Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks EDB Follow
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Speaker 2: This is Sportsfix Howard by News Talks.
Speaker 3: It be welcome on in to the Sports Fixed podcast
Speaker 3: for Wednesday, the twelfth of February twenty twenty five. Myna
Speaker 3: miss darc Watergrave and up front ahead of us, the
Speaker 3: latest and greatest in all the sports news you need
Speaker 3: to know about and some of you probably don't. We're
Speaker 3: going to talk a bit of Super Rugby Pacific because
Speaker 3: of course there's the season to be jolly. Will be
Speaker 3: joined by Blues, the reigning champions. Blues CEO Andrew Wore
Speaker 3: about expectations on crowd, about tweaks to the system, about
Speaker 3: what they learned from last year. We'll talk about of
Speaker 3: Super Rugby up shortly. My opinion sits with rugby as well.
Speaker 3: It's around what to do now with the Welsh coaching job.
Speaker 3: They returned to the well and they drowned. What lessons
Speaker 3: exist now for the wr you and in the chamber.
Speaker 2: It is a.
Speaker 3: Sports news editor for The New Zealand Herald, mister Alex Powells.
Speaker 3: We discussed some of the big sports stories of the
Speaker 3: day here.
Speaker 2: On the Sports Fix, in other news.
Speaker 3: And in Sports Today. Any of US sees discussions with
Speaker 3: New Zealand Rugby continue despite legal action hitting the table
Speaker 3: and their sponsorship row. The Sir Jim ratclib owned petrochemical company,
Speaker 3: claims they tried to negotiate a solution. Local player agent
Speaker 3: Simon Porter says any of us may have hoped they'd
Speaker 3: be easily replaceable, that ended are is doing its due diligence.
Speaker 4: I would have thought to protect their position. They probably
Speaker 4: have to being in the proceedings to.
Speaker 5: Say hey, well we're actually serious.
Speaker 4: And you've got a front with the cash. Even if
Speaker 4: they are trying to find a replacement, I think you
Speaker 4: probably just have to protect your position within the proceedings.
Speaker 3: In the Crusaders have published an endured list of fourteen
Speaker 3: hours out from naming their first starting fifteen the Super
Speaker 3: rugbyat regular season, Nick Bewley.
Speaker 6: Reports absence up front. George Bell faces an indefinite stint
Speaker 6: on the sideline. He heard his big toe last week
Speaker 6: against the Highlanders. The three Test All Black joints first
Speaker 6: choice hooker Cody Taylor. He's one of four players out
Speaker 6: with a hamstring strain. A trio of props have banged up,
Speaker 6: the worst of which is Finlay Brewers, who needs shoulder
Speaker 6: surgery and will miss the entire campaign. Midfielder Braden ENA's
Speaker 6: return to play is unclear after he had an operation
Speaker 6: on his wrist.
Speaker 3: Auckland DFC defender Dan Hall has given an update on
Speaker 3: his recovery from a broken ankle. The center Bank has
Speaker 3: been sidelined from a league action since mid December, but
Speaker 3: is expected to return in three to four weeks. Says
Speaker 3: he'll still need to pass all of the fitness tests,
Speaker 3: but he's tracking well.
Speaker 6: I'm onto just basic straight line running, accelerations, decelerations, more
Speaker 6: change of the movement hopefully next week and then just
Speaker 6: building from their leadings.
Speaker 2: We've got it's the ticket, It's sports X powered by
Speaker 2: News Talks Evy.
Speaker 3: And it's warm. Welcome on the sports Vex podcast. The
Speaker 3: CEO of the reigning Super Rugby Pacific champions, the Blues.
Speaker 3: This is Andrew. Hey, Andrew good A. How are you
Speaker 3: very very well and I'm presuming you are as well
Speaker 3: on the cusp of a new season. First up, you
Speaker 3: want to fill eating part Andrew? How many tickets have
Speaker 3: you sold?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 7: Well, we're well on the way, rectally ahead of we've
Speaker 7: ever been for a first game, so we're at fifty
Speaker 7: of our target, which is fantastic. I've got to take
Speaker 7: my head off to the Auckland Rugby Union and North
Speaker 7: Aberby Union who allowed us to have a direct relationship
Speaker 7: through to the clubs, which has been great because I've
Speaker 7: been able to do some special things there for the clubs,
Speaker 7: which has been brilliant, and really looking forward to welcoming
Speaker 7: them and having a big crowd. It sounds like the
Speaker 7: Hurricanes Crusader game too is looking good as well, so
Speaker 7: definitely some real green shoots here, which is fantastic.
