Do NZ's Cities Still Care about the Rugby?

You wouldn't have known it but two first-class provincial rugby games were played on the last two nights in Christchurch and Wellington.

Canterbury thrashed Northland 48-3 while Wellington continued their losing run at home with a 27-21 loss to Manawatu.

Both games were played out in front of fairly empty stadia - I wouldn't be surprised if the total attendance from both games didn't even hit 10,000.

Ok, Canterbury's game wasn't helped by the fact that it was played on a Thursday night although given the dearth of entertainment right now in Christchurch as the city continues its rebuild from the devastating earthquakes, you would have thought that anyone bored on a Thursday night might have thought of popping down to Addington to watch the rugby - especially when you consider how dominant their rugby team have been this season in the ITM Cup.

As for Wellington's game, well, crowds not just for the Lions but for the Hurricanes, have been on the decline since the turn of the century, with the prognosis for NPC games painting quite an ugly picture.

Wellington has always been New Zealand's most artsy and left-field cities, often preferring culture over sport - I bet you there were more people wandering around the waterfront for the free Lux Festival than paying admission fees to sit in the cold at Westpac Stadium on Friday night.

However, the Wellington region - in particular Porirua and the Hutt Valley - still continues to produce or nurture a good proportion of this country's top rugby players, i.e. current All Blacks, the Savea brothers, Cory Jane, Dane Coles, TJ Perenara and Conrad Smith. The Swindale Shield and Jubilee Cup are one of the stronger and most followed club competitions in the country.

It is quite clear that when it comes to the ITM Cup, the crowd numbers per population ratios are much lower in the big cities than in the provinces. Consumer choice is a big reason - the ITM Cup is really the only big regular season competition for the likes of Napier, Blenheim, Whangarei and Invercargill, while the bigger cities have the Super Rugby too - plus usually one guaranteed All Blacks test match.

I think the Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury unions need to acknowledge that crowd numbers for regular season ITM Cup games aren't likely to go above 10,000 - perhaps it is time for them to take games to the home grounds of the clubs that supply many of their players.

Imagine Auckland playing at Western Springs Stadium or East Tamaki Park, or the Wellington Lions playing at Hutt Recreation Ground, Porirua Park or Newtown Park. How about Canterbury playing in Rangiora or Amberley, or Otago playing in Balclutha or Cromwell?

The crowd numbers will be small but would match the size of the ground and create a far better atmosphere than at a 3/4 empty Eden Park or Westpac Stadium. Games could be played on Saturday or Sunday afternoon so to counter the problem of the small club grounds not having the floodlights of the bigger stadia - and that could get more families along.

It could also mean cheaper ground hire costs for the unions who are currently facing their most difficult financial challenges at the moment.

The provincial game is strong as ever but it is facing a key point in its lifetime in the cities and it needs some creative thinking to ensure that the game doesn't die and remains relevant in the cities - it would be the ultimate tragedy if that were to happen.