Where for art thou, Ardie?
PLUS: ABs hit the Metaverse in The Week That Was and the Weekend That Will Be
After Covid wreaked havoc with the tournament, Super Rugby has made huge gains this season. While getting people along to the games remains an issue for both rugby administrators and some stadium operators, the viewership numbers this season have been excellent as the Pacific iteration of Super Rugby beds in.
Every now and then, however, you’re reminded why the sport is often its own worst enemy.
This is a message I received from somebody who works in a position of influence in rugby’s industrial military complex. He has given me permission to use it under anonymity.
He is referring to the decision - made in line with the diktat that All Blacks must take in-season breaks - to rest arguably the best player in the country, Ardie Savea. He will miss what should have shaped as one of the games of the season when the Chiefs and Hurricanes meet in Hamilton in primetime tomorrow (see The Weekend That Will Be).
Stuff kind of covers this off, with Richard Knowler saying: “If Hollywood moguls invest big money in a project, they want movie stars on the set to fill the theatres and win awards. The same principle applies to Super Rugby Pacific. It’s the glamour boys, the All Blacks, who add lustre to the competition each weekend.”
This theme of Super Rugby fans being ripped off has echoes in this curious story on Rugby Pass, headlined: “The abnormal stat that shows signs of a deliberate plan for Beauden Barrett.”
With nine games of Super Rugby and 720 minutes of action played, he has made just 20 tackles all season. That is one every 36 minutes, almost a half a game of rugby.
He went through one fixture against the Hurricanes in round three without logging a single tackle or tackle attempt.
Combined with the most kicks in the competition it is clear Barrett is working to a plan to come through this Super Rugby season unscathed.
And that should be accepted by the New Zealand rugby public as a necessary means to an end.
Even accounting for a shameless Taranaki bias, there is not a rugby player in the world that has given me more viewing pleasure over the past decade than Beauden Barrett, but as a fan of the sport there is far more to worry about if the story is true rather than just a manufactured angle.
If you want southern hemisphere rugby below international level to have agency, then that last line should send shivers down your collective spine. It implies that New Zealand’s five Super Rugby clubs are not entities in their own right, but a series of holding pens for the All Blacks.
It absolutely should not be accepted by the New Zealand rugby public as a necessary means to an end.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Welcome to the All Blacks next venue: THE METAVERSE!
From Gregor Paul’s fascinating look at “the complicated world of the All Blacks and digital art”($), comes these frankly baffling lines from Sam Jenkins, co-founder along with Dan Carter of Glorious, a New Zealand-based NFT studio and marketplace.
“I feel like the metaverse is the point in time where your online identity is more important than your real-life identity. The black jersey is one of the most iconic in sport, owning an NFT of that black jersey could be more important than owning it in real life. Each year NZR could release 100 NFT jerseys and you can keep that, wear it in the metaverse, trade it or maybe you burn it and Adidas send you the limited-edition jersey.
“If I am an All Blacks fan and I go to the World Cup final, imagine taking a photo and a few hours later you get a proof of attendance protocol with your photo saying I was here and you had that as a digital memory.”
This is mischievously taking Paul out of context, but I did like how the next 14 words he wrote were: It’s easy to understand why there are and will continue to be NFT sceptics…
According to the Daily Mail, it was a “huge shock” that one of Australia’s most beloved codes failed to make the top 10 in participation. Count me as utterly that unshocked that league didn’t make it (neither, equally unsurprisingly, did rugby).
The Australian Sports Commission's official AusPlay survey has shown that soccer is once again the most popular sport to play in the country.
[Football] has 1,154,153 participants, followed by golf (742,231), Aussie Rules (699,940) and tennis (648,210).
Netball came in at No.5 (645,261), followed by basketball (588,720), cricket (506,947), swimming (379,671), touch football (277,856) and running/athletics (256,639).
Despite being one of the most-watched sports in the country with a super-rich broadcast rights deal, rugby league participation is down and it’s a crucial issue that NRL boss Peter V’landys has addressed in recent years.
The thing that surprises me is that a collision sport, Aussie Rules, is so high, but the Auskick programme to get kids playing the sport, first rolled out in 1998, has been a stunning success in a way that perhaps League Stars (NRL) and Rippa Rugby have struggled to replicate.
Bailey Mes has pulled the pin on her 15-year netball career.
The tributes from teammates of the former Silver Ferns shooter are heartfelt and generous. The Mairangi Bay Netball Oracle, one of Mes’ biggest boosters, is not taking the news well. “She was having the best [season] of her career,” she screamed. What the Magic shooter has done, at least, is give everybody a reason to watch the bottom-of-the-table clash on Sunday - Mes’ last game.
