Test Rugby must get on the road?

[epwc]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union ... vl1p9prrzo

It'd be MUCH better if people could actually watch rugby on free to air telly, no idea how many watch nowadays but I can't imagine many casual viewers are making the effort to firstly track down where games will be a available and then to fork out proper wonga for it. Dunno how that would affect rugby finances but it just feels like less and less people give a shit about it anymore.

[Slick]

Think I fundamentally disagree with everything he says

[sockwithaticket]

It would've taken him far less time to simply say 'We want Qatar's dirty money'.

Think I fundamentally disagree with everything he says

+1.

[fishfoodie]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union ... vl1p9prrzo

It'd be MUCH better if people could actually watch rugby on free to air telly, no idea how many watch nowadays but I can't imagine many casual viewers are making the effort to firstly track down where games will be a available and then to fork out proper wonga for it. Dunno how that would affect rugby finances but it just feels like less and less people give a shit about it anymore.

has previously worked as the high-performance manager and deputy chair of Rugby Australia

Given the precipitous decline of Union in Oz, I'd say just his connection to that should disqualify him !

Rugby is in decline in most of the Tier-1 nations, so I think that reversing that needs to be front & center !

The guys a moron, & I'm not sure either of the other two candidates is much better

[epwc]

Well games in the Middle East aren’t going to make things better that’s for sure.

[Guy Smiley]

Robinson won the vote. Like a lot of rugby executives around the world, he seems more corporate than club and while commercial interests are crucial, the game has its roots and its strength in the club scene.

We as a sport could do with refocusing on those lower tiers and start encouraging more involvement from developing nations. The whole Nations Cup concept is a shining example of not doing that and making things worse. We know this.

Cunce like him are killing the game.

[Slick]

Robinson won the vote. Like a lot of rugby executives around the world, he seems more corporate than club and while commercial interests are crucial, the game has its roots and its strength in the club scene.

We as a sport could do with refocusing on those lower tiers and start encouraging more involvement from developing nations. The whole Nations Cup concept is a shining example of not doing that and making things worse. We know this.

Cunce like him are killing the game.

100% agree. Chasing a non existent new audience while the foundations wobble and break. It seems really fucking obvious. Some people are making a lot of money out of this destruction I guess

[fishfoodie]

Robinson won the vote. Like a lot of rugby executives around the world, he seems more corporate than club and while commercial interests are crucial, the game has its roots and its strength in the club scene.

We as a sport could do with refocusing on those lower tiers and start encouraging more involvement from developing nations. The whole Nations Cup concept is a shining example of not doing that and making things worse. We know this.

Cunce like him are killing the game.

100% agree. Chasing a non existent new audience while the foundations wobble and break. It seems really fucking obvious. Some people are making a lot of money out of this destruction I guess

The main thing that made Irish Rugby more successful than some of its peers in the Professional era, was that we lucked out that our administrators were guys who loved rugby & grew up playing the game, & then went off & became successful in their own fields; & then when Professionalism came about, they brought that business experience with them, & applied it, while understanding the roots of the game.

The problem right now is you've a bunch of cuntz administrating the game who think if the DJ just shouts louder, or there's more VAR, or there are more flame bursts at the start of the game, then that's all that's needed to increase viewers & subscribers ...... they don't understand that half-time minis that they don't even show are what will actually grow the game, because they have no feel for the community of small clubs & more or less everywhere that is what the game is about.

[Enzedder]

The problem right now is you've a bunch of cuntz administrating the game who think if the DJ just shouts louder, or there's more VAR, or there are more flame bursts at the start of the game, then that's all that's needed to increase viewers & subscribers ...... they don't understand that half-time minis that they don't even show are what will actually grow the game, because they have no feel for the community of small clubs & more or less everywhere that is what the game is about.

Amen - when Waikato/Chiefs send me their annual email re season membership, I mail back and ask if they have gotten rid of the DJ yet. If they reply (and it's always no and about the "game experience" I always go back that if I want to go to a rock concert, I'll buy a ticket for that - in the meantime, I'll stay home where I can converse with friends about the game.

