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Speaker 1: This is Sportsfix howard By News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2: Hello there and welcome into a new weeknd to a
Speaker 2: freshly minted episode of the Sports Fix podcast for February seventeen,
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five. I'm Jason Pine, good to have you along.
Speaker 2: Super Rugby is underway. Round one is in the box
Speaker 2: and what around it was? Lots of scoring, close contests,
Speaker 2: some very very close contests in fact, couple of one pointers.
Speaker 2: So how did it wash up? As far as the
Speaker 2: head hon shows are concerned, we go right to the top.
Speaker 2: Jack Mesley, CEO of Super Rugby Pacific, is on the
Speaker 2: podcast today giving us his assessment of the first week.
Speaker 2: Elijah Part Fit You also pops into the chamber with
Speaker 2: some of his thoughts. Also today, Amy Park in Melbourne
Speaker 2: had the chance to visit over the weekend. I love
Speaker 2: it should be the blueprint for any stadium that gets built,
Speaker 2: and I'll tell you why. Let's get into it. In
Speaker 2: other news, Let's get things started with a look at
Speaker 2: some of the big sports stories around today. Teenage Kiwi
Speaker 2: Finley Melville. I've says one has made in free ski
Speaker 2: halfpipe World Cup event in Calvary.
Speaker 3: Down the pipe finley Melville right, double twelve safety, Oh fie.
Speaker 3: It serves with execution on that.
Speaker 2: But a relief for Tottenham war manager and pastor Cole Glue.
Speaker 2: His side has beaten Manchester United one nill. He's hoping
Speaker 2: that's a turning point in their Premier League fortunes.
Speaker 4: He league positions not anywhere where it should be and
Speaker 4: today was an opportunity for us that started addressing that.
Speaker 4: And we said we had a good week of training
Speaker 4: with some players back and importantly once today.
Speaker 2: And Swedish golfer Ludwig or Berg has won the latest
Speaker 2: USPGA Tour event at the Tory Pines South Course in California.
Speaker 3: It was a great you know, a great fight. Obviously
Speaker 3: the golf course is tough, but fe like I was
Speaker 3: in control of the ball flat all day and you're
Speaker 3: really proud of the way that I finished.
Speaker 1: It was really cool leading a vix We've got just
Speaker 1: the ticket. It's Sportsfix my news talks.
Speaker 2: Ivy on the sports Fix podcast. Round one of Super
Speaker 2: Rugby pacificas in the books and what around it was
Speaker 2: plenty of tri scoring action and lots of close contests
Speaker 2: as well. Let's bring in competition CEO Jack Measley. Jack,
Speaker 2: thanks for joining us. So how do you assis in
Speaker 2: general terms the first weekend of Super Rugby Pacific for
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4: Well, I mean, firstly, you just got us on the park.
Speaker 4: I mean one of amazing five games. We had incredible spectacles,
Speaker 4: a lot decided by a point in and a lot
Speaker 4: of them going all the way into into and past
Speaker 4: the eighty eight minute. So yeah, we've sort of spent
Speaker 4: the day to day reviewing all of those sorts of things,
Speaker 4: looking at the product itself, looking at the match officials reviews,
Speaker 4: looking at our marketing and attendance and audience reviews and
Speaker 4: all of those things. And yeah, we were very lucky.
Speaker 4: We had a we had a great start and a
Speaker 4: highlights reel that you know you'd be you'd be lucky
Speaker 4: to get at the end of a season after the
Speaker 4: first round.
Speaker 2: Indeed, Well, I want to unpack a few of the
Speaker 2: things you've said there, But high scoring games with close margins,
Speaker 2: I know you can't manufacture these things, but is that
Speaker 2: kind of the ideal combo for you across a round
Speaker 2: of Super rugby absolutely.
Speaker 4: I mean, we know Super rugby is always always been
Speaker 4: high point scoring, you know, lots of tries and we
Speaker 4: sort of innovated the first bonus point mechanisms back in
Speaker 4: the day. But to balance that with an average of
Speaker 4: a five point march, I think we had on average
Speaker 4: nine tries a game and with a five point margin.
Speaker 4: You know, that's the ideal or kind of balance we find.
Speaker 4: We have free flowing, attacking rugby, but close games with
Speaker 4: lots of lead swings and at the end of the day,
Speaker 4: nice and close games.
Speaker 2: You talked abouit about your Monday review and highlighted a
Speaker 2: few different categories inside that review. What were the main takeaways,
Speaker 2: you know, from from giving the weekend, but a breathing
Speaker 2: room and discussing it all today, we're really.