Southern Steel v Waikato/ Bop Magic, Invercargill, Sunday 4.10pm, Sky Sport 1
These stories are just wretched. Nobody should die at 33 whether they’re a former rugby player, a fitter and turner or a Michelin-starred chef. Former Makos halfback Billy Guyton was farewelled at his home ground of Trafalgar Park, Nelson, today. I was struck by these lines in the story on Stuff today.
Former Mako captain Shane Christie made an emotional appeal for rugby to be better at transitioning players into careers after they stopped playing, and better at looking after those with mental health issues and concussion injuries.
“We need to be better as individuals looking after our mates.”
Women are much better than this but regardless of gender, give a mate who you haven’t heard from for a while a call this weekend.
What’s the worst that can come of it?
THE WEEKEND THAT WILL BE
If there is a club who have not struggled to transfer eyes from screens to bums on seats this season it is the Chiefs, who are expecting close to another sell-out this weekend. It demonstrates a number of things: that winning is still the best drawcard; that rugby’s primacy is still evident in the provinces; and that a conveniently placed and well-designed stadium is critical. This game is of great import, also. The Chiefs still lead the table, but that is in jeopardy after they rested key players against the Reds in New Plymouth, while the Hurricanes are in third but have yet to convince they can win the important matches.
Chiefs v Hurricanes, Hamilton, tomorrow 7.05pm, SS 1
Ryan Fox continues to impress with a strong first-round performance at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill. You’re going to take that any day of the week, but especially the Thursday of a major.
The presence of Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau adds a bit of LIV frisson to proceedings.
Things haven’t gone so well for the other Kiwi, with Steven Alker recording a 10-over par 80. He still had the great thrill of featuring in the pages of the New York Times under the headline: “Meet the Pro Athlete Who Is Thrilled to Be in His 50s.” Other day one strugglers were last week’s winner on the PGA Tour Jason Day, Masters champ Jon Rahm and US Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick (all +6).
US PGA Championship, Rochester, tomorrow-Monday 5am, SS 6
The Heat qualified eighth for the NBA playoffs and promptly stole home court advantage from the two-seed Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, completely neutralising the home side’s star Jayson Tatum in the fourth quarter. As a coach, Erik Spoelstra is creating a legacy to match his mentor Pat Riley.
Boston Celtics v Miami Heat, Gm 2, tomorrow 12.30pm, ESPN
It’s quite relaxing contemplating a weekend without fretting about the Warriors and the match of the round was probably Penrith’s win in Brisbane last night. There’s always a bit of bite when these two teams meet, however.
South Sydney v Parramatta, Sydney, tonight 10pm, SS 4
Formula One made the only decision they could in cancelling this weekend’s race in flood hit Emilia-Romagna. There is still the decision hint of high-performance fuel wafting in on the air from Tasmania, where the Supercars line up to take on one of the great hairpin turns in motorsport. Meanwhile, the Gis is getting a drive in Nascar.
Meanwhile, I’m not going to pretend oval track qualifying is the most exciting watch on the planet, but it is the Indy 500!
Supercars, Symmons Plains, races 11-12, Sunday 3.05pm and 5.50pm, SS 5
Indy 500 qualifying (Top 12), Indianapolis, Monday 6am, SS 5
Manchester City, facing more than 100 charges of financial irregularities, can wrap up the Premier League this weekend. I guess that’s worth celebrating.
Manchester City v Chelsea, Etihad Stadium, Monday 3am, SS EPL
Where for art thou, Ardie?........As a New Zealand kid, growing up dreaming of the All Blacks jumper, but eventually finding my role as an ardent supporter, cheering from the sidelines for every match. Now, my allegiance is wavering. I find myself tuning into maybe just one game a weekend, if that, and limited to Super Rugby finals and major internationals.
What's clear is that sports which emphasise the entertainment factor like UFC are quickly encroaching on the attention and support once exclusively held by rugby. And it's not hard to see why - they deliver consistent excitement, engage fans, and offer fresh narratives and personalities.
It's worth mentioning that we've even seen homegrown UFC champions emerge from New Zealand, without significant support and even a reputable gym or two. Rugby's hold isn't as firm as it once was, and it's time to acknowledge the rising popularity and potential of these alternative sports.
Any idea if Billy Guytons family will look at possible CTE links? I’d imagine it’s an awful time and hard thing to consider, but donating his brain could go a long way for further establishing the link between NZ rugby and CTE, and more importantly giving them so closure.