[OomStruisbaai]

SA rugby is on the up. It's all in the structure going down to the source. Schoolboy rugby is bloming, it's our gold mine.

[Calculon]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union ... vl1p9prrzo

It'd be MUCH better if people could actually watch rugby on free to air telly, no idea how many watch nowadays but I can't imagine many casual viewers are making the effort to firstly track down where games will be a available and then to fork out proper wonga for it. Dunno how that would affect rugby finances but it just feels like less and less people give a shit about it anymore.

well, he's been elected as the new chairman of world rugby, great

https://www.planetrugby.com/news/world- ... l-beaumont

[Jethro]

Robinson won the vote. Like a lot of rugby executives around the world, he seems more corporate than club and while commercial interests are crucial, the game has its roots and its strength in the club scene.

We as a sport could do with refocusing on those lower tiers and start encouraging more involvement from developing nations. The whole Nations Cup concept is a shining example of not doing that and making things worse. We know this.

Cunce like him are killing the game.

100% agree. Chasing a non existent new audience while the foundations wobble and break. It seems really fucking obvious. Some people are making a lot of money out of this destruction I guess

The parallels to the Hollywood fiasco are striking for mine, who exactly are this mythical "new audience", both industries hitting the wall, at least Hollywood is starting to work out potential audiences want entertainment. For mine Rugby started its decline when we jettisoned full tours by international teams.

My wife, a former Wallaby fanatic, has given up on the sport citing too many matches against the same opponents year in year out, with the sport becoming boring. Ironically this doesn't have her giving up on the Brisbane Bears, but hey Australia you know, lot's of choices of teams to follow.

[Niegs]

We've seen an influx of new players this year who saw their first games via the free-to-air CBC Olympics coverage, and some possibly made an effort to tune in because of Maher's social media presence? They'd have never given it a look otherwise.

Some of them forked out the money to take the ferry across to Vancouver to watch the WXV series, which was reasonably priced (and still didn't bring in a ton of people, because I hear there was no budget and WR gave RC a bunch of rules to follow they couldn't easily put in place or abide by without a budget)

Behind the paywall will not grow the game. Hell, I was die-hard through the 2000s, most of the 2010s, but finding it expensive to get coverage even I stopped watching full matches.

[assfly]

I for one would welcome more games against Tier 2 nations.

[petej]

We've seen an influx of new players this year who saw their first games via the free-to-air CBC Olympics coverage, and some possibly made an effort to tune in because of Maher's social media presence? They'd have never given it a look otherwise.

Some of them forked out the money to take the ferry across to Vancouver to watch the WXV series, which was reasonably priced (and still didn't bring in a ton of people, because I hear there was no budget and WR gave RC a bunch of rules to follow they couldn't easily put in place or abide by without a budget)

Behind the paywall will not grow the game. Hell, I was die-hard through the 2000s, most of the 2010s, but finding it expensive to get coverage even I stopped watching full matches.

If the 6N wasn't free to air in the UK rugby would be in a far worse state here.

[epwc]

If the 6N wasn't free to air in the UK rugby would be in a far worse state here.

It's not just whether you have to pay for it, which platform is it going to be on? Prime, Sky, BT? It's mental

[sockwithaticket]

If the 6N wasn't free to air in the UK rugby would be in a far worse state here.

It's not just whether you have to pay for it, which platform is it going to be on? Prime, Sky, BT? It's mental

My dad was so chuffed when the autumn internationals came to Prime, it was the first time he'd been able to watch England outside of a World Cup or Six Nations in forever, bar the occasional, illcit full length match I could find on Youtube and send to him. He was actually quite upset that it's moved to TNT.

[epwc]

I've not missed watching an England rugby match probably in the last 40 years but this time I was in two minds whether to sign up with another fucking service just for this, for the causal viewer why the fuck should they bother?