Are the Nix Getting the Kiwi Media/Public Attention They Deserve (Phillip Rollo)

This sort of behaviour was the major reason behind FIFA U18 international transfer laws.

Clubs were picking up kids from former French colonies in Africa, running them through the academy and just cast them out if they didn’t make the grade.  Didn’t even have the decency to put them on a plane back home.

Apparently nothing 'Nix related on One News tonight. This has always bothered me, but now more so than ever, seeing as we are doing so well. They always tend to cover the most niche New Zealand sport/sportsperson or cover an overseas athlete with ties to New Zealand through one parent/grandparent and tonight they completely dismissed the Phoenix, who have the chance to win silverware for the first time in the club's history. 

Edit: I think I might've posted twice not sure sorry :)

Cahi

Apparently nothing 'Nix related on One News tonight. This has always bothered me, but now more so than ever, seeing as we are doing so well. They always tend to cover the most niche New Zealand sport/sportsperson or cover an overseas athlete with ties to New Zealand through one parent/grandparent and tonight they completely dismissed the Phoenix, who have the chance to win silverware for the first time in the club's history. 

Edit: I think I might've posted twice not sure sorry :)

Even if you did it is worth posting twice about it. 

Rightly a few venting on their socials about how shark TV NZ sports news is.

Re Andrew Saville, I've got a good long time friend who works in the NZ rugby media. He was at last year's RWC. And says Saville is a bit of an unpopular odd ball, and cod.

You’ve got a committed consumer, with a decent amount of patience, who just wants to see his team covered. https://t.co/xvDaTjht4M

— Jacob Spoonley (@JacobSpoonley) February 25, 2024

coochiee

Rightly a few venting on their socials about how shark TV NZ sports news is.

Re Andrew Saville, I've got a good long time friend who works in the NZ rugby media. He was at last year's RWC. And says Saville is a bit of an unpopular odd ball, and cod.

You’ve got a committed consumer, with a decent amount of patience, who just wants to see his team covered. https://t.co/xvDaTjht4M

— Jacob Spoonley (@JacobSpoonley) February 25, 2024

Not forgetting it’s a rough time in the media. Prepackaged stuff from elsewhere is easier and cheaper than interviewing, filming and editing a story together. The Spoonley clan isn’t wrong though. 

I'm sure they run a Warriors story post everyone of their games, let alone last year when like the Nix now they became genuine contenders, in an Australian comp.

Be interesting to see if Auckland FC get more airtime on NZ's most popular TV sports news segment as compared to the Nix. 

coochiee

I'm sure they run a Warriors story post everyone of their games, let alone last year when like the Nix now they became genuine contenders, in an Australian comp.

Be interesting to see if Auckland FC get more airtime on NZ's most popular TV sports news segment as compared to the Nix. 

The warriors get coverage even before preseason! Signings, injuries, rumours.

Idk maybe just to add my cents on it or whatever, I personally have seen one news mention the Phoenix more then I think I had ever seen since the announcement on the Auckland team, I mean definitely could be way more considering they weren't mentioned and they just played Perth. So yea I agree that would be nice to have more coverage and more then the 30 sec to 1 minute. Don't know if anyone else agrees but that is my opinion 

A big part of the problem is not many people/presenters are football fans. A lot of them like the Warriors. Just tune into ZB and Hosking/Dickins often mention the Warriors because they're fans - that's outside of official sports news. Perfect advertising for the club, and free. The same can be said about many other stations etc. We just don't get that sort of sympathy.

Can't comment on One News as I don't watch the mainstream channels anymore. But I've had a few people tell me they don't hear much about the Nix anymore

TV3's main sports reporter - Andrew Gourdie, is a Man U fan, so you'd assume he has some interest in the A-league. But even then you only get a passing mention of anything football on 3.

theprof

TV3's main sports reporter - Andrew Gourdie, is a Man U fan, so you'd assume he has some interest in the A-league. But even then you only get a passing mention of anything football on 3.

Gourdie is a Euro/EPL snob methinks.

“It’s been Klopp’s kids .. against the blue, billion-pound bottle jobs.”

A truly iconic piece of commentary from Gary Neville pic.twitter.com/0kWvS7rNBo

— Andrew Gourdie (@AndrewGourdie) February 25, 2024

I may be off the beam here, but I think it has less to do with Nix as such, and more to do with the underlying, deep seated, multilayered Kiwi insecurity.

