What the NZR needs to learn from Eddie Jones' England side to turn Super Rugby Aotearoa into something much bigger
At the halfway point of Super Rugby Aotearoa, the makeshift competition has to be considered a resounding success.
New Zealand crowds are back, the ratings are sky high and the interest in the Southern Hemisphere is on the up again.
However, during this period of time, New Zealand Rugby must seriously take the learnings from the relative success of Super Rugby Aotearoa, as the long-term outlook is still not as rosy and much needs to be done to fix the game here.
Michael Jordan, at the peak of his career as the world’s most prominent athlete, fronted the press media every night after NBA games, week in week out without fail, with class and poise.
Five weeks into Super Rugby Aotearoa, with the world’s rugby spotlight firmly on New Zealand, Beauden Barrett and many other Blues stars are ‘off limits’ to press.
You couldn’t make up a better way to self-sabotage yourself and fail to capitalise on the opportunity right now.
If Super Rugby Aotearoa is to ever become a stand-alone competition or command the global attention to make it a valuable proposition, it needs every bit of effort to succeed.
Things need to be done differently to before. Remember that flailing competition with diving interest? Yeah, that was Super Rugby.
Surely, with the clouds surrounding the financial future of the game in the Southern Hemisphere and the uncertainty around international travel, don’t you want to do everything possible to build a potential domestic product that commands the biggest global audience, and therefore commercial value, as possible?
It seems not.
They should be holding press conferences every week with the biggest names, feeding the media to sell this great competition.
That is, in fact, what every press conference is for, to sell the game, which seems lost on rugby administrators and players that don’t want to make a stir.
One quote that makes a headline that drums up interest in a clash will sell more tickets and create more eyeballs than any paid advertising could.
How about the teams get together and create faux drama? Instead of squabbling with the media like they are the rivals, do it with the teams you actually play on the field?
You see, it doesn’t matter how good the on-field rugby is.
If everything else around it lacks emotion, lacks meaning, there is no story to tell. There are no rivalries with substance. Fans need villains as much as they need heroes, which is what Beauden Barrett became by ditching the Hurricanes to play for the Blues.
His first game against his old team? A sell-out. The game needs theatre, as only Eddie Jones seems to understand.
Under Jones, England have made the Six Nations a far superior rugby spectacle, which, by the way, is worth a hell of a lot more than the Rugby Championship, despite having inferior teams to the All Blacks and Springboks involved.
It’s not about the quality of the on-field play, it’s also everything around it which is what administrators down here don’t get.
England are the most watchable team on the planet right now because they are the villains, to most, and every opposition fan cares about beating them because they don’t like them.
Some of the official social media promotion of Super Rugby Aotearoa has been about how the players are great mates, sharing a laugh on the field moments after a clash.
You couldn’t come up with worse content to kill any meaning behind these games.
This is extremely damaging to this competition to try to push false ‘rugby values’ propaganda that, quite frankly, doesn’t exist.
Do you think Michael Jordan would share a laugh with his opponents on the court directly after losing an NBA game?
I can’t imagine so. Particularly not with the season on the line, which is applicable every week with the condensed Super Rugby Aotearoa. It meant too much to him. It was personal.
Did it harm Michael Jordan not being a nice guy, not having an ‘aw shucks’ persona? No, it didn’t, it only made him the most valuable athlete in the world and the first billionaire sportsperson.
And that is the crux of the problem.
If the perception is that you don’t take it seriously and losing doesn’t mean anything, don’t expect the fans to care either. That is the perception being pushed by those in charge of running the competition.
We get the players are mates, but the game would be far better off if they acted like they weren’t. Or at least, don’t use that as promotional material to make fans perceive that.
Like it or not, Owen Farrell has become the biggest name in rugby, and unknown to most, the most valuable player. It’s not Beauden Barrett or Siya Kolisi. Owen Farrell is the most valuable player in the game purely as he drives ratings.
His competitive drive is wired the same way as Jordan, but he has lost control of his persona because he simply doesn’t care what you think anyway.
If you are in his way of winning, you need to be removed. He is authentically raw on the pitch, and it rubs people the wrong way with his visible displays on the field.
He also doesn’t need to worry about making friends with the opposition as it seems he’s never leaving Saracens, and he can’t play against England.
He is authentic and unapologetic about it, which has made him the most compelling player of this generation. He doesn’t even need to talk to the press to hype a game because he is so unreserved on the pitch it creates a frenzy with fans. People want to see him fail, and all he wants to do is win.
The Lions tour of South Africa will be the most talked-about rugby event next year, in large part thanks to Owen Farrell and the dislike towards him by a large portion of fans and his recently history against the Springboks. It’s going to be a box office-level spectacle and the most anticipated rugby games across the globe.
For New Zealand’s players, the reason they have to be this way, assumably, is for harmony within the All Blacks squad. That’s the other part of this broken thinking.
Everything is secondary, and treated as such, to the All Blacks, which means that nothing else can grow in its own right and the dependency on the international game is too much.