Speaker 4: Pleased with how our laws and focus areas were dealt
Speaker 4: with by the match officials. We think they did a
Speaker 4: great job on the weekend. Still some things to a
Speaker 4: few small things to nail, but in terms of the
Speaker 4: way that they moved the game forward you would have seen,
Speaker 4: you know, we're only stopping for major injuries. For example.
Speaker 4: The referees were very consistent and focused on getting the
Speaker 4: ninth to clear the ball. So all of those things
Speaker 4: were really good and I think helped set up the spectacle.
Speaker 4: There was no doubt that the games were fast fatigue
Speaker 4: with the factor, and I think that helped us, you know,
Speaker 4: helped the games set up to go deep into into
Speaker 4: the eightieth minute and beyond.
Speaker 2: How happy were you with viewer numbers if you've seen
Speaker 2: them and attendance numbers for the weekend.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I haven't got the full debrief on audience, but
Speaker 4: in terms of attendance, we're really really pleased. I think
Speaker 4: almost twenty percent up on Round one last year with
Speaker 4: one less fixture, which is a great result. So some
Speaker 4: really strong signs there, and just really pleased that all
Speaker 4: of those that went to stadium and watched on broadcast
Speaker 4: got such a great spectacle to watch across all five games.
Speaker 2: And Fantasy Super Rugby had it's launch a week or
Speaker 2: so ago, well in the lead into Round one. Have
Speaker 2: you received any sort of feedback anecdotal or or quantifiable
Speaker 2: around Super Rugby and the fantasy element this weekend?
Speaker 4: Yeah, Well we had over fifty six thousand fans playing
Speaker 4: Fantasy over the weekend, which were really really pleased. With
Speaker 4: four year one and great to see just the discussion
Speaker 4: that that is fueled, you know, all the way through
Speaker 4: just from discussions I'm having with my mates to know
Speaker 4: how that's fueling discussion on social media and threw into
Speaker 4: the broadcast itself. So really pleased with that. And you know,
Speaker 4: you know, what we really wanted to do was make
Speaker 4: sure that it not only heroed our big stars but
Speaker 4: also featured the emerging stars, so you know, to have
Speaker 4: that narrative play out where the big stars scored big points.
Speaker 4: But then you also everyone that played Fantasy now knows
Speaker 4: Kyle Preston for example, you know who only zero point
Speaker 4: one percent those Fantasy teams had him in there, but
Speaker 4: there'll be a lot of people looking looking at that
Speaker 4: going forward. So that's played out really well. Yeah, I
Speaker 4: mean we're certainly listening and looking for feedback to see
Speaker 4: how we can improve things in future iterations. That's certainly
Speaker 4: you know, one of our focus is not just within Fantasy,
Speaker 4: but in all facets of the game to make sure
Speaker 4: we're listening and learning and seeing what we can do
Speaker 4: to improve moving forward.
Speaker 2: Did you say fifty three thousand players? Is that what
Speaker 2: you said?
Speaker 4: I think it was over fifty six out.
Speaker 2: Well, okay, well that makes me feel like about my
Speaker 2: sixteen thousand, six hundred and ninetieth place. I'm almost I'm
Speaker 2: in the top third. Jack. This is an excellent start.
Speaker 2: It's an excellent start for me.
Speaker 4: Yeah, your expertise has not been questioned.
Speaker 2: I can assure you that it is. I can assure
Speaker 2: you that it is all right. So round one of
Speaker 2: the books. I know there was a big build up
Speaker 2: to the start of the season. Now I guess you've
Speaker 2: got to do it again and again and again. How
Speaker 2: do you feel as you look forward now to this
Speaker 2: week and how different will it be from last week
Speaker 2: where it was all new?
Speaker 4: Well, I mean, I just look at the features we've
Speaker 4: got this week, and we've got some absolute reports. So
Speaker 4: Chiefs hosting the Crusaders will be phenomenal. We've got the
Speaker 4: Canes hosting the Drawer, which is going to be great
Speaker 4: to see fig on the road, see if they can
Speaker 4: back up that performance they put on the weekend Highlanders
Speaker 4: Blues as well. And then we've got Reds coming off
Speaker 4: the buy who were really strong last year and had
Speaker 4: a great preseason. And then it finishes off with Brumby's
Speaker 4: Force and a local Australian derby down in Canberra. So
Speaker 4: you know, I think this is the great thing this season.
