Super Rugby Pacific games in Europe 'absolutely on the agenda'

Having taken their preseason to the UK earlier in 2024, the Crusaders have some insight into what the future of inter-league competition could look like for rugby.

The prospect of a global club tournament has had fans salivating for some time now. Premiership, Top 14, URC, League One, Super Rugby and MLR heavyweights colliding to decide the best of the best would serve to settle endless debates across the rugby world while entertaining the masses.

While the Crusaders wouldn’t be as favoured for a current competition as they would have in recent years during their dynastic run with Scott Robertson at the helm, their track record would suggest they’ll return to the upper echelons of the global club rugby ranks in the not too distant future and the team certainly drew a crowd when they ventured north for their 2024 preseason.

The club took a youthful, All Blacks-less squad to the UK for fixtures against Munster and Bristol, beating the latter while falling just short in Ireland.

The tour was an idea backed by some research by New Zealand Rugby and provided some tangible figures around interest, engagement and financial viability.

“So probably the most important thing is the number of fans that are associated with or like Super Rugby that are overseas,” Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge told Newstalk ZB‘s D’Arcy Waldergrave.

“So Super Rugby, the five New Zealand founding Super Rugby clubs, are quite attractive propositions when you get overseas.

“We got some research back that New Zealand Rugby commercial did for us. So Craig Fenton engaged a researcher, and they did a little bit of work for the five founding clubs. And what we learned from that was that most of us have a fan base of – and we’ll talk about all one level of engagement for the moment but it just assumed that it’s just reach – somewhere between 1.3 and 1.8 million fans, of which only about 20% on average of those five clubs were New Zealand based.

“So in other words, for the Crusaders, let’s say it’s 1.8 million engaged fans. Now there’s different levels of engagement, but engaged fans, of which 20% of those were based in the top of the South Island. So that was the first sort of insight that we gathered.

“The second was when it was explored, and we tested it on a couple of clubs. I think the classic for us is Munster, selling out a stadium of 44,000, I think we had 42,000 seats available, and it’s sold out within a day, which shows you that there is appeal for Super Rugby Club brands in the northern hemisphere, especially against those traditional European Rugby Championship or Premiership, and I’d say even the Top 14 clubs.

“So there was definitely demand from that side. Now you’re not going to sell jerseys or merch or anything like that to those people if you’re not there frequently. So we might become the second favourite team, club team, of some of the fans up there.

“So I think the first thing is that we’ve got lots of fans in different parts of the world. And that goes for all of those five founding Super Rugby clubs. And they’re all over the place. And then we’ve been working hard on this potential, well hopefully we’re past potential, World Club Cup in later on 2028 maybe. And you’re gonna have to start getting some rivalries going for that to happen, and that might have more commercial value.

“And then lastly, pre-seasons tend to cost us money. You tend to take them to the regions to connect with their fans in the regions, which is exactly the right thing to do, but that usually comes at quite a bit of cost. You’re flying another team in, your tickets are very cheap, generally, and you’re not covering costs. And so it comes at quite a cost.

“You can go up, fill a couple of big stadiums up and over two games, and through that, pay for your flights to and fro and accommodation and your preparation up there. So it comes to some cost locally, local engagement. So you’ve got to be careful about that. But we’ve got fans there. It’s clear we’ve got fans there, and we’ve got people interested in watching us play.”

Mansbridge said while there was pushback from local fans on taking preseason games overseas, the financial benefits made the trip worthwhile. The CEO went on to explain the trip had proved the concept in a low-risk manner thanks to the research done prior to departure but the Crusaders wouldn’t consider it a doable option for every preseason.

He also raised the question of whether a fan in Christchurch should be considered a better fan than those overseas when considering whether taking games offshore should be considered. Taking Super Rugby’s Super Round to Melbourne shows the clubs’ willingness to take the game to target markets, but there is a constant and sometimes conflicting obligation to both fans and the team’s performance and wellbeing.

Mansbridge said taking a Super Rugby game beyond the familiar borders is “absolutely on the agenda” and there is “absolutely appetite for it”.

“How can we take the game to a different place? How do we take the club game? Because I think there’s the international game, which is different again, but I think in the club game there’s absolutely appetite for it.

“You look at the European Championship and the crowds that attend some of those matches up there, and what’s clear is that they are rugby fans, so they love the game. And I reckon you could take up a number of clubs north and you would do very, very well in the northern hemisphere.

“And it’s not just about the money, of course, it’s also about connecting with those fans, as I said, let’s say 1.8 (million), 20% of which are locally based fans, and then suddenly that means you’ve got a lot up there that if they’re more engaged with you, they might connect with you more, purchase more.

“You know, the same sort of principle I think that we’ve heard from New Zealand Rugby commercial, probably at a smaller scale, but still, still at scale, and at a scale that our country probably can’t afford. So we’ve been working hard in the Super Rugby space… the Chiefs and the Blues went up last year and played two preseason fixtures against Japanese teams.

“So I think what’s clear is that Super Rugby sides have the capacity to connect with international audiences, and that can be of benefit to both the audiences and financially for the teams involved.

“We’ve all got an obligation to grow the game, and what a wonderful game it is. And you see all the innovation that’s come out of Super Rugby Pacific in the last few years that’s starting to emanate into other competitions, it’s obvious that this is an exciting Pacifica and Pacific Rim-flavored competition that is attractive to fans all over the place.

“So in some respects, you don’t want to take your whole competition offshore, that that would be a disaster. You do want to remain connected to your fans, but, but exhibition matches or the occasional match, I think it’s the right thing to do.”