IS THE SHINE WEARING THIN ON THE SHIELD? After the awesome win by Otago on the weekend to secure the Ranfurly Shield, an enthusiastic Fan like me begs to ask the question… Has the ‘Log of Wood’ and even the ITM Cup become cheapened by its much hyped and funded professional cousin the Super 15? I remember back in the glory days of the Shield with Auckland and Canterbury. The Shield Challenges of old, dependent on the opponent, would almost rival a Test Match in hype and any such change in Holder would mean ‘Legend’ Status for the players and front page news for the next 30 days and beyond, sometimes eclipsing the post euphoria of a test match! In the professional era, a change in Shield holders barely bats an eye brow! Honestly, I only read about their win whilst looking for the Race section! Nowdays the Shield changes hands more regularly than a rugby ball itself. Games are played and contested among lesser quality players! Has less media exposure than a NKOTB comeback tour, games are difficult for the mainstream general public to access through Pay TV and attendances are often well under the expected threshold, even worse, Shield Challenges are often opted for play on weekdays and this is just the tip of the iceberg! The lack or loss of attractiveness and popularity regarding the current Shield model has probably boiled down to the Rugby Championship kicking off at the same time, which isn’t helpful. It’s obvious the Championship has hogged all the media attention throughout week, drawing the spotlight away from the Shield match up. We could also look at similar domestic competition models of similar set up and position like the Currie Cup in South Africa to draw comparisons. Simply, they are the same set up and yet the Currie Cup manages to compete with the Rugby Championship, draws plenty of viewers on TV and just as many to the venues to watch it live. So why can’t we as the Number 1 Rugby Nation, place more marketing emphasis on driving back up the quality and ultimately the profile of a much fragmented Ranfurly Shield model, increasing TV Viewer exposure and ultimately getting bums back on seats at Shield games. Of course we can look at the quality of delivery of the Modern day Shield concept as structured by the NZRFU. It’s obvious that player stocks and the entire ITM franchise set-up’s aren’t of any real quality and there is a huge gap in that quality between top and the bottom franchises, sighting the close demise last year, of the current holders Otago as an example. The Shield and ITM competition seriously lacks huge TV marketing exposure and funding injections as opposed to their rival Super 15! Cheerleaders, fancy pre and mid game entertainment, maximized pre-game hype, reintroducing mainstream TV exposure and accessibility are just some ideas based upon successful domestic cup competition models like the Currie Cup and also the Super 15 that may help to re-brand and re-market the Shield and ITM Cup as well, back into an awesome and attractive live and televised Sporting spectacle!
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 23:12:15 +0000
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