Football apparently is a game that foreigners play, and just because some Kiwis play it and seem to be good at it, well, then they go to play in Europe or if they are good enough (really good) they may even play in EPL one day.

I remember that same situation in Australia as a young Euro migrant to Sydney in 1983. It took ages before this mentality changed.  But it did change.  For anyone who wants to look deeper into it, I highly recommend two books:
- by Johny Warren: "Sheilas, wogs and poofters" (2011)
- by Jesse Fink: "Fifteen days in June - how Australia became a football nation" (2007)

And then there is New Zealand.    Both rugby league and rugby union are sports that are played by locals, and by people we can relate to, like the Aussies, the Brits or the Pacific Islanders. And these sports have limited appeal outside of a handful of countries. (OK, yes, there is rugby in Italy or Japan but you would not find them on the front pages of Il Correro de la Sera or Asahi Shimbun).  But we as a small country can win in those sports, and also because of their limited appeal and limited international competition. 
As I said I may be completely wrong, but I reckon we can (and prefer to) compete as a country in that small cosy safe world, where we can be as good or better as other countries, and so we do not really want to reach out for things outside of our shared experience as a nation.
After the WC in 2006, Australian sporting public instinctively knew that a quantitative change took place. Australia went to Round 16 in Germany, left OFC, and started the A-League.  They have since qualified for every single WC, out of Asia. 
After the WC in 2010, New Zealand sporting public knew that things will go back to normal, because the AW participation that was just a one-off aberrant blip.

If done correctly, the A-League expansion to Auckland might just be the factor that also causes a slow shift in NZ.  Although if I was the owner, I would query if there is enough money to be made from such a small market.  I hope he is right.

Yipe alot of truth in the above. And yes I suspect Auckland FC in NZ's biggest city, where so many of the media are, is going to be a bigger deal than we are yet aware of.

The hype around the Nix derby games, and crowd sizes is going to catch many rugby folk, and rugby/league journos by surprise. Football is the biggest participation sport in the country. The latent football fan support is there, if the event is well marketed & worth turning up to. The WWC well & truly showed that.

The irony is that many older (urban Welly & Auckland especially) Pakeha, like Mike Hosking may be watching fans of rugby or league - but they would never ever want their kids or grand kids to play the game! I see this with my mates now for sure. They are increasingly high collison sports, played by brown people, watched by middle/older aged white men, who struggle to pronounce the player's names. Slowly heading the way of the NFL in the US. 
 

coochiee

theprof

TV3's main sports reporter - Andrew Gourdie, is a Man U fan, so you'd assume he has some interest in the A-league. But even then you only get a passing mention of anything football on 3.

Gourdie is a Euroi/EPL snob methinks.

“It’s been Klopp’s kids .. against the blue, billion-pound bottle jobs.”

A truly iconic piece of commentary from Gary Neville pic.twitter.com/0kWvS7rNBo

— Andrew Gourdie (@AndrewGourdie) February 25, 2024

He used to have an account on here and chat to us in the wayaback days…involved in the engaging with Winston Reid iirc.

Edit: as well there was a guy Bopman maybe? Or was it Simon Hampton? who got an internship or something with 3 from the Fever. Back in the days of TV dominance and probably 3 owners of TV3 ago…lol looks like it was Simon Hampton and he’s based in Brooklyn now. And Gourdie was described as ‘Friend of the Fever’ by HardNews as recently as fifteen years ago…

Mainland FC

I may be off the beam here, but I think it has less to do with Nix as such, and more to do with the underlying, deep seated, multilayered Kiwi insecurity.

Football apparently is a game that foreigners play, and just because some Kiwis play it and seem to be good at it, well, then they go to play in Europe or if they are good enough (really good) they may even play in EPL one day.