Speaker 3: Strikes me stranger, you don't have the relationship already with
Speaker 3: Auckland and North Harbor. How did that materialize and why
Speaker 3: isn't it peen there before? Andrew?
Speaker 7: Oh, the pu's have been fine, but we generally operated
Speaker 7: through the PUS. But it's been really good being able
Speaker 7: to talk directly and I think that's just part of
Speaker 7: the evolution of getting more customer focused and fan centric,
Speaker 7: which has been a real UPLT for us. It's liberating actually,
Speaker 7: So now looking forward to a great kickoff, I think
Speaker 7: we've got a great show in store, pre game and
Speaker 7: at halftime, so it should be an action pack night.
Speaker 3: You want to fill it out like you got fifty
Speaker 3: to fifty to go the twenty ten deal. Talk us
Speaker 3: through that one. As far as ticket prices, yeah, no, we.
Speaker 7: Know that some people have done it really tough at
Speaker 7: the moment, and there's also some combo deals out there too,
Speaker 7: because the.
Speaker 5: Other criticism we had was.
Speaker 7: Was taking the kids was also the food, so the
Speaker 7: staff worked really hard was eating Park and the caterer's
Speaker 7: eating Park to get those all up and running. And
Speaker 7: then yeah, there's the ten and twenty buck deals, which
Speaker 7: is pretty good value and actually when we've compared it,
Speaker 7: one of the best arounds. So we're really delighted with that,
Speaker 7: and it's going and creating this momentum as well. If
Speaker 7: we get that Barmie night on top of it, and
Speaker 7: people can feed the kids and get in out pretty easily,
Speaker 7: then you're halfway there.
Speaker 5: You're just got to put on a hell of a show.
Speaker 3: Dare I ask Andrew what's changed between the end of
Speaker 3: last season the start of this season as far as
Speaker 3: the way you're looking after the Blues, the way Super
Speaker 3: Rugby has been approached and not only because it's a
Speaker 3: new leaf, but of course you are now the reigning
Speaker 3: Super Rugby champions. How much have you benefited from that?
Speaker 5: Oh?
Speaker 7: I think that's been I think it's sort of a
Speaker 7: monkey off our back in a way. The thing we
Speaker 7: talked about in the off season, Darcy was the fact
Speaker 7: that pressure will come in a different way now and
Speaker 7: we've got to make sure if we're going to continue
Speaker 7: to develop all backs, create a gate game, then we've
Speaker 7: got to understand that you're most vulnerable that year after
Speaker 7: winning a championship. That's when ultimately you know you're the
Speaker 7: full crocodile at the bottom of the river who's just resting,
Speaker 7: and we just don't want to be that.
Speaker 5: We've got to be up, vibrant and ready to go.
Speaker 7: So I think that everybody had a view after the
Speaker 7: end of the season that we needed to really rip
Speaker 7: into this, take on this challenge of attempting to go
Speaker 7: back to back and grab it, and that's what we've done,
Speaker 7: and alongside that has started this commission is starting to
Speaker 7: grow arms and legs now to support some of the
Speaker 7: ambitions of the club. I think you've seen with the
Speaker 7: evolution of the Fantasy League and a proper launch where
Speaker 7: where we're some you know, some pretty high profile players attended,
Speaker 7: et cetera, et cetera. There's a there's a momentum and
Speaker 7: it'll built and it is early in the year, but
Speaker 7: I think there's I think the staff and coaching staff
Speaker 7: here have grabbed hold of this year and and.
Speaker 5: Have a point to prove as much as we did
Speaker 5: last year.
Speaker 3: Andrew Hall, the CEO of the Blues, interesting, sounds like
Speaker 3: something out of Sesame Street Cooperation. You're listening to the
Speaker 3: fans Super Rugby are listening to you. It sounds like
Speaker 3: everybody's aligning and actually are open to ideas and concepts
Speaker 3: and constantly improving.
Speaker 7: Yeah, there has been there has been a shift. There
Speaker 7: definitely has and I think it all comes down to
Speaker 7: the fact that we have a great product, right we have.
Speaker 7: We are the only competition in this country that has
Speaker 7: the world's best talent playing in a week in, week out.
