Rugby facing entertainment issues

OPINION: It's a sad indictment on the game, and a rather embarrassed looking Jerome Kaino knows it.

The big All Blacks flanker packed down for the Blues in their romp over the Cheetahs on Friday night. But for once his most loyal fans, his two sisters, didn't go to the game. The reason? They're sick of rugby. Tired of all the aimless kicking.

"They actually can't wait for the league season to start," Kaino said rather sheepishly.

"Rugby, they reckon, has become boring, so they can't be bothered watching anymore. I was a bit surprised but when I thought about it, some of it hasn't been flash, has it?"

The question, albeit rhetorical, deserves an answer, because this year, more than any, Kaino's sisters are not alone.

Rugby's support base is having their faith in the game tested by an over-abundance of mediocre entertainment, and many are voicing their displeasure with their remotes and their feet.

Although it's notoriously difficult to get an accurate gauge on whether the sport's popularity is waning, reliable measures such as Nielsen Media TV ratings indicate fewer fans are bothering to tune into games.

The turnstiles are not exactly buzzing either.

Vast swathes of empty seats this year at Waikato Stadium, Carisbrook and Wellington's Cake Tin are evidence of that. Although AMI Stadium and Eden Park are a little harder to assess while both grounds are in the middle of major overhauls, season ticket holders have slumped to a staggeringly low 17,000 across our five Super rugby bases.

Exactly why the game is losing ground in the ultra competitive entertainment market is a question the game's administrators are grappling with. Some of the blame can be attributed to New Zealanders' interests diversifying, and sports such as rugby league are making inroads.

But more than ever there's a growing school of thought that rugby is becoming its own worst enemy. That one of the game's great strengths its complexity is leading to its demise. Nobody the players, coaches, referees and fans can understand what is going on half the time.

A high-ranking rugby official who shall remain nameless admitted recently: "It's got so bad I have found myself flicking over to Rove on the Friday night because I can at least understand that."

To add to the confusion, two different sets of laws are being trialled in the northern and southern hemispheres and there's as much confusion about what path the game should take on the field as there is off it.

The International Rugby Board is keen to seize the initiative and avert further confusion by staging a potentially face-saving meeting at the end of this month.

All the game's good and great including All Blacks forwards' coach Steve Hansen, New Zealand Rugby Union No2 Neil Sorensen, referees boss Lyndon Bray and a couple of players (depending on who's injured) will travel to London to try to reach a consensus with representatives from all the other major test-playing nations before the game's politicians make a final decision at a full IRB council meeting in May.

The traditionally more conservative north has looked on disapprovingly while the south adopted short arm penalty sanctions for most offences in an attempt to speed up the game. The experiment has been a mixed bag.

However, at executive level the south is convinced the trial was a success and NZRU chief executive Steve Tew confirmed: "We remain firmly convinced that the 16 ELVs trial we are running is the way to go. We believe the sanction gives the referee the chance to not stop the game with a penalty all the time and speeds it up."

The north stridently disagrees, arguing rugby doesn't necessarily have to be fast for it to be compelling. They also point out the game is thriving there so why fix something that ain't broke?

The stakes are high and the outcome, some say, may make or break the next world cup, because a moratorium on any future law changes beyond May will be imposed to they can be bedded in before the tournament.

Others are less convinced and say rugby can be entertaining despite the rules.

Tew's IRB offsider Mike Miller said: "Laws can make some difference [to whether a game is entertaining or otherwise] but the biggest factor is attitude. I think if you look at matches in the north, the reason why there is so much kicking at the moment, it's not the ELVs, it's the way we are policing the break-down, making sure people come in from behind and therefore many coaches have said we don't want to lose the ball in our territory so bang it down the other end. It's really about mentality. When teams start winning by playing attractive, attacking rugby and back themselves and have confidence, others will say if they can do it we can too."

It's a view the likes of All Blacks wing Joe Rokocoko endorse.

The All Blacks speed machine is fast becoming noted as one of the game's thinkers.

He told the Sunday Star-Times this week: "At the moment, players feel as if they have to kick the ball so they don't get caught with it. There's a reluctance to take risks.

"Now instead of just kicking for position, we are now kicking not just to chase it and put pressure on, but into areas on the field so we receive it back again in a better position and then to attack."

That has led to bouts of aerial ping pong and snoring in the stands; something of which Tew is acutely aware. "We have to openly admit that over the last couple of years there has been more emphasis on defence and that's closed the game down as an exciting open running sport and we have to find some way around that," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News