I remember that same situation in Australia as a young Euro migrant to Sydney in 1983. It took ages before this mentality changed.  But it did change.  For anyone who wants to look deeper into it, I highly recommend two books:
- by Johny Warren: "Sheilas, wogs and poofters" (2011)
- by Jesse Fink: "Fifteen days in June - how Australia became a football nation" (2007)

And then there is New Zealand.    Both rugby league and rugby union are sports that are played by locals, and by people we can relate to, like the Aussies, the Brits or the Pacific Islanders. And these sports have limited appeal outside of a handful of countries. (OK, yes, there is rugby in Italy or Japan but you would not find them on the front pages of Il Correro de la Sera or Asahi Shimbun).  But we as a small country can win in those sports, and also because of their limited appeal and limited international competition. 
As I said I may be completely wrong, but I reckon we can (and prefer to) compete as a country in that small cosy safe world, where we can be as good or better as other countries, and so we do not really want to reach out for things outside of our shared experience as a nation.
After the WC in 2006, Australian sporting public instinctively knew that a quantitative change took place. Australia went to Round 16 in Germany, left OFC, and started the A-League.  They have since qualified for every single WC, out of Asia. 
After the WC in 2010, New Zealand sporting public knew that things will go back to normal, because the AW participation that was just a one-off aberrant blip.

If done correctly, the A-League expansion to Auckland might just be the factor that also causes a slow shift in NZ.  Although if I was the owner, I would query if there is enough money to be made from such a small market.  I hope he is right.

I’d suspect as well he’ll be looking for a beet of Sydney and beyond for glamour and some corporate packages, including his hospitality business. In the States, oddly enough there’s a trend to slightly smaller stadiums with much larger speciality watching experiences. Maybe?

I mean if they have a bunch of clubs they might even offer some deal Auckland/France or Auckland/EPL or whatever…

martinb

Mainland FC

I may be off the beam here, but I think it has less to do with Nix as such, and more to do with the underlying, deep seated, multilayered Kiwi insecurity.

Football apparently is a game that foreigners play, and just because some Kiwis play it and seem to be good at it, well, then they go to play in Europe or if they are good enough (really good) they may even play in EPL one day.

I remember that same situation in Australia as a young Euro migrant to Sydney in 1983. It took ages before this mentality changed.  But it did change.  For anyone who wants to look deeper into it, I highly recommend two books:
- by Johny Warren: "Sheilas, wogs and poofters" (2011)
- by Jesse Fink: "Fifteen days in June - how Australia became a football nation" (2007)

And then there is New Zealand.    Both rugby league and rugby union are sports that are played by locals, and by people we can relate to, like the Aussies, the Brits or the Pacific Islanders. And these sports have limited appeal outside of a handful of countries. (OK, yes, there is rugby in Italy or Japan but you would not find them on the front pages of Il Correro de la Sera or Asahi Shimbun).  But we as a small country can win in those sports, and also because of their limited appeal and limited international competition. 
As I said I may be completely wrong, but I reckon we can (and prefer to) compete as a country in that small cosy safe world, where we can be as good or better as other countries, and so we do not really want to reach out for things outside of our shared experience as a nation.
After the WC in 2006, Australian sporting public instinctively knew that a quantitative change took place. Australia went to Round 16 in Germany, left OFC, and started the A-League.  They have since qualified for every single WC, out of Asia. 
After the WC in 2010, New Zealand sporting public knew that things will go back to normal, because the AW participation that was just a one-off aberrant blip.

If done correctly, the A-League expansion to Auckland might just be the factor that also causes a slow shift in NZ.  Although if I was the owner, I would query if there is enough money to be made from such a small market.  I hope he is right.

I’d suspect as well he’ll be looking for a beet of Sydney and beyond for glamour and some corporate packages, including his hospitality business. In the States, oddly enough there’s a trend to slightly smaller stadiums with much larger speciality watching experiences. Maybe?

When Sydney FC started they did go for the glamour factor too, especially during the Klinsmann era.  That definitely got dialled down since. Strangely enough, that SFC "bling" stage allowed newly formed WSW to prosper, not just a new club geographically, but culturally.

martinb

coochiee

Rightly a few venting on their socials about how shark TV NZ sports news is.

Re Andrew Saville, I've got a good long time friend who works in the NZ rugby media. He was at last year's RWC. And says Saville is a bit of an unpopular odd ball, and cod.

You’ve got a committed consumer, with a decent amount of patience, who just wants to see his team covered. https://t.co/xvDaTjht4M

— Jacob Spoonley (@JacobSpoonley) February 25, 2024

Not forgetting it’s a rough time in the media. Prepackaged stuff from elsewhere is easier and cheaper than interviewing, filming and editing a story together. The Spoonley clan isn’t wrong though. 

