NRC onwards and upwards

[Wilson]

There was some talk of Byrne working with the super rugby sides at the time of his appointment. I'm sure he'll get around to all of them during the season, but clubs might be a bridge to far, at least in the first year or two.

The Brisbane clubs might get lucky with him based there, but beyond that I imagine he has his work cut out for him getting the professionals up to speed first.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

There was some talk of Byrne working with the super rugby sides at the time of his appointment. I'm sure he'll get around to all of them during the season, but clubs might be a bridge to far, at least in the first year or two.

The Brisbane clubs might get lucky with him based there, but beyond that I imagine he has his work cut out for him getting the professionals up to speed first.

It doesn't need to be a weekly thing were he needs to fly around the country non stop. He could run a number of clinics in each city. Invite the coaches from the respective clubs and run them through a range of drills and exercises. Then send them back to their clubs with the express purpose of doing likewise with the coaches of all the grades below them.

It's about utilising his intellectual capital. He can then monitor them through coaches reports. As he spends time with each Super Rugby squad he can run update clinics etc.

 

[kiap]

Peter Playford. After listening to the guy I have come to a conclusion on him and that's I quite like the bloke. His thoughts on the NRC and Club Rugby for that matter are clear and very reasonable.

Playford [on the NRC]: "It is the most important part of Australian Rugby. If it's overlooked, it's a significant strategic miss."

Just listened to his interview. Spot on. Rugby within Australia really needs this comp to succeed.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Playford [on the NRC]: "It is the most important part of Australian Rugby. If it's overlooked, it's a significant strategic miss."

Just listened to his interview. Spot on. Rugby within Australia really needs this comp to succeed.

Absolutely. Which actually makes me a little apprehensive as the ARU has so far performed poorly in terms of actually promoting it. You cannot build a fanbase that adds value without actually marketing the product. The NRC clubs can only do so much (though they all could do more even those that are doing something) but most of the emphasis on building the product falls directly on the ARU.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I worry that the ARU are too busy patting themselves on the back for getting it up and running and securing the TV deal that ensures its continuation (and they should be congratulated for both of those facts) but are failing all that progress by not doing what's required to ensure it success.

 

[amirite]

Here is the trouble with the NRC, it is by necessity held at a busy time of year sport-wise.

If the ARU have X amount of dollars to spend on 'marketing' (vague term in itself) then there's 2-4 other sports that have 10X dollars to market themselves in the same part of the year.

That's why the powers that be are opting for the 'PR' route. Now, good PR is amazing but when a company opts for it as option 1 it's usually because they're cash poor and it's usually not affective.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Here is the trouble with the NRC, it is by necessity held at a busy time of year sport-wise.

If the ARU have X amount of dollars to spend on 'marketing' (vague term in itself) then there's 2-4 other sports that have 10X dollars to market themselves in the same part of the year.

That's why the powers that be are opting for the 'PR' route. Now, good PR is amazing but when a company opts for it as option 1 it's usually because they're cash poor and it's usually not affective.

You may very be right. But there are other options when it comes to marketing. I posted this sometime earlier but a quick calculation of the likes on fb total 667,414. As I said in that post, it is reasonable to assume that of they like a page of a Rugby team that they like Rugby. Those are the core group you advertise to. Then you have mailing lists and clubs that should be targetted. Neither of them are particularly expensive to do.

 

[Waterboyrugby]

No one has really considered this, but it would be worthy of thought for the ARU. NZ teams have a history of joining Aussie comps (Warriors NRL, Breakers NBL etc), maybe it's time the favour was returned? Have 5-6 NRC teams join the ITM Cup. The rugby competition is stronger, the exposure is bigger, the rights deal could be better.

 

[Highlander35]

No one has really considered this, but it would be worthy of thought for the ARU. NZ teams have a history of joining Aussie comps (Warriors NRL, Breakers NBL etc), maybe it's time the favour was returned? Have 5-6 NRC teams join the ITM Cup. The rugby competition is stronger, the exposure is bigger, the rights deal could be better.

Would the Kiwis want it? I don't see that happening.

 

[amirite]

You may very be right. But there are other options when it comes to marketing. I posted this sometime earlier but a quick calculation of the likes on fb total 667,414. As I said in that post, it is reasonable to assume that of they like a page of a Rugby team that they like Rugby. Those are the core group you advertise to. Then you have mailing lists and clubs that should be targetted. Neither of them are particularly expensive to do.

Paid facebook is reasonably expensive (and TBH, I feel like there's plenty of 'non-paid' content on the NRC there already) and unsolicited emails, even if they are vetted rugby fans, are generally unwelcome.

Even when people agree to having emails sent to them open rates at roughly 15% with even less people clicking off email into a more meaningful place (like a web page).

I'm not shitting on you, just contextualising things.

There's actually an interesting article on this I read yesterday about the myth of low-hanging fruit. Here if you're interested: https://m.signalvnoise.com/the-myth-of-low-hanging-fruit-443459fe205a#.2l0h5ylgl

Call me optimistic but I think plenty of the problems in Aus Rugby have clever people trying to solve them, they're just difficult to solve for various reasons.

