Super Rugby General Chat
- Thread starter waiopehu oldboy
- Start date
Adam84
Rod McCall (65)
Not talking grassroots, talking about the commercial appeal and tv audiences that continue to grow especially in the Gen Z demographic, and the subsequent fight for top tier talent that comes with ballooning salary caps.
NRLW is also an enormous threat to women's Rugby in the pacific, they’ve pillaged Australia Women’s Super Rugby teams as well as Aussie 7s fringe players, and the next natural talent pool is NZ, which has started already.
waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
Yeah, been back in NZ for six years now but living in SEQ we had whanau with rugby-mad kids who ended up playing AFL because that was the only code sending people into primary schools in places like Marsden, Woodridge & Waterford with bags of footballs for the kids to have fun with at lunch-time. That said, plenty of them also went to b'ball & now they're at high school & back in NZ are either still playing b'ball or nothing at all as they've been left behind skills- & experience-wise for rugby.
NRL audiences over here are largely Warriors-driven so, yeah, if they're having their once-in-a-decade "this is our year" season like this one was then ratings are through the roof. When they're propping up the bottom of the table, not so much. Sky keep pretty quiet about the actual numbers but I'm told the Super Rugby audience was up by around 10% this year & back to at least where they were pre-Covid & NRL is up only slightly: Warriors games get good numbers as do the other leading teams but practically no-one is watching e.g. Tigers v Bulldogs.
Agree wrt the women, hopefully WXV brings in enough revenue to make NRLW a less attractive option than it currently is.
Last edited:
Dan54
David Wilson (68)
Noone is suggesting that League doesn't have it supporters, but as WOB rightfully says , we been reading this since late 80s, and I have no doubt will read it a few more times, but genuinely if you live here in the country, I genuinely think you have a pretty good idea of how it is going.
If I believed everywrite up that has seen about the end of rugby in NZ, I would have had to find a new sport years ago.
In the meantime I will just go on watching and enjoying the game.
Derpus
Nathan Sharpe (72)
Actually thinking about it - Rugby is the main threat to Rugby.
Even if AFL and NRL didn't exist Rugby would still be trending downwards I reckon.
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
Rivez Reihana heading to the 5/8 finishing school that is the CruSadists.
Dan54
David Wilson (68)
Well that's 2 10s from Chiefs region Crusaders will have, and were obviously in need of another one after Burke's injury. Also may explain Chiefs signing Jacomb from the Naki, after sending Kemara to Crusaders last year with too many 10s.
waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
Ryan Crotty has signed on for CruSadists & will be needed with Goodhue gone to France & Ennor's knee injury likely to keep him out for most of the season.
waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
Rumour has it Manasa Mataele is also about to be announced as returning from WA which presumably means so too will his wife Martha which would be great news for Matatū's Super Rugby Aupiki campaign.
Last edited:
Tazzmania
Bob Loudon (25)
He was already farewelled by the Force at the end of the 2023 super rugby season and played for Canterbury in the NPC this year, so rumour is a very likely scenario
waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
^ I knew they'd played a NPC & Farah Palmer Cup for Cantabs (& Martha now with Black Ferns) but not that they weren't going back to WA.
Wilson
Phil Kearns (64)
Looks like all the squads are being named on the 9th of November:
Really happy to see this level of organisation across the competition, hopefully this means we should see the consistent team naming deadline week to week again too.
Really happy to see this level of organisation across the competition, hopefully this means we should see the consistent team naming deadline week to week again too.
