Pacific Championship

[Walter sobchak]

Wouldn’t a 4nations consisting of Australia, NZ, England and Tonga running parallel with a qualifying tri-nations competition consisting of PNG, Samoa and Fiji have been better??

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Well maybe the RFL should take leaf out of the NRL and help fund the game in Europe....i.e organise games etc etc

Growing the game in Europe will increase revenue. I recall the NZ NRL tv contract is worth $3mil

The New Zealand TV rights are worth somewhere between $100 and $150 million to the NRL

 

[Matua]

The New Zealand TV rights are worth somewhere between $100 and $150 million to the NRL

Really? How long for?

I don't think viewership for the NRL is that high in NZ anymore, certainly not in comparison with what it was in the past.

 

[morningstar]

Really? How long for?

I don't think viewership for the NRL is that high in NZ anymore, certainly not in comparison with what it was in the past.

Exact figures aren’t published by Sky or the NRL, but it has been alluded in the media previously the deal was $20M a year over 5 years.

http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/7717821/Sky-not-likely-to-pay-a-fortune-for-NRL-rights

 

[kiwileaguefan]

Exact figures aren’t published by Sky or the NRL, but it has been alluded in the media previously the deal was $20M a year over 5 years.

http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/7717821/Sky-not-likely-to-pay-a-fortune-for-NRL-rights

Well I didn't know it was that high....i knew it was peanuts but was under the impression it was $3m but last figure was $14m....

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Really? How long for?

I don't think viewership for the NRL is that high in NZ anymore, certainly not in comparison with what it was in the past.

The exact figure isn't known but it is strongly rumoured to be between $20 and $30 million per year. It is great money and is what puts the NRL TV deal up almost on par with the AFL deal.

 

[Matua]

The exact figure isn't known but it is strongly rumoured to be between $20 and $30 million per year. It is great money and is what puts the NRL TV deal up almost on par with the AFL deal.

That's just weird, Sky gets its subscribers for the rugby, most of the league watching is a by product of that - e.g. remove the NRL from Sky and they'll lose some diehard league only fans, but it wont be a significant drop is subscribers.

 

[Force]

Wouldn’t a 4nations consisting of Australia, NZ, England and Tonga running parallel with a qualifying tri-nations competition consisting of PNG, Samoa and Fiji have been better??

This, I'd also add Cook Islands to the 3N to make it even.

So main 4N comp (NZ/OZ/Eng/Ton)
2nd 4N comp (Fiji/Cooks/Sam/PNG)

Winner of 2nd comp and loser of main comp swap places for the following year.

 

[Force]

Neither are union's figures. Super whatever and domestic comps have fallen off a cliff in NZ.

Thats because in Union, the International game takes precedence in NZ, as it should be. League has its arse-about-front where the pinnacle is a game between two states, followed by club footy and international footy a distant 3rd. We need to flip that around, Tonga and their supporters are making international footy a spectacle, the rest are asleep. Mind you, the other Pacific Island supporters can match Tonga's enthusiasm.

 

[kiwileaguefan]

Thats because in Union, the International game takes precedence in NZ, as it should be. League has its arse-about-front where the pinnacle is a game between two states, followed by club footy and international footy a distant 3rd. We need to flip that around, Tonga and their supporters are making international footy a spectacle, the rest are asleep. Mind you, the other Pacific Island supporters can match Tonga's enthusiasm.

They really need to play a game in Tonga to build on this momentum. They were saying on the news how the domestic comp went from 11 teams to 38 on the back of last year's RLWC

If RL doesn't make inroads in the country itself to help produce talent, then It will die a slow death. Same goes for Fiji...

 

[Disinterested third party]

Thats because in Union, the International game takes precedence in NZ, as it should be. League has its arse-about-front where the pinnacle is a game between two states, followed by club footy and international footy a distant 3rd. We need to flip that around, Tonga and their supporters are making international footy a spectacle, the rest are asleep. Mind you, the other Pacific Island supporters can match Tonga's enthusiasm.

I've been saying that for about two decades but thanks for the heads up.

 

[jim_57]

This, I'd also add Cook Islands to the 3N to make it even.

