Gone are the days when people went to a sports event purely and solely for the sport. There are many who are old enough to remember those days, some even yearn for them to return.
Today, it is we are told all about entertainment. Sometimes that entertainment takes over from the actual sporting contest. The entertainment side compliments the sporting event if done well, but when it isn’t…
Twenty five years ago when the Wallabies played their first every Rugby International in Perth against the Springboks, for those who had campaigned for many years to have Perth host an International this was a huge moment in the sport. It was a shame that more wasn’t made of this anniversary.
Back on the 18th July 1998 it was a miserable evening with the rain teeming down. Rugby fans of all nationalities flocked to Subiaco Oval to support and celebrate this historic moment in the hope that it was the first of many Test matches to be witnessed in Perth. Their support that night was vital to ensure that Perth remained in the fixture plans of the Australian Ruby Union, as they were known then.
I attended that match in the rain, and remember there was less hoopla pre-game, and despite the venue not being the best suited for a rectangular sport the atmosphere was memorable as the Wallabies went down by a point 14-13. The crowd that night was 38,079 in a stadium which had a capacity of 43,082.
In the subsequent years at Subiaco, and also at the first Bledisloe Cup game to be held in Perth I was fortunate to be working at the games.
This weekend I attended the match against England at the city’s new “state of the art” Optus stadium. What a completely different experience this turned out to be.
There was little or no vibe outside the stadium as fans made their way into the venue. It was a completely different feel to when the All Blacks played at the same venue in 2019. Clearly the billing of this game being against the ‘old enemy’ had not ignited the fierce patriotism that many had hoped. It even makes one ask whether in rugby terms England are an ‘arch rival.’ Those who follow rugby will tell you that Australia’s main opponents in this sport are in fact New Zealand and South Africa.
This may well have been why ticket sales were so slow. Imagine how those who pre-purchased tickets at around $150 felt seeing adverts offering tickets for $49 in the days leading up to the game! In the end 47,668 turned up in a venue with a capacity of 65,000. Could this be due to that fact that some rugby fans will watch any nation play the Wallabies, while others who now call Perth home will only go and watch the country they hail from?
There is no doubting that Optus stadium is fantastic venue. Once inside it is easy to move around and it is a vast improvement on Subiaco Oval, but it is not, as we stated many, many times on the show a venue for rectangular sports. The cost-cutting decision not to have retractable seating may well come at a cost, as no matter where you sit you feel a long way away from the action. Rugby fans, like football fans want to be close to the game, that creates part of the atmosphere and the magic of attending a live game. Take that away from fans and they may as well stay at home and watch on television.
The light show pre game was simply spectacular, but that is where the entertainment and attractive peripheral support you expect to receive at such game today ended. For many the highlight would have been the tired old attempts to get a Mexican wave going!
The announcing was at times completely incoherent, players names were mispronounced, and at one time the wrong score was given!
When Australian player Tom Banks landed awkwardly on his arm and suffered a clearly bad break, the game was understandably held up for close to five minutes. The perfect time to try and generate some atmosphere within the stadium, but nothing happened. There was silence from the ground announcer and the ground was filled with the natter of fans talking.
What was even worse, and unfortunately we are seeing this more and more at live sporting events, when the officials referred to the Television Match Official the fans, those who paid money to watch the game live, were left in the dark as to what was going on and being discussed. Yes, there was vision on the big screen, but people inside the stadium want to and need to know what is going on and what the officials are discussing. To shut them out and ignore them is rude and disrespectful, especially when one looks at the price of tickets today
When you go to well run events music plays a key part in creating an outstanding atmosphere. It can keep the crowd involved and buoyed up. One of the best examples was in the sport of Hockey where at the Hockey World League in Belgium the FIH employed Belgian DJ Kris Schoeters. He created such a phenomenal atmosphere at the games that they flew him to Raipur, India for the Hockey World League finals where he was again a major contributor to the feel of the event. Attend a game of Rugby in South Africa and once again the music plays a huge part in setting the tone of the event. In fact around the world and even at some sports in Perth it has a huge impact.
Last night the guy two seats down on his mobile phone was more audible than the music in the stadium, and if and when you could hear it, it was the wrong choice of music to stir up a crowd. This was a monumental fail in terms of delivering anything close to a world class event.
As many sat in the surrounding seats commented there was no atmosphere. I have been fortunate to attend many sporting events at various levels around the world and I have to agree. Never have I attended a game so void of atmosphere. Even being part of the lowest crowd in the the football club I supports history, which was only 1681 back in1984 there was more atmosphere, but of a very different vibe.
Where were the strains of “Sweet Chariot” from England fans? Australian fans are not known for their singing and so it came as no surprise that they were mute.
The constant booing of Owen Farrell when he had a penalty kick or conversion attempt went against the grain as to how rugby crowds normally behave. This may be acceptable in AFL, but it grated at a rugby International, as apart from the kicker being an opposition player, on what grounds was the booing based? Had Farrell transgressed in the match then there may have been a reason for it, but as it stood it seemed childish, and showed a lack of appreciation for the game.
As for the game it is remarkable to read some of the reports talking up what was a dour game void of many memorable moments. England were poor, their backs were too flat, their distribution too slow and their passing and handling disappointing.
Australia were courageous, and showed great spirit to win the game while playing for more than half the game a man short. They deserve a great deal of credit for that.
With tongue planted firmly in one’s cheek one wonders with all of Australia’s points coming from players of Pacific Island descent, in a world that seems to crave equality, will we soon see Northern Hemisphere teams wanting to see a cap on the number of players descended from this region being allowed on the pitch at one time, just to even the contest up a bit?
As a game it was not one to remember. Yet the moment that will remain was one that will hopefully be eradicated from the game immediately. As understanding as it was at the time, the sport can do without it. The incident was when a man down the Australian captain Michael Hooper made a drive forward and his head came into contact with the shoulder of England number 8 Billy Vunipola. Hooper looked up from the ground and appeared to ask the referee to look at the incident and have the England player sin-binned.
There have been many captains in Rugby who have tried their hand at refereeing a game while playing, George Gregan and New Zealand’s Sean Fitzpatrick arguably two of the best, but the sport does not want to go down the path of football where you see players asking the referee to send players off.
This was a moment where it would have been good to be able to hear the conversation that took place amongst the officials. While their hands are tied and head contact means a yellow or red card, maybe commonsense would have been better. It appeared to many that Vunipola stood his ground until Hooper drove towards him and that it was more the Australian hitting the England player’s shoulder rather than his shoulder hitting the Australian. It seemed a harsh decision to many, and it appeared that the Australian captain had influenced the referee in making it. If that was the case the game needs to stamp this out as it has been a blight on the game of football and rugby does not need the same behaviours creeping in.
It is a shame that in terms of the match this is going to be one of the strongest memories or the night, along with the debut of a player who could be a star of the future for England Henry Arundel coming off the bench to score.
As for heading back to Optus Stadium to watch a sport played on a rectangular pitch, thanks but no thanks.
Hopefully Rugby Australia opt in the future to put the match day experience ahead of dollars, and move games back to the purpose built HBF Park, but the chances of that are sadly very remote.
