The number of season ticket holders for the Crusaders has dropped by as much as 20 per cent, according to Canterbury Rugby CEO Hamish Riach, but he puts the drop down to the demolition of the eastern stands and not to a lack of interest from fans.

The removal of the stands, in preparation for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and 2015 Cricket World Cup, has certainly drained some of the atmosphere from AMI Stadium and left the ground with far fewer seats, but talking to fans around town, there is a genuine air of apathy.

The crowd at Friday night's game was a poor one, just 16,200 in a stadium which currently holds 25,500. It would be easy to blame the weather, the early start to the season, or even the clash with the cricket in Auckland, but talking to people around town, many were either unaware or uninterested in the Super 14 opener.

‘That's not to say all of the marketing ideas have been bad; handing out foam Crusader swords to the first 5,000 fans was a good idea...’


One thing that will not be attracting any new fans to the rugby is the truly dreadful idea of writing new lyrics for the hauntingly beautiful 'Conquest of Paradise', which has been used as the Crusaders' theme for over 10 years. The original version, from the 1992 movie of the same name, has pseudo-Latin lyrics which have no meaning, a song-writing technique called wordpainting, but the new lyrics are just cringe-worthy. Surely somebody in the Crusaders' marketing department should have realised this was a bad idea, but they didn't.

Actually, this wasn't a bad idea, sailing the Titanic at full speed through a stretch of ocean full of icebergs at night was a bad idea, rewriting 'Conquest of Paradise' falls into a whole new category. But that's not to say all of the marketing ideas have been bad; handing out foam Crusader swords to the first 5,000 fans was a good idea, and the "Take a kid to footy" ticket packages make the rugby an affordable option for families.

The Crusaders are really a product that should sell itself, All Black stars Dan Carter and Richie McCaw are two of the most popular players in New Zealand rugby today. Couple that with the fact that the Crusaders have made the Super 14 semi-finals nine out of the last 10 years, they should be selling out every match. They're not, and that is quite alarming.

The marketers and administrators need to take a look at their product, as in the eyes of many it is becoming stale. Nobody goes to AMI Stadium to watch the dancing girls, the off-key half-time singers or the ridiculous "Kiss Cam" segments, they go to support their team, to see their heroes and no amount of marketing fluff can change that.

It is the competition that is in need of an overhaul, splitting the teams into two pools and playing two rounds would be a good start. Sure it would still be the same teams with the same players, but playing each other more often means that genuine rivalries can be built up, and anyone who has seen the Yankees play the Red Sox or Manchester City against Manchester United will tell you that rivalries elevate even the most meaningless games to a different level.

The introduction of the ELVs has made the game faster and more exciting, which is certainly a step in the right direction, but the sheer level of apathy out there means a more comprehensive overhaul may be needed in the near future.

The potential inclusion of Argentina in the Tri-Nations is a promising sign for that tournament, so perhaps administrators are listening to fans' concerns. Just get rid of the fluff, let the players do what they do best and give the fans something different every few years.

Super Rugby can continue to be a wonderful tournament for all involved, it just needs a push in the right direction and, aside from the introduction of the ELVs, it is being pushed the wrong direction right now.