So main 4N comp (NZ/OZ/Eng/Ton)
2nd 4N comp (Fiji/Cooks/Sam/PNG)

Winner of 2nd comp and loser of main comp swap places for the following year.

Problem is though England can't play in it every year. It's Pacific championships, I wouldn't have England in there at all. By all means they can tour and play against those sides but they should be left out of any such tournament as it turns a regional championship in to a random 4 nations.

England should be playing in a Euro Cup once in a 4 year cycle.

 

[RedVee]

Heard Kristin Woolf on the radio yesterday morning. At that point he said Tonga had only heard of this proposal through the press

 

[siv]

Do you need Australia to run a successful Pacific Cup ?

 

[parrawentyfan]

With the Tonga v Australia game

Whatever the format, one of the primary aims of the RLIF and nations in the Pacific region should be to aim for this type of game, atmosphere and experience several times a year across the Pacific. You can't buy passion, but you can do your best to figure out what works and aim to replicate it as best you can.

Australia, NZ, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and PNG. Each nation should get to experience a couple of games like this at least. It would do wonders.

 

[parrawentyfan]

Alrighty. Two posts in a row which is never ideal but here goes...

I've always been an advocate for a cross hemisphere 4/6N tournament but having given it some thought, there is much more potential with separating out the hemispheres.

I would rather go with annual matches in the Pacific. Ideally a Pacific Cup with Australia, NZ, PNG, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji plus one qualifier. If Australia complains about too many matches, too bad. They can either pay the players less or send a 2nd or 3rd string side.

An alternative would be for Australia and NZ to alternate tours of the Pacific.

Eg Year 1: Australia tours the Pacific. Start with a NZ test, then follow with Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and PNG. NZ heads to Europe for a tour. Year 2 is the same but reversed.

Money is always the key so I have two solutions here:
- get some fancy mining/telco/finance company to pay for it under a massive sponsorship arrangement. Companies will waste money all the time, they just need to be talked into wasting it on us.
- NRL needs to set aside a small % of yearly revenue every year to fund international activities or otherwise contribute to the RLIF or Asia Pacific regime. 5 to 10% would be massive.

 

[Pommy]

Alrighty. Two posts in a row which is never ideal but here goes...

I've always been an advocate for a cross hemisphere 4/6N tournament but having given it some thought, there is much more potential with separating out the hemispheres.

I would rather go with annual matches in the Pacific. Ideally a Pacific Cup with Australia, NZ, PNG, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji plus one qualifier. If Australia complains about too many matches, too bad. They can either pay the players less or send a 2nd or 3rd string side.

An alternative would be for Australia and NZ to alternate tours of the Pacific.

Eg Year 1: Australia tours the Pacific. Start with a NZ test, then follow with Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and PNG. NZ heads to Europe for a tour. Year 2 is the same but reversed.

Money is always the key so I have two solutions here:
- get some fancy mining/telco/finance company to pay for it under a massive sponsorship arrangement. Companies will waste money all the time, they just need to be talked into wasting it on us.
- NRL needs to set aside a small % of yearly revenue every year to fund international activities or otherwise contribute to the RLIF or Asia Pacific regime. 5 to 10% would be massive.

Do you seriously think there’s any chance NRL clubs would agree to a 10% cut?

 

[parrawentyfan]

Do you seriously think there’s any chance NRL clubs would agree to a 10% cut?

Nope but it's a starting point. As there are only 2 fully pro leagues in the world the NRL and ESL get the lions share of funding. They should recognise a tiny cut of their income going to international development could reap massive reward in terms of playing strength and credibility on the world stage.

Even if it starts at 2 or 3% it would be a huge start in both hemispheres.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

That's just weird, Sky gets its subscribers for the rugby, most of the league watching is a by product of that - e.g. remove the NRL from Sky and they'll lose some diehard league only fans, but it wont be a significant drop is subscribers.

Well obviously Sky have information contrary to that because they’ve been paying at least $20 million a year since 2012

 

[Matua]

Well obviously Sky have information contrary to that because they’ve been paying at least $20 million a year since 2012

If Sky want to value the NRL at that then it's up to them, not sure it's sound financial sense though - they only had roughly 100k viewers for a late round Warriors match against the Panthers which would contribute to where both teams finished on the final ladder. They were getting bigger audiences earlier in the season though.