Speaker 4: We've got five fixtures, they're all going to be tight,
Speaker 4: and you know there's no rest for the wicked. I mean,
Speaker 4: I think we've only got a short season, but it's
Speaker 4: sort of like a middle distance run, isn't it. Like
Speaker 4: it's only sixteen rounds, but there is no break. So
Speaker 4: it's a spring in many regards.
Speaker 2: Well, you've certainly sprinted from the starting blocks. Jack, congrats
Speaker 2: on getting weekened one underway, getting the season underway. Look
Speaker 2: forward to seeing how the rest of the season plays
Speaker 2: out and to catching up again soon. That is Super
Speaker 2: Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Measley with us on the Sports
Speaker 2: Fex podcast. I had the chance over the weekend to
Speaker 2: visit Melbour and to go to Amy Park in Melbourne.
Speaker 2: What a great venue for watching sport. Easy to get
Speaker 2: to for starters via public transport, right in the heart
Speaker 2: of Melbourne's famous sporting precinct, with the mcg and rod
Speaker 2: Laver Arena close by. Once we got inside, the beauty
Speaker 2: of a rectangular venue became so obvious. Now anyone who's
Speaker 2: watched rugby or football at Eden Park or Sky Stadium
Speaker 2: will know exactly what I mean. At those venues, she's
Speaker 2: just a bit too far away from the action. By contrast,
Speaker 2: at Amy Park, I felt like I was right on
Speaker 2: top of the players. It was a bit like Forsyth
Speaker 2: Bar Stadium in Dunedin, with the steeply banked seats and
Speaker 2: not a bad view in the house. Now, Amy Park
Speaker 2: holds about twenty five thousand when it's absolutely full. There
Speaker 2: were only about ten thousand there on Friday, but it
Speaker 2: didn't feel like it was empty. The noise from the
Speaker 2: fans and I was at a football match between Melbourne
Speaker 2: Victory and the Wellington Phoenix reverberated around the round and
Speaker 2: added plenty to the atmosphere at halftime, plenty of food
Speaker 2: and beverage options without any cues, and lots of bathrooms
Speaker 2: as well. The only real problem I could pick out
Speaker 2: was there's no roof, and when it rained in the
Speaker 2: second half we did have to scamper up a bit
Speaker 2: to get under cover, but that was a really small thing.
Speaker 2: After the game, downstairs and out into the night without
Speaker 2: any holdups or log jams inside. We could have walked
Speaker 2: back into town, but jumped in an uber which was
Speaker 2: very quick to arrive. All in all, a terrific sporting
Speaker 2: experience at a great sporting venue. I really hope the
Speaker 2: new christ Church Stadium is the same. The only downside
Speaker 2: actually was the result the Phoenix lost, but that was
Speaker 2: hardly Amy Park's fault.
Speaker 1: The Chamber is now in session on Sportsfix.
Speaker 2: On the Sports Fix podcast. Into the Chamber we Go
Speaker 2: Monday means the People's Chamber. Elijah joins me. Good first
Speaker 2: weekend of Super Ragbia. Elijah, I'm not quite sure where
Speaker 2: to look for my Hurricanes upset by the Crusaders or
Speaker 2: was this not an upset?
Speaker 3: Well, I wasn't too sure. I'd say yes, it was
Speaker 3: an amazing opening round and that definitely set the tone
Speaker 3: for how the rest of the Super Rugby season should be.
Speaker 3: The Crusaders and the Hurricanes. I'm not too sure what
Speaker 3: happened in the second half there For the Hurricanes. They
Speaker 3: definitely had the advantage. There were up fourteen to at
Speaker 3: one stage, twenty two to fourteen at the break, and
Speaker 3: then from there the Crusaders i think sort of stood
Speaker 3: up and showed a bit of that resilience that we've
Speaker 3: known from the Crusaders team. In the past. I'm obviously
Speaker 3: not last season with their four win season, but before
Speaker 3: that and the the finning champions that there were a
Speaker 3: bit of that resilience shined through in that contest. But
Speaker 3: I guess for you, Piney, having a guy like Kyles
Speaker 3: Kyle Presling come off the bench for the Crusaders must
Speaker 3: be a bit gutted about losing a weal Antonian like
Speaker 3: him and having them come on and have the performance
Speaker 3: that he did.
Speaker 2: I'm a press that it only took you forty eight
Speaker 2: seconds to bring up Kyle Preston's name.
