Ideas for NRC 2015

[wamberal]

I haven't read this entire thread, and I'm sure it's been discussed....

But the NRC must to revert back to the proper points scoring system.

I have argued the case previously that the NRC should be played under the standard Laws of the Game.


One possible future revenue stream is overseas viewers. Nobody wants to watch a bastardised version of the game (unless it is a genuinely hybrid game that features the best players of rugby and loig).

 

[TheBigDog]

Its seem to me like the ARU aren't going to stick with the NRC points system. If they were, I would think it would be getting used/trialed in national club competitions for 2015 and so far I haven't heard of that being the case - similar to the situation we had a few years ago when the short arm penalty laws were brought in.

 

[Omar Comin']

I have argued the case previously that the NRC should be played under the standard Laws of the Game.

One possible future revenue stream is overseas viewers. Nobody wants to watch a bastardised version of the game (unless it is a genuinely hybrid game that features the best players of rugby and loig).

A bastardised version of the game!? Because of a points system that reduces penalty goals? What hyperbole! And aren't you the guy that always goes on about needing to change the laws to make rugby more entertaining? How do you think this will happen without competitions trialling new law variations?
First of all your argument that overseas viewers wouldn't watch rugby with a different points system is a guess with no evidence or logical reasoning behind it. I think if anything, a small bit of a difference is a helpful differentiator.

Second of all, the major focus of the NRC, in terms of revenue has to be building the Australian audience. And the points change was by far the number 1 most requested change when the ARU went to the public for law suggestions. In fact it was so common that despite the original NRC Law committee NOT recommending a change in points system, they did it anyway. And during the competition the feedback all over social media, from the small year 1 NRC audience, was largely positive. Only here does a very anti-change view seem to dominate. But that's basically just half a dozen regular posters on here agreeing with each other and liking each others posts.

The Varsity Cup in South Africa has used the NRC's points system for several years now and it has gone from strength to strength. Both as a development pathway and as a popular competition itself.

 

[TOCC]

As for concerns about future overseas revenue... Well that's a decade away from been a consideration...

Australian Rugby needs the NRC to be successful domestically, future international revenue isn't going to underwrite the domestic competition... Domestic revenue will...


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[qwerty51]

I wouldn't say decades.. the NRC could be quite popular in SA/NZ and the UK.

 

[tony kennedy]

Im from the UK, really enjoyed watching games on youtube disappointed final had no commentary.

 

[rugbynerd]

One change I would like to see in 2015 would be a double header every round. Each team would get the chance to host a double header at there home ground. Would increase ticket sales and revenue. Would be great to see the stars of other teams before or after your hoe team plays

 

[Wilson]

Not sure you could do one every round, but a few could definitely be a good idea, particularly in Sydney where whoever 'gives up's a home game wouldn't have to travel.

 

[Strewthcobber]

Under the current model the gate receipts are what the teams use to fund their setups. You'd have to get twice the normal crowd at a double header and with effectively 3 away teams out of the four.

Really hard to see the numbers adding up on that.

 

[Omar Comin']

Under the current model the gate receipts are what the teams use to fund their setups. You'd have to get twice the normal crowd at a double header and with effectively 3 away teams out of the four.

Really hard to see the numbers adding up on that.

Costs would be reduced so you wouldn't have to get double.

I wouldn't want to see a double header every round, but as I've said on this thread previously I think there should be a double header in both Sydney and Brisbane once per season. And at least one in Sydney where you could have all 4 NSW teams involved.

They do it in London at the start of the Aviva Premiership and get 60k+ at Twickenham for it. This is in a competition that averages crowds of around 13k. The double header has become an event that the rugby community gets behind. No reason why this couldn't work in Sydney with all 4 teams plus the Waratahs and ARU promoting the hell out of it on social media and other channels for several weeks. Have some other stuff around it - kids zone, mini food and beer festival and make a real event of it. I think it'd be a great way to start the season.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Costs would be reduced so you wouldn't have to get double.

I wouldn't want to see a double header every round, but as I've said on this thread previously I think there should be a double header in both Sydney and Brisbane once per season. And at least one in Sydney where you could have all 4 NSW teams involved.

They do it in London at the start of the Aviva Premiership and get 60k+ at Twickenham for it. This is in a competition that averages crowds of around 13k. The double header has become an event that the rugby community gets behind. No reason why this couldn't work in Sydney with all 4 teams plus the Waratahs and ARU promoting the hell out of it on social media and other channels for several weeks. Have some other stuff around it - kids zone, mini food and beer festival and make a real event of it. I think it'd be a great way to start the season.

I think a double header involving derbies in Sydney would be a good idea for the 4 NSW teams to start the NRC. However, it would require a lot of promoting during the back half of the Super Rugby season via as suggested the Tahs/ARU social media and games.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

In terms of promoting the NRC. There is a good YouTube clip a few pages back. It's quite well done. The ARU should be looking for more of that. Set a competition asking for fans to produce a promo ad. Put it to the public to vote and the winner has it played at Super Rugby games and on Foxsports. Could even do it for the individual cities. The winner could get VIP tickets and access at Wallaby games, meet them. Live a day in their life etc.

