ambience for the players, for fans.”
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Texeira, first-and-foremost a rugby fan, is especially thrilled to have New Zealand’s top teams going at it tooth-and-nail for 10 weeks of non-stop action.
“The one challenge that Super Rugby has had for a long time is that it’s become a little predictable,” admitted Texeira. “The Crusaders have won 10 titles and not made just four finals series.”
“With Super Rugby Aotearoa, you’ve still got the Crusaders in there and I’m absolutely convinced that they will once again be super formidable but I think when it’s New Zealand teams vs New Zealand teams for 10 weeks, I think that it does make things potentially slightly less predictable because they’ve got to play game-in, game-out against colleagues that will be fighting for All Blacks positions in a couple of months.
“Every single All Blacks selector will be watching every single game. There’s a lot on the table – both from an individual player point of view but from a team point of view also.
The other benefit of being the one the competition that’s current running is that a few familiar faces will pop up during the season, including former All Blacks Dan Carter and Nehe Milner-Skudder.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the Blues and who’s playing for them,” said Texeira. “The thing is, in any sport, the big names and the big players are massive drawcards. That’s no different here in New Zealand.
“To have Dan Carter, to have Nehe Milner-Skudder with the Highlanders… People follow individuals as much as they follow teams. That’s a fact with any sport in the world, be it a team sport be it an individual sport, people do follow individuals. Having Dan, having all these great All Blacks in New Zealand. We’re very blessed.”
There’s also a trove of former players that have returned to New Zealand for the the short-term while they await the resumptions of their own competitions – men like Ben Smith, Julian Savea and Waisake Naholo.
“They will be watching, they will be commenting, and everyone will be really keen to see what the guys say,” Texeira said. “There’ll potentially be a few jibes here and there, which is what we expect, and they’ll just add to that whole experience of a 10-week domestic comp. High engagement and five really great teams having a go for 10 weeks. It’s pretty awesome.”
Super Rugby kicks off at 7:05PM on Saturday evening when the Chiefs take on the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. On Sunday, the Blues will host the Hurricanes at 3:30PM with the guests eyeing up revenge after their loss earlier in the year.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
13 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
13 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to comments