Speaker 3: Trying very hard, Piney.
Speaker 2: What a storyline though, storyline Coyle Preston. Whether or not
Speaker 2: the Hurricanes, you know, chased him vigorously or not, you know,
Speaker 2: I don't know, but even going to the Crusaders, you think,
Speaker 2: Noah Hotham's there and all black already and you know,
Speaker 2: set to be probably the number one, number nine for
Speaker 2: a while. Mitchell Drummond has been around forever and still
Speaker 2: continues to deliver at super rugby level. Gutsy moved from
Speaker 2: Cayle Preston to go in the first place, but now
Speaker 2: people are now starting to talk about him as an
Speaker 2: all Blacks Bolter after one performance. I don't think we
Speaker 2: should get too carried away, but you know what a
Speaker 2: moment for him, Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3: And it didn't take him too long to get accustomed,
Speaker 3: I mean to the Super Rugby level, like that was
Speaker 3: his first game at that level and nine getting thrown
Speaker 3: into the dpen pretty much nine minutes since the contest.
Speaker 3: But he was outstanding. His support for those tries that
Speaker 3: he scored, His distribution was amazing. And then alongside Kyle Preston,
Speaker 3: guys like Sevy Reese and Will Jordan. I think Will
Speaker 3: Jordan's return was huge for the Crusaders having missed him
Speaker 3: all of last season. So those two allbacks definitely stood
Speaker 3: up for the Crusader So great one for them indeed.
Speaker 2: And I don't think it's panic stations for the Hurricanes
Speaker 2: only one game. I just not't forget that. I mean
Speaker 2: in the first game of twenty sixteen, which is when
Speaker 2: the Hurricanes won their one and only Super Rugby title,
Speaker 2: they had fifty put on them by the Brumbies. So
Speaker 2: you know, we don't have to get too carried away
Speaker 2: after one game. Just before we leave, Kyle Preston, do
Speaker 2: you know what school he went to?
Speaker 3: Yes, I do. Actually it was a tawa.
Speaker 2: It was Tarbat Tarbar College, the hotbed of Whitefern's cricket
Speaker 2: and now a rugby player as well. So yeah, I
Speaker 2: know there were a lot of Wellington rugby folk who
Speaker 2: were very pleased with Kyle Preston's individual performance, not as
Speaker 2: pleased against the Hurricanes. But here we are. What about
Speaker 2: Saturday night, the Chiefs coming to Eden Park in a
Speaker 2: repeat of last year's final, beating the Blues twenty five fourteen,
Speaker 2: Damien McKenzie with twenty of those twenty five points. What
Speaker 2: do we take from this?
Speaker 4: Can we?
Speaker 2: As I say, we shouldn't get too worried about the
Speaker 2: Hurricanes losing their first game? What about Blues fans? How
Speaker 2: should they be feeling about a first up loss.
Speaker 3: I think the Blues will be disappointed, of course, given
Speaker 3: there was a rematch of last year's Grand Final, and
Speaker 3: the Chiefs have been saying all week it's not about
Speaker 3: revenge from last year, but I feel like at the
Speaker 3: back of their minds they were thinking a little bit
Speaker 3: about revenge. So that was a good win for the Chiefs,
Speaker 3: but for the Blues obviously a bit of disappointment, but
Speaker 3: again they were missing a couple of key guys. I
Speaker 3: guess the first thing that sex Sales Hoskinstituto and not
Speaker 3: having him around the Super Rugby player of the Year
Speaker 3: last season, and obviously the conditions didn't work out in
Speaker 3: their favor for either team in terms of how the
Speaker 3: game played out as well. So I wouldn't get too
Speaker 3: carried away and say that, you know, the chances of
Speaker 3: a back to back Super Rugby title are fading away
Speaker 3: after one game. So yeah, I think for the Blues
Speaker 3: they'll definitely be looking to lift things up again. But
Speaker 3: that was a great win from the Chiefs to come
Speaker 3: and to Eden Park and take that win.
Speaker 2: So I thought the Chiefs were favorites two years ago
Speaker 2: made the final lost to the Crusaders. I thought they
Speaker 2: were favorites. Last year made the final lost of the Blues.
Speaker 2: Third time. I'm lucky for the Chiefs or again, is
Speaker 2: it far too early?