 

[Scoey]

The double header thing could go well in Brisbane. City vs X and Country vs X would pull a good crowd you'd reckon.

 

[TOCC]

I wouldn't say decades.. the NRC could be quite popular in SA/NZ and the UK.

Popular is a broad term, point is that international sales of the broadcast rights won't underwrite the NRC, the domestic rights and domestic sponsorship will..
The NRC needs to be a competition designed and run to suit the Australian market..


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[TOCC]

Under the current model the gate receipts are what the teams use to fund their setups. You'd have to get twice the normal crowd at a double header and with effectively 3 away teams out of the four.

Really hard to see the numbers adding up on that.

No not necessarily, you would be achieving economies of scale and reducing the overheads by sharing the cost of renting the ground in hosting a double header...

Each stadium would have a different financial model, but you might only need a 50% increase in crowds for both teams to fund their setups.

The other consideration is the outlay from Foxtel, they don't want to broadcast more games because of the cost of the filming crew, hosting double headers might also reduce the costs on Foxtel and entice them to broadcast games they would haven't previously broadcast.


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[TOCC]

I think a 'Sydney Derby Day' would work well, have the four Sydney teams playing each other...3:30 and then 5:30 time-slots on a Saturday marketed at the families and club rugby fans...

ARU/NSWRU could make it the 'event of the week' and advertise the shit out of it across the social media platforms..


The other big event could be the 'Queensland Double Header', QLD Country and Brisbane City playing against two other teams at Ballymore..

The QLD Derby is also another big match on the schedule... These events need to be promoted on the NRC calendar and marketed accordingly..

They also need to be the broadcast matches of the round to capitalise on the marketing and significance.



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[Scoey]

I'm not certain but I think the BNE City v QLD Country derby game was the biggest crowd of the year. It was Quade's first game back from injury which helped also.

 

[Wilson]

Biggest regular season crowd, excluding test match curtain raisers, I think.

 

[Omar Comin']

The NRL and AFL have a few themed rounds during their season - indigenous round, heritage round, women's round etc.

Maybe the NRC could follow suit. Have separate rounds celebrating club rugby, schools rugby and women in rugby for example.

 

[TOCC]

Maybe as a forum/website we could come up with a dossier on how the ARU should improve the NRC, i think suggestions need to be realistic(i.e. spending cash which doesn't exist isn't realistic), maybe keep it to 5 or 6 key points to maximise the effect and likelihood it is noticed. ..

Im going to set out that since this is my idea we exclude the issue of the point scoring and law variations because its an even split of pros and cons and a contentious issue which has been done to death on this forum.

So heres some of my ideas, in no particular orders..

-Social Media Consolidation

Greater focus on social media, firstly there needs to be a centralised NRC Facebook page/Twitter account which 'shares' all videos, fixtures, photos, news reports which are released by the relevant NRC teams.. There also need to be an improved presence by the Wallabies and Waratahs across the social media platforms. I'd even suggest that the Rebels cut away having an individual page for the Rising and bring it back under the Rebels banner to maximise the reach. Reds did it the best out of the NRC organisations, but there is room to improve.​

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Marketing

Flowing on from the 'social media consolidation' point, marketing through the social media channels needs to increase 10fold especially at the ARU and Super Rugby social media level. Cross promotion at the end of the Super Rugby season leading into the NRC needs to improve to improve the awareness of the competition:​

-Foxsports advertising the NRC during the later rounds of Super Rugby​

-Promoting the NRC clubs at the local grade competitions throughout the season club season, have a stall, players, information etc.​

-Promoting the game at the Super Rugby games during halftime, include advertisements in the match day programs.​

-Where possible, have NRC matches as curtain raisers for Wallabies Test to improve the chance of exposure to the casual observer​

- Derby Day's(Match of the Round):
These would be identified as the 'match of the round' and should be the game to be broadcast for that week...

- Sydney Derby Day- 4 Sydney teams play each other in a double header​

- QLD Double Header - Brisbane City and QLD Country play a double header against two other teams out of Ballymore​

- QLD Derby - Brisbane City vs QLD Country​

- GF Re-Match(Round 1), Brisbane City vs Perth Spirit​

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- Themed Rounds
In line with Omar's comments, some themed rounds should be introduced..

- Womens Round​

- Club Rugby Round(players wear there club socks)​

- Heritage Round(these are new teams but the have links to historical ones)​

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- Team Colours

Deconfliction between the teams over the team colours needs to be done, each team should have a distinct and unique colour/colours to represent their team. Take note of the vibrant colours the BBL used which allows fans to easily identify the teams.​