World Rugby Sevens Caravan coming to Sydney

[WorkingClassRugger]

There's talk that USA will lose an event? Surely not?

It's not happening. Been confirmed as safe. It wasn't so much getting rid of the U.S. leg more looking at alternative venues. Which frankly was just crazy. It's already into probably one of the boom events on the series breaking attendance records year on year. Think crowds were up close to 15% this year.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Yep, reckon Vegas will be safe. I think they might be actually looking at pairing-up tournaments in regions/timezones, to reduce miles travelled - e.g.

UAE/RSA
AUS/NZL
USA/CAN
SNG/HKG
FRA/ENG

And Vancouver (the non-circuit version) already has a great atmosphere and attendance - probably what got them the nod.

Seems to be their intent.

 

[rugbyskier]

Happy to see Van getting an event though - cracking city and I reckon they'll get a surprising level of support

Rugby is quite strong in British Columbia, the national teams are based on Vancouver Island and there is a thriving club competition. The newsreader for Vancouver's top rating TV station is a rugby player and he chats about rugby with the fellow who reads the sports bulletins. The announcement that Vancouver was hosting the Sevens got a lot of publicity and BC Place is a great venue, undercover and in the heart of the city.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

As well as pairing tournaments by time zone I'd love to see WR (World Rugby) tighten up the schedule, how they expect to create & maintain interest under the current model (R1 late Oct, 2&3 early, mid-Dec, 4&5 early, mid-Feb, 6&7 late Mar, early Apr, etc) is beyond me. A week off between e.g. Las Vegas & Vancouver then a 2-week break before moving on to Asia makes far more sense IMO.

I'd also like to see everyone adopt the Las Vegas format & play over 3 x 2-session days rather than 2 x 3: my biggest issue with the Wellington 7's was always WTF else to do, the answer always being "go somewhere & drink". I'm sure that contributed to the poor crowd behaviour that seems to have put a lot of families off going (the alcohol-free zones being the least-populated this year it seemed to me). Not that I was ever one of the loud, obnoxious drunk morons ruining everyone else's day, beer + sun has the opposite effect on me for some reason.

A 3-day tournament is much more TV-friendly & must have plenty of benefits for the host city's hospitality sector, as well.

 

[Quick Hands]

One thing going for this first Sydney tournament will be the fact it's in the Olympic year. Surely that will mean there'll be some reasonably big names involved. Maybe even the likes of SBW and Folau.

One can only hope that the ARU use rugby's olympic status for all its worth.

Unfortunately there's still a lot of rah rah types who look down their noses at 7s and I fear the possibility of resistance by inertia by the ARU at what should be a free kick in terms of profile, media coverage and public interest.

I certainly hope I'm wrong and the ARU make this a winner.

Does anyone know if Events NSW are involved in the funding and/or promotion of the event?

 

[barbarian]

Yeah Destination NSW (formerly Events NSW) are involved in the funding and promotion.

The reaction to this has been 100% positive. This motherfukka is going to be huge....... in year 1 anyway.

 

[RugbyReg]

Word to the wise Hugh. You need the ARU to actively promote. It went pretty much site unseen up here. Although I do think destination nsw do event promotion better than TEQ.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Agreed. The ARU needs to not only target it's current base but work with Events NSW to develop a marketing campaign to the casual sports fan. In a city the size of Sydney the event should be sold out in every session. The best way to ensure that is by drawing as many new eyes as possible.

 

[Omar Comin']

Another big target market is the expat communities of all the participating teams.

 

[TOCC]

Waratahs/NSWRU need to be invested into this tournament as well, not just the ARU.

Have a junior championship and schools championship running in the week leading up to it, depending on what time of the year its held you might be able to host the National 7's Championship as well. Make it a week long 7's festival...

 

[p.Tah]

UAE/RSA
AUS/NZL
USA/CAN
SNG/HKG
FRA/ENG

So Singapore was officially announced today. So we have:
Dubai
Cape Town
Sydney
Wellington (for how long?)
Las Vegas
Vancouver
Singapore
Hong Kong
London
And one more.