TVNZ has a mandate though, as government owned and partial public broadcaster, to broadcast local news. I could understand Three not putting in the effort, but TVNZ should be different.

martinb

coochiee

theprof

TV3's main sports reporter - Andrew Gourdie, is a Man U fan, so you'd assume he has some interest in the A-league. But even then you only get a passing mention of anything football on 3.

Gourdie is a Euroi/EPL snob methinks.

“It’s been Klopp’s kids .. against the blue, billion-pound bottle jobs.”

A truly iconic piece of commentary from Gary Neville pic.twitter.com/0kWvS7rNBo

— Andrew Gourdie (@AndrewGourdie) February 25, 2024

He used to have an account on here and chat to us in the wayaback days…involved in the engaging with Winston Reid iirc.

Edit: as well there was a guy Bopman maybe? Or was it Simon Hampton? who got an internship or something with 3 from the Fever. Back in the days of TV dominance and probably 3 owners of TV3 ago…lol looks like it was Simon Hampton and he’s based in Brooklyn now. And Gourdie was described as ‘Friend of the Fever’ by HardNews as recently as fifteen years ago…

It's interesting looking through his twitter timeline, plenty of references to Tailor Swift at the NFL but not one mention of the Nix, might show you how serious he is as a sports reporter and where his priorities lie. 

Ryan

martinb

coochiee

Rightly a few venting on their socials about how shark TV NZ sports news is.

Re Andrew Saville, I've got a good long time friend who works in the NZ rugby media. He was at last year's RWC. And says Saville is a bit of an unpopular odd ball, and cod.

You’ve got a committed consumer, with a decent amount of patience, who just wants to see his team covered. https://t.co/xvDaTjht4M

— Jacob Spoonley (@JacobSpoonley) February 25, 2024

Not forgetting it’s a rough time in the media. Prepackaged stuff from elsewhere is easier and cheaper than interviewing, filming and editing a story together. The Spoonley clan isn’t wrong though. 

TVNZ has a mandate though, as government owned and partial public broadcaster, to broadcast local news. I could understand Three not putting in the effort, but TVNZ should be different.

They would definitely cover All Whites or the Football Ferns exploits, because this is "local".  My thought is that - just like with RNZ - they consider the national team(s) "local", while the Nix is not quite that.   Although RNZ has lifted their game lately.

I think Saville covered 4 Rugby stories, 1 league, 1 motor racing, NO Nix on Monday night.  He is hardcore pro rugby and I would not be surprised if he has pictures up on his bedroom wall of "Richie". He sucks up to the players so obviously, I think even they feel uncomfortable. Time for him to give the job away. He's worse than Keith Quinn & Grant Nisbet combined.

It will be interesting to see that Once Auckland has announced their club name and colours/kit etc, just how much TVNZ will be bothered. Are the Rugby die hards feeling that threatened? There is plenty of room for everyone. One thing about New Zealanders, we LOVE our live sport. But we also don't like being ripped off at the turnstiles. 

An unfortunate reality is that our best footballers, don't play in NZ.

The best League and Rugby players do - Shaun Johnson gets heaps of coverage as he is a talisman of NZ League right on our door step... If Wood played in NZ, he'd probably get interviewed more regularly etc.

The NIX don't have any "famous players" to generate hype and our local players are solid professionals, but not poster on the wall material.

That's why I am hopeful that the AFC team will make a change - local players will become stars with the increased attention etc.

MetalLegNZ

An unfortunate reality is that our best footballers, don't play in NZ.

The best League and Rugby players do - Shaun Johnson gets heaps of coverage as he is a talisman of NZ League right on our door step... If Wood played in NZ, he'd probably get interviewed more regularly etc.

The NIX don't have any "famous players" to generate hype and our local players are solid professionals, but not poster on the wall material.

That's why I am hopeful that the AFC team will make a change - local players will become stars with the increased attention etc.

Having local NZ (AW) players in the Nix lineup has never historically increaserd our news coverage, we've had several in the team most seasons.

Things will be definitely looking up, when I see on TVNZ news that Mbappe is buying a second hand TV on Trade Me, delivery to a modest flat in Takapuna. 

the opportunity for us to get any media coverage in the main news broadcasts is about to get smaller - newshub gone by june.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/350194958/live-newshub-set-close-end-june

I agree with theprof.  I reference TV1 as Auckland TV. It's totally focused on the city and is extremely boring in the news department, both morning and evening shows.  It completely ignores football most of the time and very rarely features the Phoenix.  Just the order in which sports stories appear, with the football nearly always an afterthought, demonstrates the bias of their sports editor(s).

