Ideas for NRC

[WorkingClassRugger]

Like the concept a lot Working Class Rugger.. You sound pretty connected on these things..As must be a concern to world rugby that Oz rugby been at crossroad in terms of grass roots issues, dwindling participation and financial viability issues at all super rugby franchises. So makes sense if going to help PI rugby that they invite them to professional set up and fledgling short form comp in oz (NRC) then sending them to NZ for example to compete in one of their comps! Justified alone on supporting and growing PI rugby but gives side benefit of helping important Oz rugby nation which would benefit.

Lot to like with this as kills 2 birds with one stone. Hope it happens.

I tend to haunt quite a few Rugby message boards and you never know who may pop up under an anonymous tag. You just need to know what to look for and be able to sort the bullshit from the legitimate information. A poster on one of those boards posted something about this. He has been fairly accurate in the past so I passed it on to the 'News from unexpected places' thread here.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

There are a few holdovers from an amateur era. "A" teams are one of them. Tours are another. BILs are another. A growing minority believe the latter now simply exist to prop up the Southern Hemisphere Unions. A different group think the domestic tour games are nonsense, and would be better served playing other Nations. I don't agree with the former, I have a growing appreciation for the latter, and I do understand the view. It's a holdover from an amateur era that does damage the performances and brands of Clubs and Nations.

Conversation for a different time however. I reckon "A" sides need to be removed, revamped or given greater incentive.

There is an inherent advantage to the sides that choose to nominate the U20s as the A Side. While it does weaken the teams at this level, with some players choosing not to commit, more often than not they do, and it's far more financially feasible than running an A Squad.

But for teams like New Zealand and Australia, where so many players turn out for players of their heritage rather than birth, or been raised in, to do it that way is to deprive them of an opportunity on the national stage.

I'd do the double up. Some incentive is needed for A teams to become active, and in ideal circumstances, playing teams outside the old Tier 1/2 ranking system. Uruguay-Brazil-Chile, Namibia-Zimbabwe-Kenya, Russia-Spain-Portugal, etc. What that is I don't know, but it really needs to be so for development purposes.

Plus, I'd switch it to a Football system, whereby being capped for a non-senior team simply rules you a) eligible for the senior side in perpetuity and b) unable to gain new eligibilities through the process of residency. Increase numbers though. U20s, plus up to another 4 nominated open age squads, at either 7s or XVs.

Ah well, ramblings of a ninny.

I know the Aus BaaBaas concept is trying to set up a tradition of playing a Heartland XV but I think it would be more useful as a development tool for emerging nations. It would also present a hell of an playing experience for those involved.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

I tend to haunt quite a few Rugby message boards and you never know who may pop up under an anonymous tag. You just need to know what to look for and be able to sort the bullshit from the legitimate information. A poster on one of those boards posted something about this. He has been fairly accurate in the past so I passed it on to the 'News from unexpected places' thread here.

I think this is a brilliant plan and one the aru should be lobbying the irc for funding for PI teams to play in the nrc. As oz rugby is broke and struggling and the irc needs oz as strong rugby nation. But primary purpose is to get PI teams more exposure to quality competition with side benefit it helps with the appeal and hopefully growth of nrc and rugby in oz. We need to do something majorily different to move forward rugby in oz and this sort of move has all the merits of being something which could be one of those game changers. Like to see focus on making this happen.



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[Rugbynutter39]

I think this is a brilliant plan and one the aru should be lobbying the irc for funding for PI teams to play in the nrc. As oz rugby is broke and struggling and the irc needs oz as strong rugby nation. But primary purpose is to get PI teams more exposure to quality competition with side benefit it helps with the appeal and hopefully growth of nrc and rugby in oz. We need to do something majorily different to move forward rugby in oz and this sort of move has all the merits of being something which could be one of those game changers. Like to see focus on making this happen.



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If they got Pi teams involved in nrc I would also like to see new deal with fox sports to include guaranteed marketing spend ring fenced for the competition. Also like to see arrangement where they have at least one game a week on Fta to get wider exposure


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[Rugbynutter39]

Here's an idea for the NRC! Fucking advertise that it's on!

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Yes agree but maybe got to choose right time before they heavily promote a product to attract new followers too - Ie get the product right - I think this season with a bit of tinkering getting closer to getting the product right. I don't think the product was good enough last year personally to heavily promote but as now made some good changes and got more games on foxsports next year they really need to find a way to ring fence some marketing spend from new foxsports deal as if involve Pi teams should be able to negotiate better tv money.


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[Rugbynutter39]

I do think the NRC clubs are doing there best with limited resources and seeing a lot of nice innovation to combine with other events.