Speaker 7: That that was a given the high performance part. Yes,
Speaker 7: there's some rule changes and things that and even there
Speaker 7: we had some success last year. We've got a wee
Speaker 7: bit of a mojo back because we actually changed some
Speaker 7: rules in lin and Beerhole. Some people adopted them not
Speaker 7: and and so that's that was sort of the start,
Speaker 7: if you like. And as this commission and as the
Speaker 7: clubs have realized the importance of the fan and and
Speaker 7: actually shifting the pende on a little bit, I think
Speaker 7: there's a there's a real energy and I think you're
Speaker 7: seeing a revitalization of a lot of people that they're
Speaker 7: seeing an evolution to this beyond where we're being, which
Speaker 7: is bloody exciting. I've got to say, it's given us
Speaker 7: a new lease life here.
Speaker 3: What have you guys done as far as fan and
Speaker 3: public engagement and actually getting a message out there, telling
Speaker 3: people what's going on, who you are, and what you
Speaker 3: need to expect, what they can expect not only quality rugby,
Speaker 3: but what actually happens. Because you've got a big opening
Speaker 3: ceremony going on, the launch of the championship banners. The
Speaker 3: list goes on. But as far as your work with
Speaker 3: the Blues, what have you actually done to reach out
Speaker 3: and connect.
Speaker 7: Yeah, well, obviously we had the big Blue Bus. We
Speaker 7: then come into the start of the year and use
Speaker 7: those platforms, but there's some other things going on behind
Speaker 7: the scenes as well.
Speaker 5: All of the clubs.
Speaker 7: We've invested together in a new customer database platform which
Speaker 7: is coming on, which is partially online.
Speaker 5: It's sort of one of.
Speaker 7: Those I T things, but it's going to make it
Speaker 7: more effective to speak to a customer and communicate with them,
Speaker 7: which I think is really really important, and getting that
Speaker 7: getting that message out there, making it easy for people
Speaker 7: to understand what's going on, and and and the big
Speaker 7: thing is accessibility making making and I think speaking to
Speaker 7: your players about their role in this, and for those
Speaker 7: that monitor and follow our players, I think you've seen
Speaker 7: this year shifting them too and promoting the game and
Speaker 7: being a part.
Speaker 5: Of it, which is which I've seen before. So there's
Speaker 5: a there's a.
Speaker 7: Even I was really pleased with Caleb's comments set down
Speaker 7: the paper explaining why he didn't want to do sent No, no,
Speaker 7: he just it's not as focus. He doesn't want to
Speaker 7: get the broad in that, and that's okay, Like we
Speaker 7: reach their own, there's not many, but at least he
Speaker 7: is open and honest about it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and we all appreciate it in the media because
Speaker 3: without people telling us, we start making up our own stories.
Speaker 3: You know how it rolls. And for the record, I've
Speaker 3: picked Big Patty two ups to go hard in fantasy rugby.
Speaker 3: So tell the big fellow not to let us all
Speaker 3: down and on that. Andrew Horse, CEO of the Blues,
Speaker 3: thanks so much for your time. You have a wonderful
Speaker 3: week ind wishing you the best.
Speaker 7: Yeah, thanks mate, We'll actually see you down there.
Speaker 1: This is sports figs, your daily does of sports news
Speaker 1: now and by news talks.
Speaker 3: Be a disaster is one thing, but failure to learn
Speaker 3: from a disaster is another thing altogether. The disaster I'm
Speaker 3: referencing is Warren Gatlin and his latest stint as the
Speaker 3: head coach of Welsh rugby. Today he stood down or
Speaker 3: was pushed. It was by mutual agreement. Read into that
Speaker 3: what you will. But Warren's second stint come to an
Speaker 3: end after fourteen consecutive losses with the national side. So
Speaker 3: the big lessons out of this for Welsh rugby, in
Speaker 3: my opinion, they are this, don't go back to the well.
Speaker 3: As great as Warren Gatland was, let's not forget between
Speaker 3: seven and nineteen he appeared and won four six Nations titles,
Speaker 3: including three Grand slams and two appearances in World Cup
Speaker 3: semi finals. That is no mean feat. That is an
Speaker 3: extraordinary record. But because it's happened in the past does
Speaker 3: not mean it is going to happen in the future.
Speaker 3: So to reappoint Warren Gatlan I think was a crazy mistake.