Pleasantly surprised with the regular Matthew Nash column on RNZ website - it does not necessarily translate to their radio coverage, but hey.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/510282/football-roundup-can-draws-lead-the-wellington-phoenix-to-glory

I suspect once the Auckland A-League side gets up and running the Auckland dominant NZ media will get on the band wagon. Especially if they are successful from the beginning. The truth is the NZ sports media is dominated by white middle aged males and their sport is rugby. They were shocked by the sight of packed out stadia for the women’s World Cup. Rather than embrace this phenomenon they saw it as a threat to rugby. The WWC showed that there is a considerable audience for football in NZ. It will take a generation before the media catch up.
Regarding the Nix coverage, I do think the club is a bit slow with their PR. In a crowded media you need to really hustle now to get your name on the front page. Winning is not enough. You need to be out their with your stories. The media are basically lazy and you have to hand feed them content…..and do it regularly. They are so many great stories that could be told that would catch the public’s attention. One thing about the Tony Pignata era was that he and Terry really new how to create a media buzz around the team.

We have in Chris Wood, a striker who is playing and scoring regularly in the the EPL, the worlds best and most followed football league. In any other country in the the world this player would be a national hero, a sporting icon. Except in NZ. There you have the NZ sports media!

austin111

I suspect once the Auckland A-League side gets up and running the Auckland dominant NZ media will get on the band wagon. Especially if they are successful from the beginning. The truth is the NZ sports media is dominated by white middle aged males and their sport is rugby. They were shocked by the sight of packed out stadia for the women’s World Cup. Rather than embrace this phenomenon they saw it as a threat to rugby. The WWC showed that there is a considerable audience for football in NZ. It will take a generation before the media catch up.
Regarding the Nix coverage, I do think the club is a bit slow with their PR. In a crowded media you need to really hustle now to get your name on the front page. Winning is not enough. You need to be out their with your stories. The media are basically lazy and you have to hand feed them content…..and do it regularly. They are so many great stories that could be told that would catch the public’s attention. One thing about the Tony Pignata era was that he and Terry really new how to create a media buzz around the team.

I know they will likely be operating on whole different budgets, but I suspect the Nix's marketing & media work is going to be shown up by Bling FC. In a salary capped league, where player expenditure is capped, it's going to be the off field stuff where the financial differences will appear most stark.

Combine the wealth disparities, with alot of office staff schooled in OTT American sports glitz & glam promoting - and it really could seem night verus day in that space. Will add another layer to the rivalry. Foley is bringing over some staff from his Vegas Golden Knights NHL franchise from memory.

Again I know that the Nix (especially since Covid) now operate with a skeleton staff, but they are going to look like little brothers now in some aspects. Noticed a few comments in the Auckland FB group, that when the Nix bring games to the 09, there is basically zero marketing around town.

MetalLegNZ

An unfortunate reality is that our best footballers, don't play in NZ.

The best League and Rugby players do - Shaun Johnson gets heaps of coverage as he is a talisman of NZ League right on our door step... If Wood played in NZ, he'd probably get interviewed more regularly etc.

The NIX don't have any "famous players" to generate hype and our local players are solid professionals, but not poster on the wall material.

That's why I am hopeful that the AFC team will make a change - local players will become stars with the increased attention etc.

If Wood played in NZ he wouldn't be considered by the media to be one of our best players anymore and therefore I think wouldn't get that much media attention. 

I remember thinking when Singh signed for Bayern that he got more media coverage that week, than in the years of exciting and excellent performances on the park that led to the move. The standard and style of his play was good enough to get the attention of one of the world's biggest clubs, but not enough to get the attention he deserved from the local media.

I've been really impressed with the performances of Ben Old this season, every game he seems to use his excellent ball control to get out of tight situations that to me is a joy to watch, not to mention his regular contributions to game changing moments. While he is very much appreciated by the fan base, his efforts are not given enough focus in the media to get the attention he deserves by the general public. If a European club were to sign him in the off season, the general public would have lost the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate his play week in week out as they were largely oblivious to him due to the lack of coverage while he played in NZ. But as soon as he signed on to that euro club, that very same player with the same skills, ability, and personality who received little attention in the media would then instantly be a "famous" player and worthy of being on a poster even though he was exactly the same guy doing the same things on the park for the nix a month earlier.

