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RugbyPass - Yesterday 8:36 am
There were two very key lessons dished up in Round 11 of the Super Rugby Pacific season.
The first, and most obvious, is that there’s a much narrower chasm between the quality of the New Zealand teams and their Australian opposites. The Brumbies and Waratahs both banked wins over the weekend while the Reds, Drua and Force came remarkably close to grabbing scalps.
It would still take a brave man to bet against five NZ sides making the quarter-finals but there are at least signs that a respectable competition could emerge over the coming seasons.
The second, perhaps more interesting lesson for tournament organisers, is that there’s massive value in hosting matches at smaller venues.
The two Saturday afternoon fixtures, between the Drua and Highlanders in Suva, and the Waratahs and Crusaders in Lilyfield, were played in front of heaving venues outside of the main centres that have dominated Super Rugby fixtures in recent years.
Over 15k spectators were on hand at a sold-out ANZ Stadium to witness the Drua’s first-ever home game and they came close to buoying their team to a victory in Fiji. Meanwhile, in the outer suburbs of Sydney, 10k fans turned out to witness a remarkable win for the home side over the much more fancied Crusaders.
Playing matches in smaller stadiums is somewhat of a foreign concept in the Southern Hemisphere.
Of the New Zealand franchises, the Crusaders are the only team to play home matches in a stadium that boasts fewer than 20k seats. Forsyth Barr Stadium and Sky Stadium both have room for over 30k fans while Eden Park can support 50k. Even Moana Pasifika, the newest franchise based in NZ, play their home games at a venue built for 30k.
Across the ditch in Australia, no regular home venue caters to fewer than 20,000 fans with the Rebels, Reds and Waratahs (from next season) hosting their matches at stadiums that can support over 30k.
Head up to England, however, and the vast majority of venues are considerably smaller and more intimate.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/othe...a1dcc3201c022e
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
Yes, of course thats the solution......and in other news, if you stop testing for Covid it will cease to exist too![]()
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
for completely different sports.
NHRA Drag Racing (National Hot Rod Association of America) got so much sponsorship in the early 2000s that all tickets were free. Part of the Fan Experience was All of the Sponsors did Royal Show (like) Show bags of products. Across the country, the Race tracks were packed with fans.
OR
The Savanah Bananas Baseball team doesn't charge for any concessions (drinks/food) each ticket is all you can eat and all you can drink. From their very first game of existence, their home games have been sellouts.
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
Damn Gunny - you need to quit retirement. It's rotting your brain.
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
I’m waiting for the other show to drop here. I assume whoever actually wrote this has a stake in some commercial element of a smaller boutique stadia. Leichhardt is the easiest that comes to mind- but ballymore is also getting some work done to it at the moment too.