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Rugby Australia risk 'killing the sport' with next rights deal

The next rights deal for Australian rugby is shaping up as make-or-break for the code as one prominent broadcast consultant has warned that Rugby Australia could end up “killing the sport”.

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“What you can’t do with this is adapt the ostrich management style,” Colin Smith of GMS told Sydney Morning Herald.

“If Rugby Australia don’t do their homework on what Super Rugby competition is in the best interests of Australia and its broadcast partners, then they’re going to end up killing the sport.

Current rights holder Fox Sports are thought to have less money in the coffers after their record-breaking $1.2 billion deal to secure cricket for the next six years in Australia.

“I think [Fox Sports] will want rugby but it’s not necessarily going to be a significant increase if there’ll be an increase at all,” Smith said. “A whole lot of money was taken out of the system with the cricket deal and with massive increases in the deals for AFL and NRL, while they’ve clearly overpaid for football.

“There is more downward threat for Rugby Australia than there is upward pressure. The question is how do [RA] reinvent the [Super Rugby] model to make sure it’s attractive, to bring back fans and eyeballs and therefore encourage broadcasters to pay.”

Viewership has arrested it’s decline in Australia this season, with a return to four teams seeing modest increases in reported viewership figures. The Waratahs vs Stormers round three clash drew an audience of 102,000 while numbers have weakened since the start of NRL and AFL seasons. The oldest Australian rivalry, the Waratahs vs Reds, attracted 61,000 viewers last week. Overall, their has been a four percent uplift over eight rounds.

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SANZAAR Chief Executive Andy Marios added “it’s certainly been a lot more positive than in 2017” and that the continual downturn looks to have finished. He’s “reasonably happy so far, but there’s still a long way to go in the season.”

SANZAAR is understood to be considering a new operating model following its strategic review which looked at the future of Super Rugby, considering a wide range of factors including expansion. Whether the planned future aligns with Rugby Australia’s national interests will raise the debate over whether Australia should go breakaway from the current competition.

 

 

 

 

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JW 30 minutes ago
Ex-All Black Richie Mo’unga teases return to ‘Test match setting’ in 2025

They didn’t really let him go though did they. He was gone, already signed to leave some 18 months earlier. Not much they could do.


Definitely a shame though, hence why I criticize the coaching for not unlocking that composure earlier. We would have seen he was definitely the player we need to take us through that WC, and the next, before the contract talks started. After, was too late. Conversely, if he had of continued to play the way he had been when he signed to go to Japan, I have no doubt Damien McKenzie would have been the player to lead us in 23’, and then we very likely would have won that Final. I’m not so sure Dmac would hve been good enough to get us past Ireland, Richie definitely deserves a lot of credit for simply getting us to the Final.


But that was all my message to HHT was. That class, or talent in this case, is permeant, and games like Ireland showed he did definitely had that. Obviously Richie’s got a large responsibility in realizing it sooner too, but in terms of not displaying it when it counts in 2019 or 2023, I reckon that’s on the coachs more than a lack of talent on his part, and it’s the same shame when it comes to your sentiment. If he was at the point were he could have saved out bacon against Ireland in 2022, it might not have been too late for NZR to have come in with a big contract offer. The bigger problem now is that Razor is only exasperating that problem with this new group. We now clearly know he was a big factor in Richie taking so long, because he’s replicating the same problems with the current batch. Thankfully NZR had no other option but to offer a big contract to secure Dmac this time though, regardless of how he must have felt after being treated like that.

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L
Louise Hayward 44 minutes ago
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Head high tackle 1 hour ago
Super Rugby draw heavily favours NZ sides but they can't win in Australia

Very targeted article that writes to deliberately put across a fake point. Please John tell us who each side has played?

Why has NZ and AUs sides not really clashed? Because of all the “local” derbies John. How many times will the Reds, Brumbies, Tahs and Force , play the Blues, Canes, Saders, Highlanders, Moana and Chiefs John? ONCE per season. If you want to write an article about the failings of the draw then please write about the actual failings of the draw, Not a fabrication about the draw being unfair to the actual sides it heavily favours. Not 1 Aus side will play an NZ team twice to get to the finals. ALL NZ sides will.

To give you ONE example lets look at the Blues draw.

In 9 rounds so far they have played every NZ based side. ( 5 games ) then the Canes twice, Chiefs twice, And this weekend they play the 2nd game v the Saders this season. ( 3 more games ) so the only side they have played thats not an NZ based team is the Brumbies. 1 GAME! Still to play the Reds, Tahs, Force and Drua and will only get 1 game V those sides.


There are 4 Australian sides John. Pure maths tells me that means 2 home games against Aus sides and 2 away games v Aus sides. So basically NO NZ side should ever play more than 2 games in a season in Aus. Aus cut their teams down to 4. This is the direct result.


Yes the draw is not fair, but that heavily favors Aus sides. Either have 1 round or have 2, but this 1.5 rounds isnt fair to ALL NZ based sides.

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