Slightly OTT:
In my professional field I encounter from time to time foreign expats who came here to live because of non-professional reasons (most commonly because of a Kiwi spouse who has an elderly ailing parent here etc).    Sometimes we end up chatting and I hear that their decision to come and work here is viewed with something bordering on suspicion, since if you want to come and work here then... well... you cannot be all that good, otherwise you would remain abroad, where everything is more shiny.  The suspicion is usually greater if they are from EU or Australia where earnings in our field are high and work is still plentiful.
Hence my earlier post about our national insecurities.  

Same old cultural story. No-one here gave a damn about Crowded House until they were #2 on the US charts.

Mainland FC

Slightly OTT:
In my professional field I encounter from time to time foreign expats who came here to live because of non-professional reasons (most commonly because of a Kiwi spouse who has an elderly ailing parent here etc).    Sometimes we end up chatting and I hear that their decision to come and work here is viewed with something bordering on suspicion, since if you want to come and work here then... well... you cannot be all that good, otherwise you would remain abroad, where everything is more shiny.  The suspicion is usually greater if they are from EU or Australia where earnings in our field are high and work is still plentiful.
Hence my earlier post about our national insecurities.  

seems an odd take. Talented people often come here because of lifestyle, work life balance, politics, etc.

Ryan

Mainland FC

Slightly OTT:
In my professional field I encounter from time to time foreign expats who came here to live because of non-professional reasons (most commonly because of a Kiwi spouse who has an elderly ailing parent here etc).    Sometimes we end up chatting and I hear that their decision to come and work here is viewed with something bordering on suspicion, since if you want to come and work here then... well... you cannot be all that good, otherwise you would remain abroad, where everything is more shiny.  The suspicion is usually greater if they are from EU or Australia where earnings in our field are high and work is still plentiful.
Hence my earlier post about our national insecurities.  

seems an odd take. Talented people often come here because of lifestyle, work life balance, politics, etc.

I came here for the work. Some of he world best talent in my field is here in NZ. The football may not as good as in Europe, but if you commit to a club, it is basically the same emotion you go through. And the club and players are pretty much relatable. They are not living in gigantic mansions and driving million dollar sports cars. I love it.

Agreed. And we get to have a beer with the opposite side fans that travelled across the Tasman to cheer on the team (at least back in the day when we had lots more Nix games in Christchurch).  And they usually praise our beer.

Sigh another day no tv coverage.  Hard pressed to get anything with cricket, golf and whatever else is not football this weekend.  

Did the club issue a press release? Or any other story? 

News is in the bin and anything to make it easier you know…

Considering what everyone says about the media being Auckland centric I think you have to look at the Eden Park game as a potential catalyst. If the Nix go up there and put on an exciting win against Sydney then the media will take notice of that. Then it is fairly easy to follow our march from there and into the finals as there aren't many games left afterwards. 

I think ticket sales for Eden park also look good so far, I reckon 4k to 5k sold so far. I think there is a chance at getting close to 20k honestly. Could be a cracker. 

Up the Nix 🔥🔥🖤💛

theprof

TV3's main sports reporter - Andrew Gourdie, is a Man U fan, so you'd assume he has some interest in the A-league. But even then you only get a passing mention of anything football on 3.

Euro snob, nothing more. A plastic fan.

MetalLegNZ

An unfortunate reality is that our best footballers, don't play in NZ.

The best League and Rugby players do - Shaun Johnson gets heaps of coverage as he is a talisman of NZ League right on our door step... If Wood played in NZ, he'd probably get interviewed more regularly etc.

The NIX don't have any "famous players" to generate hype and our local players are solid professionals, but not poster on the wall material.

That's why I am hopeful that the AFC team will make a change - local players will become stars with the increased attention etc.

The only reason our best rugby players are still in NZ is due to rugby's archaic idea of only being in NZ (or Wales or England) if you want to play for your chosen nation. 

Every AB would be in Japan/England/France right now if rugby was the same as football, chasing the money while still eligible for the ABs leaving super rugby as a third string comp.