Sean Fitzpatrick: Tribalism just feels so good

We may look back on this season's Air New Zealand Cup as the beginnings of a resurgence in the domestic game that will build through to 2011.

The high viewing figures and the crowds at the grounds are evidence of a growing reconnection to the game in New Zealand.

It hasn't been managed through some sparkly and expensive marketing campaign; it has happened because at the provincial level, games against 'those other buggers' have started to matter again.

The tribal feeling is coming back and it feels good.

There is a vibrancy and enthusiasm that is noticeably different to previous seasons.

Crowd numbers and TV figures are on the up and with Bay of Plenty and Southland heading the table going into this weekend, Tasman in fifth, and Hawke's Bay and Manawatu doing OK, the momentum is set to continue.

One factor in this increased interest must be the number of All Blacks that have been playing this year. Rugby fans want to see international players up close - it is healthy for the competition, the fans and the players themselves to have All Blacks available and involved.

Partly as a result of this, the standard of rugby delivered in the games I have seen has been good. It has been tough and uncompromising and I, along with many others, have enjoyed watching.

New Zealand rugby is certainly benefiting from the resurgent Air NZ Cup, because the strength in depth that we need, the health of the domestic game overall and the connection that everyone in NZ feels towards rugby doesn't just come from Super 14 or the elite system - it comes through the proving grounds of these provincial teams.

Because the teams are rooted in the traditional rugby communities and provinces of our country, they strike a chord. Their successes and failures are more resonant, more relevant to people than the slicker, beautifully packaged but more distant Super 14 franchises.

The Air NZ Cup respects and reinforces the old grudges, and allows them to thrive; as a result it has become increasingly attractive to watch and to follow.

The competition has become more accessible too, with some of the bigger games being played at provincial grounds. When Auckland played Northland in Kerikeri, more than 7000 people were squashed around the edges, big trucks being used as corporate boxes and kids were running round on the pitch at the end of the game.

It made for a good day out for everyone there and it was great viewing on the television. It was provincial Kiwi rugby at its best.

The NZRU had a valid point that some things in the provincial set-up needed to change. The ANZ Cup sides are in effect professional and I am not sure we can sustain the depth of spend needed to keep them all running. That said, the competition really seems to have taken off and has been out-rating Super 14, so it seems a shame to start the tinkering now.

But whatever changes take place, the fact remains that the key to the success of the competition - indeed of all NZ rugby - is rooted in tribalism.

It is tribalism that creates the bonds between the players and the supporters, that gives the matches the edge that the players feed off, and that intensifies and magnifies games so they become compelling to watch. That spirit of tribalism is what we need to capture, to develop and to encourage on a national scale for the World Cup in 2011.

I have no doubt that the country's rugby grounds and the natural hospitality of us Kiwis will provide a perfect environment for the tournament to flourish and that visitors to New Zealand will return home with great memories of the tournament, but for us however, good times are not enough: the All Blacks need to win.

To do that, they will need to feed off their tribe. They need to stay in touch with the rugby public, remain accessible, allow all of us who desperately and passionately want them to win to get close to them, to get involved - and above all they have to allow all five million Kiwis at home and abroad to be a part of the adventure.

Our part of the bargain is that collectively we support the team in the same way and with the same passion we are showing towards our provinces; that we come together behind the All Blacks to help provide the momentum, the belief, that can lift the team and carry them over the line

For any player, whether provincial journeyman or All Black, there is nothing more motivating or more powerful than when in the heat of battle, when the moment comes, your tribe is roaring you on.