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Speaker 1: Super Rugby is bringing its own version of the Daly m.

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Speaker 1: This has been announced today. The Player of the Year

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Speaker 1: Award will be an annual prize. It's given to the

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Speaker 1: best player and the Super Rugby Pacific competition and each

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Speaker 1: head coach and captain will vote throughout the season on

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Speaker 1: who to give the award to. It's hope it will

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Speaker 1: drive engagement with the fans. Jack Mesley is the Super

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Speaker 1: Rugby Pacific CEO. He's with me this evening, Hijack, Hey, Ran,

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Speaker 1: how are you? I'm good? Thank you? Is this a

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Speaker 1: little bit like Man of the Match? Is this going

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Speaker 1: to be groundbreaking for us?

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Speaker 2: Well? No, I don't think it's groundbreaking, but we think

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Speaker 2: it's an important accolade that the competition should award and

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Speaker 2: it hasn't done in the past. So we're very excited

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Speaker 2: to introduce it into Super Rugby Pacific. And yeah, recognize

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Speaker 2: the most outstanding player for the season.

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Speaker 1: Ahead somebody who's just texted it. Literally as you've answered

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Speaker 1: the call, Stephens said, Ryan, Super Rugby Player of the

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Speaker 1: Year is like flogging a dead horse. The game has

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Speaker 1: bigger problems. What do you say?

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Speaker 2: Well, Super Rugby at a really good year. We saw

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Speaker 2: strong growth in attendance and TV audiences last year and

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Speaker 2: we're looking to build on that this year and we

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Speaker 2: think things like this introduction of awards Fantasy Rugby that

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Speaker 2: we're also introducing are all great initiatives that will increase

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Speaker 2: engagement and give fans the tools that we're being told

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Speaker 2: they want to engage with the competition.

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Speaker 1: Do the fans get to vote on it at all

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Speaker 1: or is it just the coaches and the captain?

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Speaker 2: No, for this award, it will just be that the

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Speaker 2: captains and the head coaches. We do have a Player

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Speaker 2: of the Week award that fans can engage with every

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Speaker 2: round to nominate their player of the week, but this one,

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Speaker 2: which is the highest accolade for our competition, it's going

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Speaker 2: to be voted on by captains and the head coaches

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Speaker 2: after each match.

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Speaker 1: Interesting, Jack, thank you for that. Great to have you

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Speaker 1: on the show. Good luck with the award. That's Jack Missley,

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Speaker 1: Super Rugby Pacific CEO. For more from hither du Allen Drive,

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Speaker 1: listen live to News Talks it B from four pm weekdays,

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Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio