KEY POINTS:
Why is rugby too expensive now for parents on a moderate income to take their children to?
C Brice, Mangere, Auckland
One of the principles of the New Zealand Rugby Union is to maintain rugby as the game for all New Zealanders. The NZRU and Provincial Unions make a real effort to ensure that there are family-friendly prices available at all levels of the game. We believe that overall, these events are reasonably priced when compared with other entertainment options available. While prices differ from team to team, tickets to Air New Zealand Cup games start from as low as $5 for children and $15 for adults in some towns. Ironically, however, in recent seasons, it has been the lower priced tickets for test matches which have been the hardest to sell.
Why do some players continually spit? Why do our players not put more effort into singing our national anthems? Many of the points raised by Herald on Sunday readers in response to Sean Fitzpatrick's international test concerns are entirely relevant.
R Matheson, Hamilton.
While I agree that seeing sportspeople spit is unsavoury, a ban would be unrealistic and unenforceable. Education is the key. Regarding the singing of the national anthem, players are encouraged to sing and, despite your assertion, many of them do. However, the NZRU will not instruct All Blacks and other national team players how they, personally, should or should not prepare for matches. The few minutes before a game can be extremely tense. Some players like to sing the national anthem as part of their pre-match build-up while others prefer to prepare in other ways, for example, by listening to and drawing encouragement from the anthem singing in the stadium. I also read Fitzpatrick's recent column regarding the state of international rugby and have in the past discussed these issues with him. Sean makes some very valid points.
Do you think Graham Henry's outburst over the IRB's lack of leadership concerning the France "C" team, and therefore diluting the international game, was hypocritical, given the All Blacks' rotation policy (including changing the starting team on consecutive weeks)?
L Wilson Sandringham, Auckland
Graham's comments were borne out of frustration at the circumstances which led to all the Northern Hemisphere unions sending weakened sides to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa for test matches in June this year. It is a sore point for the SANZAR unions and one which we have raised with the International Rugby Board. The key point to remember regarding the rotation of All Blacks players is that the coaches are looking to build depth across the entire squad so that there is no drop in standard whoever is in the playing 22. The recent losses of Jason Eaton, James Ryan, Keith Robinson and Ali Williams to injury, and Chris Jack's paternity leave, illustrates this point. Arguably, the Philips Tri Nations would have been weakened if rotation had not been implemented.