Speaker 3: The game moves on, the game moves quickly, and although
Speaker 3: Warren was performing at an international level, performing in inverted commas,
Speaker 3: I think the game had left them behind. And to
Speaker 3: re establish himself as a head coach of Wales an
Speaker 3: attempt to regenerate, to reanimate the glory days of years
Speaker 3: gone by insanity. I also believe they need to pick youth.
Speaker 3: It's a young Welsh team and with a young Welsh coach,
Speaker 3: surely this team at the bottom of the world can
Speaker 3: move forward and look up. Together. They may well take
Speaker 3: some more beatings, but the beatings that they took under
Speaker 3: Gatlan I don't believe created anything at all. I don't
Speaker 3: think there are any lessons. I don't think there were
Speaker 3: any advancement in the way they played rugby or indeed
Speaker 3: the connection between the coach and the players. Those losses
Speaker 3: very very destructive for that relationship. And finally, go local.
Speaker 3: I know that Welsh rugby have had success with foreign coaches,
Speaker 3: especially the likes of Henry Anahansen and Gatland back in
Speaker 3: the day. But surely the Welsh rugby public are fed
Speaker 3: up to the back teeth with what's going on. Now
Speaker 3: go back to where it all begins. Employ a Welsh
Speaker 3: coach for the Welsh team, for the Welsh people.
Speaker 2: The Chamber is now in session on Sports Fix.
Speaker 3: We're in the chamber again. This time we've managed to
Speaker 3: lure in the Sports news edits our for New Zealand Herald,
Speaker 3: Alex Powell. Alex, how are you? Ma? I'm good?
Speaker 5: How are you? Yeah?
Speaker 3: Nice to hear, I'm better than well, said Jim Radcliffe.
Speaker 3: Right now, what's going on with him and the All Blacks?
Speaker 3: And well, where do you end? He's not really good?
Speaker 3: And he for any sport?
Speaker 2: Is he?
Speaker 7: No?
Speaker 4: I mean it looks nasty, doesn't it what's happening now?
Speaker 4: But I think someone's made the very astute point that
Speaker 4: any of us do not have a very good track
Speaker 4: record and getting involved with sport. You look at not
Speaker 4: just the All Blacks, look at their America's Cup outfit.
Speaker 4: There is one team Mercedes. They've not won anything really
Speaker 4: since he's been on board. You've got cycling, You've got
Speaker 4: Man United, which continues to be a train wreck week
Speaker 4: after week. So I think if it's you know, the
Speaker 4: All Blacks and you don't know, we have to get
Speaker 4: out now, it might be a bit of a blessing
Speaker 4: in disguise if they can get the money they were promised.
Speaker 3: It's planetary revenge, isn't it. The Earth has spoken? So
Speaker 3: no more are you going to steal squash dinosaur bones
Speaker 3: of us. We've had enough of this baboonery. Yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 3: I say that anyway, But to be slightly more serious
Speaker 3: on this does leave New Zealand Rugby in a difficult
Speaker 3: and delicate situation. It's not like you can knock on
Speaker 3: the door Alex or maybe they're trying this of all
Speaker 3: the major multinationals, say you got to spare eight million
Speaker 3: for us?
Speaker 4: No, I mean you think back to when the All
Speaker 4: Blacks soul or using a Rugby rather sold the front
Speaker 4: of Jersey sponsorship, which we thought was just sacred and
Speaker 4: you couldn't do. They sold it to AIG remember, and
Speaker 4: then that was you know, it's now ultrad But like
Speaker 4: it just shows the money that is needed to sort
Speaker 4: of keep the game afloat and if that's not there,
Speaker 4: if any of us can't afford to put it up
Speaker 4: and they can't immediately replace that. We know that they're
Speaker 4: going to get a lesser deal from Sky with the
Speaker 4: broadcasting rights for Super Rugby and for test matches. So
Speaker 4: it really is worrying for the financial state of the game,
Speaker 4: which we know at all levels is really struggling.
Speaker 3: So said Jim Radcliff's come out and said, you know,
Speaker 3: it's the green movement, it's the taxation, it's the fact
Speaker 3: that America on the surge in Europe, and da da da,
Speaker 3: da da. We don't want to hear this crime me
Speaker 3: a river. You're signed a deal. It's got nothing to
Speaker 3: do with what's happening globally. Pay your billmate, Yeah exactly that.
Speaker 3: Don't sign a contract if you don't mean to honor it.
Speaker 3: I'm sure he meant to. But now I'm run out
Speaker 3: of money. But last time I checked it was a billionaire.