But to launch a fledgling competition without any marketing including from Foxsports, means this competition is at risk of dwindling into irrelevancy. That from my perspective would be tragic.

So I do hope the following happens:
= the ARU, Fiji Rugby and World rugby can come to an arrangement for a Fiji team to enter NRC in 2017 (and how to market this)
= renegotiate better deal with the above with Foxsports and ring fence some of this extra money for dedicated marketing of NRC (and give 2017 a real crack)
= make the marketing more targeted e.g. target PI community with launch of new Fiji team. Not just about the marketing spend but being very clever about it. Will need a lot of innovation and working with key corporates, partners, media etc (refer below)
= as part of the marketing and partnership planning - identify and engage early key stakeholders to get this to be more successful (e.g, corporates, media, clubs, Super Rugby, sponsors). With Fiji team entering provides opportunity to widen the net e.g. companies linked to tourism. Think of something marketing wise innovative not done elsewhere that could make something memorable. No easy task I appreciate but start the thinking now.

 

[Braveheart81]

I think the NRC is marketed reasonably on Foxtel. They talk about it towards the end of the Super Rugby season and it is promoted during the two rugby shows and tests.

I don't think it is overly realistic for Foxtel to advertise it much more. It's a fairly niche competition and I don't think there would be much benefit for anyone promoting it on other channels or heavily during other sports broadcasts.

The competition needs to grow in stature before it has enough momentum to get a return from stakeholders through greater advertising.

At this point the reward in terms of both viewers and dollars is to allocate advertising etc. to test rugby.

One of the big mistakes they made with the ARC in 2007 was spending a lot of money promoting it which led to substantially larger crowds but also went nowhere close to recouping the marketing budget it took to achieve that.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Hence why I

I think the NRC is marketed reasonably on Foxtel. They talk about it towards the end of the Super Rugby season and it is promoted during the two rugby shows and tests.



I don't think it is overly realistic for Foxtel to advertise it much more. It's a fairly niche competition and I don't think there would be much benefit for anyone promoting it on other channels or heavily during other sports broadcasts.



The competition needs to grow in stature before it has enough momentum to get a return from stakeholders through greater advertising.



At this point the reward in terms of both viewers and dollars is to allocate advertising etc. to test rugby.



One of the big mistakes they made with the ARC in 2007 was spending a lot of money promoting it which led to substantially larger crowds but also went nowhere close to recouping the marketing budget it took to achieve that.

Hence why I stated needed to be more strategic with marketing. Chicken and egg. I am saying with Fiji team offers right time to more heavily promote but be strategic e.g. PI community for example.

Won't grow in stature without more fans.....my belief is product should be matured enough to more heavily market the game. If you want it to stay small and niche then yes just do nothing.

My point is with a Fiji team in this comp next year would be right time to do more marketing with appeal of Fiji with 7's gold medallists involved etc.

Again what I am stating is use the entry of a Fiji team to get better TV deal and ring fence some of that money for marketing so not risking going broke as you say. If don't try something different and just be static every year and do things around the margins you will have marginal change.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Hence why I







Hence why I stated needed to be more strategic with marketing. Chicken and egg. I am saying with Fiji team offers right time to more heavily promote but be strategic e.g. PI community for example.



Won't grow in stature without more fans...my belief is product should be matured enough to more heavily market the game. If you want it to stay small and niche then yes just do nothing.



My point is with a Fiji team in this comp next year would be right time to do more marketing with appeal of Fiji with 7's gold medallists involved etc.



Again what I am stating is use the entry of a Fiji team to get better TV deal and ring fence some of that money for marketing so not risking going broke as you say. If don't try something different and just be static every year and do things around the margins you will have marginal change.

And my point is getting better NRC TV deal with Fiji involved and using extra money from that deal for advertising (ie funded by NRC TV money - not other ARU money). That point seemed to be missed.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Hence why I



Hence why I stated needed to be more strategic with marketing. Chicken and egg. I am saying with Fiji team offers right time to more heavily promote but be strategic e.g. PI community for example.

Won't grow in stature without more fans...my belief is product should be matured enough to more heavily market the game. If you want it to stay small and niche then yes just do nothing.

My point is with a Fiji team in this comp next year would be right time to do more marketing with appeal of Fiji with 7's gold medallists involved etc.

Again what I am stating is use the entry of a Fiji team to get better TV deal and ring fence some of that money for marketing so not risking going broke as you say. If don't try something different and just be static every year and do things around the margins you will have marginal change.

A thought I had last night. With the success of 7s at the Olymoics perhaps that could be an interesting option for the NRC teams. They could work with local clubs to set up 7s competitons within the catchments and use these as a means of reaching out to potential fans. Present offers for admission etc.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Continuing to push the boundaries of product innovation good Working class rugger. You could pilot something to take a low risk approach.

