The Point Of Rugby

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I think the administers of men's rugby have forgotten what the point of it all is.

At a 2023 pre-season game between the Hurricane's and Crusaders (a very entertaining 19-34 game) at Levin Domain you could feel what it used to be about.

The game is important, of course, maybe too important to some. It's the catalyst for the coming together, no game no point. 

However the game itself isn't the reason everyone was there having fun. Nobody was 100% focussed on the game, some were more than others, and this fluctuated as the game ebbed and flowed.

The general chatter, the catching up, the telling of stories, the laughter at dumb jokes, the getting your mates a pint, the kids running around, the road trips to and away from the ground, the reliving of past victories and dismal defeats, the families just pleased to be out of the house, the smell of hotdogs, the sense of tribe when your team does that thing well, the promises of same again next time as it all comes to an end.

The game, it's a factor but it's not the be all and end all and can be replaced by any number of things that generate the point of coming together.

My advice to NZRU, and the Welsh Rugby Union, is to have a laser focus on everything around the game, and let the game grow.

TV is not the answer, it focuses on the game only, and that's not the point of rugby.
Rugby players signs kids autographs after the gane
Levin Domain, Levin 5510, New Zealand

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