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