Speaker 3: I think it's far too early to say. I'd say
Speaker 3: I just have losing the guy like Wallace to t
Speaker 3: T is definitely a huge loss. But I guess the
Speaker 3: injury toll across the board has been has been huge
Speaker 3: and a lot of teams have been affected after one week,
Speaker 3: so we'll see what happens as this season goes on.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I think it's too early to overreact after
Speaker 3: one week.
Speaker 2: I think what week one's done or weekend one has
Speaker 2: done has set us up nicely for a weekend too.
Speaker 2: On Friday night, Round two is kicked off by the
Speaker 2: Chiefs and the Crusaders and Hamilton both winners in their
Speaker 2: first game. Imagine if the Crusaders go up to Hamilton
Speaker 2: and win. Up there, are we starting to talk about
Speaker 2: the Crusaders of old if that happens.
Speaker 3: Maybe maybe we're still overreacting after his selection party.
Speaker 2: I do love my I do love my hyperbole. You
Speaker 2: know that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, for sure, for sure, But no, it would
Speaker 3: be a huge statement for the Crusaders if they could
Speaker 3: have the opening two wins against the Hurricanes and the Chiefs,
Speaker 3: two Kiwi teams who we I guess in the preseason
Speaker 3: assumed would be top contenders. So the Crusettas would definitely
Speaker 3: put themselves in that conversation if that's the case. So yeah,
Speaker 3: we'll definitely see what happens.
Speaker 4: All right.
Speaker 2: Well, speaking of not getting too carried away, how carried
Speaker 2: away should we get by the Warriors, beating the Storm
Speaker 2: the Storm thirty six ten in pre season on the weekend.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I guess with the Storm and the Warriors, the
Speaker 3: Storm a lot of their big names weren't playing in
Speaker 3: that contest, so in terms of the result, can't take
Speaker 3: too much away from that. But for the Warriors, I
Speaker 3: guess it's a nice bit of momentum heading into that
Speaker 3: season opener and Las Vegas against against the Raiders, And
Speaker 3: for me, the big talking point was what was going
Speaker 3: to happen on the wings. Roger Taivasaschek seems to have
Speaker 3: settled in. It's not a familiar a position that's unfamiliar
Speaker 3: to him. He played in that position earlier in his career,
Speaker 3: but on the other side of the wing, on the
Speaker 3: other wing. Rather Dla Watinez Olesniak being out, I think
Speaker 3: tane To a Pickie stood up over the weekend. So
Speaker 3: I think Andrew Webster has found his two wingers. So
Speaker 3: I would personally go with those two. But those two
Speaker 3: impressed for me against the Storm.
Speaker 2: I just haven't put the lineup and this might not
Speaker 2: be right, but Timarty Martin play at fullback on the weekend. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that was that a surprise, I think so.
Speaker 3: But I think what whips is trying to say is
Speaker 3: that he wants to try a team to a pickI
Speaker 3: on the wing. I think because of that first preseason
Speaker 3: game against the Sharks, he impressed there, so I think
Speaker 3: Whipster wanted to see how he'd go in another outing.
Speaker 3: And I think Timity has played a fullback as well,
Speaker 3: so I think it was easy to shift the guy
Speaker 3: like him, and I think he's sort of playing around
Speaker 3: with some of the versatile players he has in the squad.
Speaker 2: It'll speaking of which I see Chanell Harris Tavita was
Speaker 2: in the halves with Luke Metcalf, so do you reckon
Speaker 2: we might see Metcalf Harris Tavita against the Raiders in
Speaker 2: a couple of weeks.
Speaker 3: I think Timari will go back into the halves to
Speaker 3: peer up with Metcalf. And this issue of chance are
Speaker 3: being away on All Star duty, and I can see
Speaker 3: Charms Chants returning to the number one jumper.
Speaker 2: All right, it's all very exciting. I look at it.
Speaker 2: I don't mind in the people's chamber us getting carried
Speaker 2: away early in the season. I look think it's you know,
Speaker 2: I think it's okay for us to get excited about
Speaker 2: the Warriors, about our own super rugby sides, and at
Speaker 2: the same time not worry too much as they lose,
Speaker 2: like Mike Canes did.
Speaker 3: I was you brought that up? Piney, That wasn't me.
Speaker 2: I think we should leave the People's Chamber there for
Speaker 2: today and reconvene next Monday.
Speaker 4: Things.
Speaker 2: As always for your time.
Speaker 3: Appreciate it. Thanks Pony.
Speaker 1: Dissecting the sporting agenda. It's Sportsfix with Jason Pine.
Speaker 2: That's all we have time for on the Sports Fix
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