Super Rugby preseason games in Asia

[Melbourne Terrace]

I want to see Rebels vs Force at Hindmarsh in Adelaide.

They would probably have to push a few buttons to actually get the right to play there. Adelaide United (A-League) a few weeks back cracked it when a Rugby League game or two absolutely destroyed their perfect pitch (which they quite correctly argue is critical to their game plan) just before the season started and i couldn't see them or the groundskeepers being too keen on having to clean up the mess after a Rugby friendly to previous conditions in the middle of summer and their major tenants season.

That said i don't see all the rage of taking games to far fetched places in the name of 'growing the game or team brand' blah blah. Unless they manage to pick up a very enthusiastic investor in singapore, they'd be better off taking as many games as they can to both regional victoria and outer suburb melbourne and building awareness up there. How much people from Adelaide or Tasmania or Singapore are going to buy weekly rebels tickets and turn up? How would this be more beneficial then getting the actual people who live in this state excited about the rugby?

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I really like this idea. While each are in Singapore they should spend the week preceding the game apart from training getting out among the schools and community to build awareness and start developing connection with the city state. Would be the same for any team. Aus and NZ teams have a really good opportunity to get into the Asian market. It won't bare dividends for some time but eventually they could build a fanbase in the region. An interesting one would be the Phillipines as thanks to their national team rapid rise in the Asian 5 Nations the game and the Volcanoes have been witnessing more exposure. An unlikely option.

 

[Army_Gav]

They would probably have to push a few buttons to actually get the right to play there. Adelaide United (A-League) a few weeks back cracked it when a Rugby League game or two absolutely destroyed their perfect pitch (which they quite correctly argue is critical to their game plan) just before the season started and i couldn't see them or the groundskeepers being too keen on having to clean up the mess after a Rugby friendly to previous conditions in the middle of summer and their major tenants season.

That said i don't see all the rage of taking games to far fetched places in the name of 'growing the game or team brand' blah blah. Unless they manage to pick up a very enthusiastic investor in singapore, they'd be better off taking as many games as they can to both regional victoria and outer suburb melbourne and building awareness up there. How much people from Adelaide or Tasmania or Singapore are going to buy weekly rebels tickets and turn up? How would this be more beneficial then getting the actual people who live in this state excited about the rugby?

It's a fair point. Generally there is, 2-3 preseason games.

I wouldn't have a problem with Adelaide as a one off, due to our arrangement with the academy and SA Rugby.

 

[Penguin]

And that is the problem with rugby at the moment. Reds now have 8 home games a year. I think one game played in a regional centre per year could be handled by the members in Brisbane.

It was tried in Townsville a couple of years ago & was a bit of a failure crowd wise. Have the trials in regional centres but the season proper has to be at Suncorp.

 

[Antony]

It was tried in Townsville a couple of years ago & was a bit of a failure crowd wise. Have the trials in regional centres but the season proper has to be at Suncorp.

That might play out differently now though - these Reds are a different proposition to the Reds of 1995-2009. It's a bit of a unique opportunity to take a really good, accessible version of the game to those places.

 

[lincoln]

Have you all seen the stadium that they are looking at using in Singapore?
Floating on the water.

Indeed the Floating Stadium is the size of a football field with adjoining seating for 27000. Would probably need a natural turf surface to be laid - big ask. Would prefer same setup as the Sevens at Padang next to cricket club - temporary stands for 4000 with the Guinness long bar behind one end. Excellent road trip for Rebels fans - you can visit the busiest ATM in south east Asia after the game ;-)

 

[Bardon]

I'm sure the pre-season games are just to test the waters. Then if they work out it wont be long before some super rugby games are played in asia too. Already seeing this more and more with the English clubs. Wasps played Quins in Abu Dhabi, Saracens will play one of the HEC games in Cape Town this year and London Irish are talking about taking games to Boston.

Can almost be sure that fans of these teams don't get a reduction on their season tickets when they do stuff like this either.