Rugby’s crowd sizes a sorry sight
One was explaining why his company had kept its tickets, but the other said he had returned his.
It was, he said, a reaction to the World Cup loss and because he was still annoyed the All Blacks players didnt play in the first half of last years Super 14.
Its a familiar tale for Chiefs chief executive Gary Dawson who has watched crowds for the Waikato-based franchise plummet by 25 per cent this year.
There were 10,273 at Waikato Stadium when the Chiefs played the Waratahs, a few hundred more for the Cheetahs, and a few hundred less for the Stormers.
When the Chiefs travelled to Rotorua over Easter only 6400 were there to watch them play the Bulls but a slightly healthier 11,495 were in Hamilton for last weeks win against the Highlanders.
We are very disappointed with the crowds, Dawson admitted. We were expecting much bigger crowds than that.
Dawson said those who returned their season tickets told the Chiefs they were still annoyed there were no All Blacks in the early part of the Super 14 last year, they were angry the All Blacks lost the World Cup and that Graham Henry was retained as coach.
There was also some fallout from Waikatos performance in the Air New Zealand Cup. They went from champions to beaten quarterfinalists.
But Dawson said rugby was also suffering from the tightening of the countrys economy, while the Chiefs were feeling the squeeze from the V8 car race in Hamilton.
Everyone seems to agree the fantastic summer hasnt helped rugby - and Dawson thinks a March start is needed - but he also blasted the lack of marketing of the tournament.
The NRL is marketed by the NRL. The only marketing the Super 14 gets is from its sponsors. We need to get on the front foot and market the game more.
Times are tough in the deep south. Otago is $1.5 million in the red and the Highlanders have as much success drawing a decent crowd as a farmer doing a rain dance.
People are not stupid. If we succeed more we will get more people to the games, Highlanders chief executive Richard Reid said.
A South African colleague agrees. When quizzed on the crowds in South Africa, he fired back a strongly worded e-mail saying he was sick of reading about whingeing Aussies and Kiwis saying the S14 is dying while totally ignoring what happens in South Africa.
He went on to note that the Lions play in front of an empty Ellis Park, but years of defeat have created that. And the Cheetahs are basically the Chiefs when it comes to a fan base, but the other three get great crowds with not much prompting.
Last years New Zealand `disinterest was a function of the All Blacks withdrawal and losing franchises, and this year its surely because the fans have been fooled too often - ra ra Super 14 performances only to be followed by a World Cup disaster - its bound to make you a bit jaundiced.
If you had five New Zealand franchises in the top five no one would be chuntering about a dying competition.
Reid said franchises also had to be realistic about what they should expect at Super 14 games. We are never going to get 25,000 to Carisbrook unless its a test match, but if we got 12,000, that would be good. Thats about 10 per cent of Dunedins population.
The wider Highlanders region has a population of about 200,000, but night games were a deterrent for rural folk.
If you live in a rural community, thats two or three hours drive away. The game finishes at 9.30pm, youll need a designated driver and youre not going to be home till midnight.
If I was one of them I would question going to the games too.
The Hurricanes were the success story of Super rugby. Sure they are yet to win the competition, but they have always been well supported - till this year.
There were 31,571 at Westpac Stadium for last weeks match against the Crusaders, but only 16,000 turned up to watch the Reds in the second round, and 16,900 for the Chiefs match a week later.
Its a far cry from the average crowds of more than 27,000 who watched the Hurricanes in 2000, 2001 and 2002 when they were losers, but entertaining losers.
Hurricanes chief executive Greg Peters suggests the Super competition always starts slowly with interest building as the season developed.
This year was following a similar pattern, but with smaller crowds. Smaller even, than the reduced crowds the Hurricanes had expected to get.
We are disappointed with the first few rounds especially when compared to the heights of some of the previous seasons, Peters said. Theres no way well reach the heights of the last eight seasons unless we host a semifinal and the final.
But Peters said rugby wasnt completely to blame for its plight. He said there were a lot of other things for people to spend their time and money on, and Wellington was a hard market as it was an event destination.
He concedes the NZRUs decision to remove the All Blacks last year was still hurting the franchises.
But were starting to rebuild the positivity and interest in the game, and last week was testimony to that. It shows that rugby is alive and well.