You'd expect this will be Glasgow's last one. Most are suggesting Paris.

 

[wamberal]

Singapore will be a flop. It took Hong Kong 20 years to build into something big. Nobody waits that long these days.


Plus, Hong Kong has always been a far more interesting regional destination than Singapore.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Singapore was once a mecca for Duty Free goods, when most countries had very complex and high tariff systems for (primarily) small electrical consumer goods like stereos, watches, cameras, etc. This was also bolstered by the long haul Airlines using it as a preferred hub location.

Much of the long haul airline hub market has been grabbed (or is in the process of being grabbed) by the UAE, and the subsequent spend by the Arabian Peninsular governments on tourist infrastructure.

Tariff simplification on the back of various Free Trade Agreements and Tax reforms has reduced the competitive advantage of flying to a Duty Free haven to buy your next stereo or camera. China has opened up its borders and tourist infrastructure in other parts of South East Asia has also improved making a direct flight there more practical than needing to have to stopover in Singapore.

While there will undoubtably be some good financial incentives to take the 7's roadshow into Singapore, like Wamberal, I don't think that Singapore will give the full stadiums that Rugby 7's needs for its TV audience.

 

[wamberal]

Hugh,


We now live in a very fast changing world, consumers of all kinds look for new experiences. That is just stating the obvious, of course.


That is one reason that the Auckland Nines has been such a huge success. It will fade over time.


But all sports administrators need to be fleet-footed and quick thinking these days. The polar opposite of Whirled Rugby, in other words.



Somebody (or rather, some organisation) in Singapore has a big pot of money to be used to attract international sport to the new National Stadium. No doubt Whirled Rugby can make hay for a short few years. It will be interesting to see how long the World Tens tournament survives - that produces pretty good rugby, and should do well.

As for the "full houses" that the Sevens circuit needs, I cannot see too many of those in the forseeable future. Obviously Hong Kong is now a regional institution. Las Vegas seemed to do okay. Other than that, nah. Maybe London, depending on the weather.

 

[barbarian]

London has gotten 80k for the last couple of years. Dubai is also a big success now.

The tournament tends to do well in areas with a large expat community, and plenty of options for sponsorship. Singapore ticks both boxes, so I expect it will do pretty well.
.

 

[Omar Comin']

The London event had 113,000 spectators last year. A few years ago it was practically empty.

Check out the ad for this year's 'galactic' themed event:

I think world rugby is moving in the right direction by having every event in major cities.

 

[Braveheart81]

I think the NZ just needs to be moved on from Wellington to Christchurch or somewhere.

It seems that in most places you'd be best served having the 7s there for three or four years and then moving them somewhere new.

There's definitely a novelty aspect involved and punters will go once or twice and then stop going because they've experienced it. You need to keep tapping into new audiences.

 

[wamberal]

It would be a nice gesture to play it in Christchurch, but unfortunately I doubt that it is a long-term option because of the on-going effects of the earthquake(s).


It should always have been in Auckland.

 

[Braveheart81]

Wellington sold out for several years. I don't see why it wouldn't be a success in Christchurch for a couple of years, head to Auckland for 3 or 4 years and then if you went back to Wellington in 2021 or something I bet it would sell out again.

 

[wamberal]

Christchurch is still a war zone AFAIK. But I agree with your general point, which is that the venue has to move from time to time.


London is the biggest city in the centre of the largest population of rugby players and supporters on the planet. If it cannot sustain a Sevens tournament, we are all fooked. (Incidentally, the Middlesex Sevens used to be pretty big, back in the day).

Singapore is not Hong Kong, never was, and never will be.

As I have posted elsewhere, probably boring everybody to tears, Hong Kong was an overnight sensation - although it was a long night, 20 years. Plus, it has always been a far more vibrant city. No rules. Singapore, on the other hand, is still a nanny state. Different culture.

If Singapore has a potential expat audience for Sevens, surely the audience will turn out for the Tens?