Welcome to Monday’s Rugby News, G&GRs!
Well, in the interlude between the end of the Super season (and most other competitions around the world) and the July internationals, there has been sweet fuck all to do this weekend. I was so bored that I did all the washing, house cleaning and dog poo picking up all before 2pm! Yikes! If only there was a Mrs Mackay that would be suitably impressed at my once-in-a-year motivated morning!
Anyhoo, I’ll be brief of the rundown of the little rugby there was. There has , however, been one topic of conversation that has dominated the craparazzi group chat this weekend. That is the marketing of the Wallabies and of Australian rugby.
WALLABIES MARKETING
Over the weekend, the Wallabies social media pages lit up with some fairly uninspiring content. Firstly, there was Nela’s ridiculous advert with some pasty Poms at their tea party. For me – epic fail. Not only was it not funny, but it made very little sense and really made RA and the Wallabies look like fools. Then came the humdinger that set quite a few of us off: the support of the bloody State of Origin. The core message from my fellow ‘journalists’ – who gives a flying fark?! Not only do we have a situation where we are in direct competition for viewers (and their dollarydoos… gotta keep the Simpsons’ theme going here), but we are competing in one of the most sports saturated markets in the world. And what does RA do? Give free farking marketing to the opposition! Could you imagine the NRL or the AFL kicking such an own goal like this? Absolutely not! They are absolutely capable of shooting themselves in the foot many times over without RA’s help!
Now, this silly marketing opens up another can of worms. The strategy, or the complete lack thereof, is a major obstacle to rugby being viewed in this country. Finances are obviously dire; however, without a proper marketing strategy and creative content that doesn’t indulge other sports, we have absolutely bugger all hope of going anywhere. Quite simply, there has to be a clean out of whomever thought up posting the NRL content a la the Houston Rockets a few years ago. In an era where viral social media campaigns can really influence a sports market, the ‘old blokes in suits’ really have to think outside the box and do some proper content.
This doesn’t only go for the Wallabies season. The marketing around, for example, Super Round was simply atrocious. That paying spectators didn’t even know a women’s final was being played, despite stumping up their hard-earned for tickets, was galling. Now, I’m no marketing expert by any stretch of the imagination; however, even I can see that there is absolutely no content anywhere about rugby. We may well be hitting a golden decade in the sport but the golden light risks being smothered by our own cheap imagery and lack of foresight.
RUGBY’S BACK, BABY!
This coming week, all is good in the world again. Rugby is back, baby! We will start to see what teams are thinking ahead of RWC 2023 and what the state of play is in terms of players and tactics.
The schedule for this coming weekend is below. Matches underlined are featured on Stan Sports.
Wednesday 29th – NZ Maori v Ireland
Friday 1st July – USA v French BaaBaas, Romania v Italy,
Saturday 2nd July – Australia v England, NZ v Ireland, Japan v France, DDFs v Wales, Argentina v Scotland, Canada v Belgium, Australia A v Samoa, Fiji v Tonga
Sunday 3rd July – Georgia v Argentina XV
CARL HAYMAN’S DEMENTIA DIAGNOSIS
In yet another sobering reality check, especially for the ‘back in my day’ types still out there, former Kiwi Prop Carl Hayman has described his life with early-onset dementia.
Though I’ll link the article here, there were two paragraphs that really hit home. This is considering both the crisis that all contact sports, not only rugby, is dealing with. As well as the physical nature of CTE, the mental health aspect is one that I fear is being glossed over.
“Carl will say,” she recounts matter-of-factly “and I totally get where he’s coming from: ‘What’s the point in living? It’s only going to get worse. I’ve got headaches every day. I can’t function. And this is as good as it’s going to get.’ There is no cure.”
“Carl has joked about going out to sea on his boat. Put in so much fuel and just go in one direction. And, you know, the fuel’s going to run out eventually …”
Devastating. Our best wishes go to Carl and his family.
MLR RUGBY FINAL AND CURRIE CUP FINAL
New York, who proclaim themselves as the ‘Iron Workers’ in reference to the steel workers who raised the sky scrapers that are synonymous with the NYC skyline, have won the MLR competition.
In spite of the shit fight that was the Adam Gilchrist-backed sides (not that Gilly, btw) and their premature exit from the competition, the team based out of JFK Stadium in Hoboken, took their chances and ran away victors by 30-15 over Seattle. The match article is here.
In the Currie Cup, The Pumas outplayed Griquas in all departments to land a first-ever Currie Cup title in Kimberley on Saturday in front of 11 000 roaring fans at Griqua Park. It was a fantastic spectacle that saw two of the country’s smaller unions sharing the spotlight, throwing everything at each other, and while it ended in heartache for the hosts, coach Jimmy Stonehouse and his Pumas will be celebrating long into the night. For the men from Kimberley, the wait for a first Currie Cup crown since 1970 continues. For the Pumas, who stormed to a 26-19 victory, this is a day sweeter than any before and easily the crowning moment in the union’s history. Article is here.