Eg. have a one off 7 events weekend linked to NRC matches - I think some of the clubs have already been doing this.

Trying things like this - see if they work - then do more if it does. Got to give NRC clubs and those behind it they are definitely trying lots of things like this.

 

[wamberal]

One thing we need with the NRC is stability. This does not mean that changes should not happen, but the competition will never get much support unless and until the teams build up some tradition.


Having said that, I am not totally convinced by the current identities of the teams. Or their strips.

But I would rather see us stick with the current teams (plus the occasional addition, maybe, like the Fijian team) than chop and change around every season.

 

[TOCC]

Agreed wamberal, stability is key.. Especially in a competition like this which hopes/needs to leverage off the community for support rather then broad commercialisation, having some tradition and history is a key factor.

And my point is getting better NRC TV deal with Fiji involved and using extra money from that deal for advertising (ie funded by NRC TV money - not other ARU money). That point seemed to be missed.

Foxsports have the broadcast rights to the NRC until 2020, there won't be any increase in funding from broadcast rights until the 2021 season. Fiji could be introduced sooner and i hope they are, but it won't impact on the value of the rights .

 

[Lindommer]

+1, w. Without checking the crowd figures there seems to be much more support this year. Did ditching the Stars (how hard was it to barrack for them?) result in better support for the other three NSW teams? Anyways, there've been decent crowds at the matches I've been to at North Sydney Oval, Pittwater and Concord. May they keep improving.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

+1, w. Without checking the crowd figures there seems to be much more support this year. Did ditching the Stars (how hard was it to barrack for them?) result in better support for the other three NSW teams? Anyways, there've been decent crowds at the matches I've been to at North Sydney Oval, Pittwater and Concord. May they keep improving.

Better late than never but I seem to notice big pick up in crowds for last round and do wonder whether this is in part with some success of building in nrc as part of the rugby conversation.


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[wamberal]

Better late than never but I seem to notice big pick up in crowds for last round and do wonder whether this is in part with some success of building in nrc as part of the rugby conversation.


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Some of the rugby has been really good quality. Now, if only the grounds were all first class facilities, and if only we could do away with the silly law variations, we might have a sellable product for overseas markets. Niche broadcasts in countries will probably be an easier nut to crack than FTA here, unfortunately.

 

[Highlander35]

Stadiums is not an easy fix, but it has to be one to be considered for Television audience.

Lakeside could maybe work here in Melbourne. Don't know about Canberra and Perth, and the Country sides by design are probably going to struggle.

What of Sydney? Are Concord and North Sydney Oval of high enough quality to be considered first class, or with "minor" additions like the big screens?

And Ballymore by the same measurements?

 

[mst]

Stadiums is not an easy fix, but it has to be one to be considered for Television audience.

Lakeside could maybe work here in Melbourne. Don't know about Canberra and Perth, and the Country sides by design are probably going to struggle.

What of Sydney? Are Concord and North Sydney Oval of high enough quality to be considered first class, or with "minor" additions like the big screens?

And Ballymore by the same measurements?

Canberra is well off with Vikings Park as its a pretty good facility for the foreseeable future until you need to step up to Canberra Stadium. Could hold up to 10K, temporary seating can be added easily in addition to the grandstand, facilities are pretty good with TV standard lighting, additional pitches in the complex and all fenced so you can manage ground entry etc. Only thing missing is a big screen.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Stadiums is not an easy fix, but it has to be one to be considered for Television audience.

Lakeside could maybe work here in Melbourne. Don't know about Canberra and Perth, and the Country sides by design are probably going to struggle.

What of Sydney? Are Concord and North Sydney Oval of high enough quality to be considered first class, or with "minor" additions like the big screens?

And Ballymore by the same measurements?

Concord could be good if a little work was done to it as a means of upgrade. There are other options out there but it's a question of how far is too far for many.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Some of the rugby has been really good quality. Now, if only the grounds were all first class facilities, and if only we could do away with the silly law variations, we might have a sellable product for overseas markets. Niche broadcasts in countries will probably be an easier nut to crack than FTA here, unfortunately.

All inter related I am sure - better quality rugby it gets talked about but also about ensuring have conversations in right place e.g rugby360 where has bigger tv audience vs nrc extra time show nobody watches.

Quality better just got to get better at marketing it and financial innovation.

Grounds part of it - I think concord, rat park and Vikings home ground ok for where it is at. But yes Perth spirit games played on oval next to other ovals bit ratty but money side important so big expensive grounds not the go until right time. The move to cheaper grounds after first season been smart move generally.


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