VIDEO: URC has duty to 'entertain' at World Cup level
Given the quality of the personnel currently on display, it will be hard for the United Rugby Championship to match the ‘intensity and drama’ of the World Cup.
However, coaches and players are ‘duty bound’ to entertain at the highest level.
The URC is heading into week three – with the opening two weeks having been in the shadow of the closing weekends of a dramatic World Cup conclusion in Paris.
The Stormers kick start their four-week tour of the north in Glasgow, while the Sharks face Welsh side Ospreys on Friday at the Twickenham Stoop in London.
On Saturday, Zebre Parma welcome the Bulls, Edinburgh makes the trip to Dublin to face Leinster, with Munster playing Dragons in Cork.
The URC has two derbies this weekend – in Wales where Scarlets return from South Africa and welcome Cardiff, while in Ireland Ulster makes the trip to Galway to face Connacht.
The only fixture on Sunday will see Benetton face the Lions.
However, it is the London fixture – the first time a URC game is played in that part of the world – that is expected to entertain a ‘new’ audience.
Sharks coach John Plumtree
and his Ospreys counterpart, Toby Booth, said they will ‘look to entertain’, rather than try to match the World Cup for drama.
Plumtree said, following some ‘pretty special’ contests in the World Cup play-offs – from the quarterfinals, through the semifinals and on to South Africa’s 12-11 win over New Zealand in the Final – it is going to be a challenge to avoid a deflated weekend.
“Those were nailbiting, edge-of-your-seat stuff,” Plumtree said.
“It is a little bit too much to expect the Ospreys and the Sharks to produce type of intense battle.”
The Sharks coach said the entertainment value will come from the ‘positive approach’ by both sides.
“I am sure both sides are going to play a positive brand of footy,” he said, adding that the ‘wintry weather’ won’t dampen their spirits.
(WATCH as Ospreys coach Toby Booth and Sharks counterpart John Plumtree explains to @king365ed why the URC has a duty to entertain on a World Cup level…)
The Ospreys coach, Booth, said they have a ‘duty’ to ensure the product is “entertaining”.
Booth warned against getting caught up in the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the game and forgetting about the entertainment aspect.
“We have to realise we are in the entertainment business.” the Ospreys coach said.
“If we can’t match the drama [of a World Cup], we have to match the entertainment,” he told @rugby365com.
“Having two positive teams – who have very little interest in winning 9-6 – we have a duty to provide a product worth watching, to enjoy and talk about the next day.”
Booth admitted it is going to be difficult to match the intensity and drama of the World Cup play-offs, but said there were alternatives ways to “entertain”.
“We will be promoting young players and exciting players of the future.
“We can also produce a positive brand that hopefully gets people off their seats.”
Booth said Ospreys has had ‘some success’ in taking the “show to town” for their home ground in Swansea and is hopeful the matchday experience at Twickenham Stoop lives up to expectations.
“We can look at different sports and the NFL [National Football League in America] is a classic example of how they bring entertainment to the piece.
“The URC is also trying to develop the matchday experience.
“This [taking a URC game to London] is an example of trying to do things differently.
“American sports often lead the way in that.
“We are open to different ways in doing things.
“We need to look more at the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff,” he said, adding that coaches and players need to be open to the changes that will provide a different audience and a better product.
Plumtree agreed with Booth that the game is in dire need of some change.
“Leinster, this past weekend, there was nothing happening before the game – he said of the Sharks’ 13-34 loss to the Irish giants at the RDS Arena.
Despite a ‘good crowd’ turning up, they all exited straight after the game.
“They turned up pretty much 10 minutes before kick-off.
“You have to get them in and have a bit of a vibe before [the game].
“At the Sharks we are looking at reintroducing the [pre-match and post-match] braais, have a lot more entertainment and attract the children.
“It is important going forward.
“We all have a responsibility to ensure there is a bot more happening [other than just the game].”
Booth said ‘die-hard’ fans will watch the game, regardless.
“[However,] we are in a competitive business to try and get new people interested in the game – what it looks like on the pitch, before the pitch, what it looks like in the media and post-match.
“The more we are connected to new people we want to attract, the better for the game.”
@king365ed
@rugby365com
