Adam Lockwood’s Post

Sport brings people together, can it bring the world together too? All Black vs Fiji just completed at Snapdragon Stadium in the USA putting on a spectacle to attract the US viewers and grow the game. Great work by the New Zealand Rugby and Fiji Rugby Union to make this game happen, now can the world take leaf our of the sports world?

At a time when rugby union is struggling in North America, and despite not having the Eagles qualifying for the RWC23, Major League Rugby is attracting many former rugby icons, such as Matt Giteau, to name but one. Recently, Stade Toulousain, one of Europe's most prestigious clubs, joined forces with the Utah Warriors, striking a major blow on the American Rugby Union (XV) market. However, it is Rugby League (XIII) that is about to conquer the American market. This type of rugby, often described as more spectacular and rougher, is about to set foot in the United States. The economic strategy behind this move is questionable and highly risky... But "high-risk = high-reward". I can't wait to see if Rugby League (XIII) can make it on the American market before Rugby Union (XV) rugby does. Let's give it a try. ---------------------   French version available online   ---------------------   Selective by passion   #sponsorship #sports #marketing

Cracking list on here

A very disappointing day for rugby in Australia. It seems history is set to repeat itself with another Australian Super Rugby Team ceasing to exist. It is naive to think reducing the professional contracting opportunities by 20% will increase depth and competition. The NRL and AFL have 17 and 18 teams respectively, Rugby will have 4. Which code do you think juniors will steer towards? A 1/4 chance or a 1/17 or 1/18, less career opportunities will equal less depth as potential players seek certainty and better odds of making it professional. How could a governing body be ignorant to a franchise operating insolvent for multiple years? I question whether this failure of corporate governance raises more concerns for the future of professional rugby in Australia.

🏉 After bidding farewell to the Rugby World Cup France 2023 in Paris last weekend, we had a look at some of the key numbers behind the historic tournament. 🇿🇦While South Africa became the most successful men's side in Rugby World Cup history with their fourth Webb Ellis Cup, records off the field were also broken. 📺 The total TV audience rose by 196% in comparison to the tournament in 2019 with 231 million viewers in total taking in the action across the 51-day period. 🏟️ 2.4 million spectators watched the drama unfold from the stands compared to 1.7 million fans attending matches in Japan in 2019, with over 780,000 people attending matches in Paris. Can we expect similar records to be broken when the tournament arrives in Australia in 2027? #RWC2023

We do what we do best. When everyone talks we play the game. Simple

As we go into the second weekend of a thrilling Six Nations, here’s a really timely story about the unintended benefits of lowering the tackle height (from shoulder height to sternum) in schools and across much of amateur Rugby Union. This was a controversial change. A year ago traditionalists were up in arms. Many feared it would ruin the sport as they knew it. In reality it has proved to do the opposite. While it’s too early to conclusively say that it has lowered the incidence of concussion, the anecdotal evidence is that there has been a significant improvement. And it has had another unintended consequence - because the rule leads to fewer two-on-one tackles, the ball-carrier can often offload the ball to a team mate. So as well as improving safety, rugby is getting faster and more enjoyable to watch, with fewer set-piece interruptions. Those of us in positions of influence in the game should take heart from this example. * Increasing player safety doesn’t have to come at the expense of the sporting spectacle. * Innovation is critical to the future of the sport. See you at Murrayfield. Come on Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 https://lnkd.in/eeBsRhR2

90% of people who completed our survey said that their business held fantasy sport competitions for men's sport but not for the women. Let's change that. The Guinness Women's Six Nations kicks-off THIS weekend and we've been thinking... what's the best way to get people involved and immersed with the tournament this year?   Our answer... we've set up a Six Nations Fantasy Rugby League powered by Energia so YOU can get more invested, learn about the players and invite your friends, family and colleagues to get invovled too! Not to mention there will be weekly prizes to be won which include match tickets and much more!   We do it for men's sport... so why not the women's too? Interestingly enough, we surveyed our audience around the concept of Fantasy Leagues and it was highlighted that the majority of businesses tend to participate in the men's versions of these but very few do the same for the women. In fact - Get involved here: https://lnkd.in/eUH2psRj

** THEY'VE ONLY GONE AND DONE IT AGAIN ** 🎬 Beautifully written piece, pulling together the word-smithing, historical context (dating back to 1872) and data insights from the power trio - Alastair Sledge, James Stringer, Louis Williams. 👏 The following quote is particularly interesting: "Innovations on and off the pitch have been constant, and this has enabled the development of many of world rugby’s finest talents and teams" 👨💻 I think it's important to note these innovations are also enhancing the development of expectations among the fan-base of the game. There is a continuous evolution to what the overall match-day, fan engagement and digitally driven experience needs to be, in order to compliment the on-field entertainment. 🌟 United Rugby Championship x Elixirr

World Rugby to limit influence of lawyers World Rugby plans to overhaul the red card disciplinary system and restrict any advantage enjoyed by richer nations who can employ expensive lawyers. Standard bans of two or four weeks are to be handed down for red cards during a trial in the Under-20 World Championship, WXV and Pacific Nations Cup. World Rugby's plan recognises the difference between a rugby incident (punished by a ban of two weeks) and reckless conduct such as a shoulder charge (four weeks). The governing body expects 70% of all disciplinary cases to trigger one of the two automatic bans, reducing substantially any influence of lawyers on the outcome of disciplinary hearings. World Rugby wants to remove any perception of the disciplinary system being rigged against developing nations.