Having been a part of the Reds membership program for years until recently, I’ve definitely been critical of the recent lack of engagement and the state of Super Rugby in general.
But I feel like rugby is being hit with a double whammy. Of course our game has to shoulder a lot of the blame, but geez going out to a game/night out is expensive these days.
How many families got into a groove during covid watching events at home, cooking dinner together and saving a bucket load of cash? Rugby unfortunately was already dropping down the pecking order out of the big winter ball sports and the flow on effects from covid might have put our professional competition into the death kneel.
I’m not across all the regions, but in Brisbane at least where house prices went bananas (thanks guys down south), a lot of young families who should be going to games are stuck paying off whopper mortgages, or going to games where the marketing has actually engaged with them. I even know a few blokes in their late 20s who should still be running around clubland but have opted to pocket the $650 in rego fees, save the money they’d usually put through the bar at the club and instead pay down their house.