The North Island vs South Island clash could be a State of Origin-like spectacle. With time, with history, as the chapters are written with emotion-filled clashes that provide the backstory in the public memory.
It could be – but it won’t be. They have already killed that possibility.
It is seen to serve the needs of the All Blacks. It’s been made a trial match to please the selectors, with the selection rules manufactured to try create an ‘even’ match.
Jordie Barrett, raised in the Taranaki, will have to play for the South Island. Damian McKenzie, from Invercargill and schooled in Christchurch, will have to play for the North.
Already it has no authenticity and yet you cannot tell me that All Black selections will be decided by the performances in this game.
If they are, Sam Cane should be prepared to give up the captain’s badge because he might not make the starting team, such is the current form of the other loose forwards in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
We all know that isn’t going to happen, so why would you kill the potential future for this clash by taking away authenticity?
It doesn’t matter if the North smashes the South as each player representing the South is doing so out of pride, with something more meaningful attached.
The North vs South series or match needs to be solely about itself. That’s all. It’s not about trialling combinations or furthering All Black selections.
Only then, when it is the end, not the means to the end, will it become an authentic competition that has any value and become a pinnacle event.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a three-match domestic series each year that commands as much attention as an actual test series?
That is the same thinking required with Super Rugby and, by extension, Super Rugby Aotearoa.
It needs to be the be-all and end-all. Not a playground where All Blacks are rested, rotated or sent off to play in other competitions where they can earn good money.
When it is treated as such, you may find it increases in value, and that you don’t need the Northern Hemisphere to solve all your financial problems.
That is why it is pertinent that it is treated as highly as a test match, with as much promotion as possible, using the biggest names to do so.
There is a mainly domestic competition in a similar sport, played by clubs, that has no real international games, sitting in the Southern Hemisphere landscape playing in the same market as New Zealand Rugby.
It is called the NRL, and they pull in billions for their long-term domestic rights deals, similar figures – if not more – than what rugby does, and they don’t need the Northern Hemisphere or South Africa to do so.
That is a position of strength, not weakness. And the NRL is in the one market down here in the Southern Hemisphere – the one being bashed publicly, Australia – that has the market size to make something sustainable and self-sufficient.
New Zealand has the player & coaching depth to make all the franchises across the Trans-Tasman strong. Australia has the sports market to make it viable if they can work together to grow an entertaining product, like the NRL has.
They can lead the Asia-Pacific region in building a proper professional league if they thought about it things differently.
So, it can be done. It just needs far a better strategic vision than currently in play.
Super Rugby Aotearoa is the building block through which the Southern Hemisphere can become self-sufficient if all options are on the table, yet greater thinking is required to get there.
Comments on RugbyPass
Pot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
19 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
4 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
19 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
19 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
19 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
1 Go to commentsGood for him. The ABs were fooling around again with converted fullbacks that had a penetration of a marshmallow. Laumape or as Aki has shown for Ireland, go forward is important in the centres. If it had been DMac - Aki- Aumua - Ioane- Telea- Jordan in France the final result would have been different.
4 Go to commentsDan Carter a apporté son professionnalisme, des méthodes de travail, un esprit qui manquaient à l’USAP. Son influence, même une fois blessé a été énorme. Et pour citer une anecdote, certains soirs il venait de lui-même à l’entraînement des jeunes pour dispenser ses conseils. On ne peut pas compter ce qu’il a apporté au club en heures de jeu sur le terrain. Est-ce que le club en a eu pour son argent ? Avec la publicité sur son nom et le titre, je suppose que oui.
1 Go to commentsThe SA sides are suffering from a bum rap here. There isn’t a side anywhere in the world that would do things differently in their shoes. They’ve been set up to fail in the EPCR comps by vested interests, with last minute intercontinental travel requirements that costs an arm and a leg to book in advance just on the possibility they might be required. And the total nonsense that denies any chance of home venues is entirely biased and absolutely unsporting. Either EPCR, the Top14 & the Gallagher Premiership get it sorted on a fair and equitable sporting basis for ALL participants or expect the ridicule to continue. Right now, these comps are a joke!
19 Go to commentsSA sides should do the right thing and leave the champions cup, they are lowering the standard with completely one sided games, not up to the right level. The greatest club tournament in the world is being banjaxed by the weak SA sides.
19 Go to commentsCouldnt agree more. SA sides need to show more committment and really have a go at the Champions Cup. Its quite possibly the most prestigious title in Europe and SA sides need to respect that prestige and serve up their best. EPCR needs to do more to ensure that sides from South Africa and sides travelling to and from SA have a better chance in this competition. The Bulls were put in a really difficult position of having to travel there and back in one week. One could argue that this is what the SA sides signed up for and that La Rochelle didnt complain or send out weakened sides despite having to travel to SA and back and play on successive weekends but surely the situation is also unfair on La Rochelle as well and so EPCR needs to think about successive gameweeks and the travel effect of the competition
19 Go to comments