Waratahs rule with pay-TV viewers
RUGBY is starting to win back the masses, and the Waratahs are suddenly the team everyone wants to watch. Their first-round match against the Hurricanes was that week's highest rating show nationally on pay TV. And last week the Waratahs won the metropolitan ratings. It's not surprising sporting events last week took the top five spots in the metropolitan ratings. But what was unexpected was that the highest-rating program in the capital cities was last weekend's Highlanders-Waratahs match from Dunedin. It lured 118,659 pay TV viewers, ahead of the A-League grand final (114,441), the Allan Border Medal (112,128), the rugby league Charity Shield match (111,909), and the AFL NAB Cup second semi-final (108,169). On a national level, the Dunedin match, with 185,033 viewers, rated third behind the Charity Shield (210,903) and A-League (194,834). And no, we don't know how Naked Wild On fared!
Away Tests make the moolah
Expect plenty more offshore Tests involving the Wallabies. They bolster the Australian Rugby Union balance sheet. When announcing the Wallabies would play a Bledisloe Cup match in Hong Kong in November, ARU chief John O'Neill revealed many major unions were struggling. O'Neill said that during last weekend's international rugby union summit, the major nations explained that "even though receiving the [International Rugby Board] grant of 3 million pounds, all lost money last year". "Even England lost money, because they didn't have their normal inventory of games in November," he said. "In the year of the World Cup, a lot of the major unions are losing a lot of money ... we have to go out and play a lot of Tests to try and make it up." Not surprisingly, three of the Wallabies' end-of-season Tests - Hong Kong, Wales in Cardiff and the Barbarians at Wembley - will be "income producing". "We're unashamed about that," O'Neill said. "Through these initiatives we'll be turning around the ARU's financial fortunes in 2008." A Bledisloe Cup Test in Japan in late 2009 is the next step.
Blues do some road tripping
The Waratahs are experiencing some strange encounters on their away trips. First, in Hamilton, they were hounded by a woman who kept asking them if they had lost a stray goat. And in Dunedin, the Wallabies support staff who arrived early at the House of Pain were confronted by an official who asked: "Any medicos among you?" Apparently the pre-match entertainment had got out of hand. Hundreds of spectators were involved in a bull rush, where people were madly tackling each other. It was called off after six spectators required treatment. And then on the way home as the Waratahs flight departed Auckland, players noticed through the windows that the New Zealand ground staff were practising their lineout throws by lobbing their footballs into the cargo hold. At the other end, all footies were accounted for.
It's all in the padding
Some of the gems in tonight's match program is Brumbies captain George Smith revealing that his durability is because he is a bit chubby. "I think if you carry a lot of body fat around that helps with absorbing the impact," Smith said. And Waratahs breakaway Rocky Elsom explains that he is a terrific trampolinist. Another bit of trivia is that injured Brumbies back Clyde Rathbone is different to his teammates, who play golf in their spare time. He prefers archery.
Say hello to the Tah Man
Waratahs fans have been warned to get to the Sydney Football Stadium early tonight because team mascot Tah Man is about to make another bizarre entry. As if being propelled off the SFS roof before the Hurricanes match was not startling enough, our Tah snout tells us this time the arrival "will be motorised". And Tah Man is even preparing for Brumby Jack, in case the ACT mascot makes an unexpected appearance. "Tah Man wants to know what the rules of engagement are," Tah Snout explained.
Another use for pea-rattlers
While the South African rugby television commentators continue to be kings of the blunders, and their Australian counterparts love yelling "wooooo!" over each other, the New Zealanders remain on top of their game. One innovation the New Zealand Super 14 callers have tried this season is having a referee sitting alongside them, so if there is a contentious decision someone who actually knows what's going on can explain why. Australia should do the same, and what great entertainment it would be to have Gus Erickson or George Ayoub educating the masses with their witty comments about why the whistleblower is always right.
Rumour of the week
Who was the aspiring Wallabies forward who when told this year's end-of-season European tour would finish with a match against the Barbarians, asked: "Great, but where's Barbaria?"