 

[amirite]

No one has really considered this, but it would be worthy of thought for the ARU. NZ teams have a history of joining Aussie comps (Warriors NRL, Breakers NBL etc), maybe it's time the favour was returned? Have 5-6 NRC teams join the ITM Cup. The rugby competition is stronger, the exposure is bigger, the rights deal could be better.

This already exists - it became Super Rugby.

 

[kiap]

Would the Kiwis want it? I don't see that happening.

True, NZRU don't want it.

That's okay. IF Australia does the hard work, we could have a good domestic comp 10-15 years down the track which, critically, would be owned and controlled by Australian Rugby.

But that's far from guaranteed at the moment.

The addition of a Fiji side would be a good move.

This already exists - it became Super Rugby.

Yeah, that's not really the history.

Believe it or not, the NSWRU at one time did have some administrators with a few things going for them. It was NSW who drove the SPC in the 1980s which later turned into the Super 6 and paved the way. From there, Terry Doyle from the QRU was instrumental in the setup of the Super 10.

Australian rugby did this stuff in the past. We could again.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Paid facebook is reasonably expensive (and TBH, I feel like there's plenty of 'non-paid' content on the NRC there already) and unsolicited emails, even if they are vetted rugby fans, are generally unwelcome.

Even when people agree to having emails sent to them open rates at roughly 15% with even less people clicking off email into a more meaningful place (like a web page).

I'm not shitting on you, just contextualising things.

There's actually an interesting article on this I read yesterday about the myth of low-hanging fruit. Here if you're interested: https://m.signalvnoise.com/the-myth-of-low-hanging-fruit-443459fe205a#.2l0h5ylgl

Call me optimistic but I think plenty of the problems in Aus Rugby have clever people trying to solve them, they're just difficult to solve for various reasons.

I've never been one to find a dissenting opinion or someone looking at an issue from another angle as necessarily a negative. We can at times get caught in our own line of thought that we lose a little persepctive.

I'm more talking about the content side of the equation. While there is a degree of content being created it (I only have the Tahs) tends to be a little stagnate. Posting scores and such as great but doesn't capture any real interest.

Things like plays of the week. Hype reels and even highlights. Let people get an idea what's on offer. There's also the ability to atrach offers for entrance etc.

Mailing lists might in ineffective but I was more using it as a means of data than anything else. Another aspect is using the village and junior clubs to reach the community.

As for low hanging fruit. For any of this to be effective it will require a pretty consistent effort on behalf of the ARU and NRC clubs.

 

[Braveheart81]

The Waratahs have certainly improved their promotion of the NRC massively this year and their NSW team of the week with some highlights is a good initiative.

The problem is that when you try to measure the increase you get a divide by zero error as they did nothing in the past.

Socmed is definitely the method that rugby fans need to be engaged with the NRC. Having all the games streamed now makes it possible to package up match highlights etc. for each game so people can see them.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

The Waratahs have certainly improved their promotion of the NRC massively this year and their NSW team of the week with some highlights is a good initiative.

The problem is that when you try to measure the increase you get a divide by zero error as they did nothing in the past.

Socmed is definitely the method that rugby fans need to be engaged with the NRC. Having all the games streamed now makes it possible to package up match highlights etc. for each game so people can see them.

Exactly what I'm talking about. I agree the Tahs coverage has indeed improved there's still room for growth in their coverage. They could package both a NSW team and NRC Plays of the Week, extensive game highlights. Player interviews and regualr updates on ticketing offers, game times etc. The Reds are running 'Inside the NRC' which os a good idea as well.

 

[TOCC]

There needs to be a consolidated effort when it comes to social media, QRU does it quite wel for the QLD NRC teams, maybe the ARU could contract them to do the same for the remaining 6 teams.

Little things like a standardised team list infographic with game times and 'how to watch', have a look at the the women's ANZ Championship for a good example, they do this brilliantly with a very simple and straightforward infographic illustrating a state by state breakdown of broadcast times and how you can watch the games.

Get rid of individual websites for teams, host it all on the one site, as it stands some teams have outdated websites or don't update them regularly enough. Have the ARU leverage their existing IT resources and host it all through their website, including player profiles, team Info etc.

Given the advertising budget for this comp is non-existent they really need to take advantage of the social media landscape, some teams are doing poorly at this and all teams have room for improvement.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Anybody got the updated ladder after three rounds 2016?

 

[Braveheart81]

 

[TOCC]

For the NRC to be successful in the longer term, one of the best things to happen would be to have a grand final between 2 NSW teams..

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

For the NRC to be successful in the longer term, one of the best things to happen would be to have a grand final between 2 NSW teams..

Well we could get a possible preview of what that could look like this weekend. The Rays will be hosting the Eagles ar Pittwater. Hopefully they can draw in a good crowd as going from early form it should be an absolute barnburner. Certainly an early contender for 'match of the round'.