Speaker 3: I like, you know, eight sixteen twenty four million. It's
Speaker 3: chump change. Just pay for it and stop dragging your
Speaker 3: company and your name through the mud or the crude
Speaker 3: oil if you will.
Speaker 5: I couldn't have said a bit it myself.
Speaker 6: Mate.
Speaker 3: Well, thank you very much for that one. Let's move
Speaker 3: on to our next subject, Warren Gatlin. What do we
Speaker 3: need to say about Warren Gatlin? Now he's fallen on
Speaker 3: his sword. He fell a long way and it's a
Speaker 3: big sword. He's well and truly skewed, now, isn't he?
Speaker 4: Alex Oh, you just feel for Warren. He is a
Speaker 4: good man first and foremost. But you do almost get
Speaker 4: the sense Rugby has moved on from what brought him success.
Speaker 4: You know what feels like a long time ago now
Speaker 4: with Wales the first time around.
Speaker 3: Your way, as I see the notatorial piece, I don't
Speaker 3: know why you'd go back to well again. Things advanced,
Speaker 3: things change, and you've got to stay ahead of the
Speaker 3: curve by bringing fresh ideas to the paddock and looking
Speaker 3: back to the future and trying to replicate that in
Speaker 3: the past. That is madness.
Speaker 5: I don't know. Would you not bring back Steve Hanson
Speaker 5: now if something went wrong with Scott Robertson, right, Henry,
Speaker 5: it's that sort of thing.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you're making those decisions based on feelings not facts,
Speaker 4: you know, and if you bring back your most successful
Speaker 4: coach of all time, I think that is a very
Speaker 4: good short term solution, Except in Wales's case, that hasn't
Speaker 4: really turned out to be because he was probably there
Speaker 4: for too long.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and we probably shouldn't dwell on warrant. You said
Speaker 3: he's good man, you really feel from the situation he's said, Hey,
Speaker 3: at least I didn't walk off with a pocket full
Speaker 3: of pounds stealing. You've got to give them that credit, right.
Speaker 5: No, remember he offered to resign.
Speaker 4: I think it was last year in the worst rugby
Speaker 4: Union said no, So you look, it does just look
Speaker 4: like a bit of a mess.
Speaker 5: Continuing the theme of any us. It's all a bit
Speaker 5: of a mess.
Speaker 3: And let's carry on with a mess because the Crusaders
Speaker 3: have found themselves in a right state. Fourteen players on
Speaker 3: the injured list and not a ball has being kicked
Speaker 3: in anger in Super Rugby Pacific.
Speaker 5: Whoa tough, isn't it?
Speaker 4: I mean you think, you know, you meant to have
Speaker 4: a squad of players that you can cope with these
Speaker 4: sorts of injuries.
Speaker 3: I can hear you laughing. It's tough, isn't it. You
Speaker 3: don't care. I don't think the rest of the country
Speaker 3: here they were going.
Speaker 5: Ah hah, yeah, no, exactly right.
Speaker 4: I mean, how good was last year, the seven year
Speaker 4: dynasty was over, and long that continued.
Speaker 3: But the injury told no one really deserves that. You've
Speaker 3: really got a wonder if they've got a curse sitting
Speaker 3: over them all. Their preseason was horrific.
Speaker 4: Maybe, but I mean, you look at this, and I
Speaker 4: think this is what Rob Penny will be saying, is
Speaker 4: this is just opportunity for someone else. You know, in
Speaker 4: professional sport, opportunity is so much more important, or just
Speaker 4: as important, even as ability. And you're giving you guys
Speaker 4: the chance to come through and show what they can do.
Speaker 3: And you've got an opportunity to embarrass everybody in Super
Speaker 3: Rugby Fantasy. You have you brought into that.
Speaker 4: I mean to give it a pick behind the curtain.
Speaker 4: Today is the day where all the teams get named.
Speaker 4: So yes, I have brought into that. And now I'm
Speaker 4: anxiously waiting for when we figure out who we can
Speaker 4: actually put in our teams and who we need to
Speaker 4: take out.
Speaker 3: But I look forward to being ritually humiliated by you.
Speaker 3: Alex Powell, Digital Sports of New Zealand here, thanks for
Speaker 3: your time and opinion.
Speaker 5: Thanks mate.
Speaker 1: Dissecting the sporting agenda, It's Sports Fix with Jason Vine
Speaker 1: and Darcy Waldgrave.
Speaker 3: And you have it, another episode of Sports Fix. Thanks
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