The Kiwis v Tonga matchup on Sunday afternoon illustrated to fans of rugby league that the international stage is very much alive and well.
The match had 38,000 fans flocking to Eden Park to watch, making it the third most attended international rugby league match in history in New Zealand.
New Zealand Rugby League CEO Greg Peters caught up with D'Arcy to discuss the final - and reveal why this year's final is taking place in Australia.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Darcy Wildergrave
from News Talk ZEDB Kiwi.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Ponger match up on Sunday Afternoons Slash Evening shows that
international rugby league very much alive here in New Zealand.
Nearly forty thousand fans Eden Park, which apparently is the
third most attended international rugby league match, and there's three
of New Zealand. Oh good, so we're keen, We're up
(00:34):
for it. So why's the final between the New Zealand
QWI and Sarmur being played in Sydney and a competition
that hasn't even got the Aussie Mean there Re Peters
joins us. Now he's the CEO of he's in a
rugby league and he's going to tell us why we
just shed some light on the state of international rugby
league in twenty twenty five. Hey Greg, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Hey Darcy, thanks for having me on mate, Yeah very well.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I hope you are too, Yeah I am, Thanks very
much for joining us. It's coming up to the end
of what's been a pretty fascinating Pacific Champnship. The Kiwi
are taking on some more after that crazy game against
tong are over the weekend crazy, not because of the scoreline,
but because of the crowd. They're the best fans in
the world. But here's the problem, Greg, and I know
(01:19):
you know what I'm going to say. Why are the
Kiwi taking on somewhat in Sydney in a competition that
the Australians aren't even playing in And this is just weird,
isn't it.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Yeah? Yeah, Look, we would have been happy to host
the whole thing in New Zealand and it would have
gone off even you know some are Eden Park. You
can imagine that would have been special as well, like
it was last weekend. At the end of the day,
what the Ossies wanted was content in this market, well
in their own market in Australia prior to World Cup
twenty twenty six. So they didn't want to lose momentum.
(01:55):
And of course, you know, although we run and are
on risk for the games in New Zealand and that's
all our marketing and all our effort of rule, Pacific
Championships are the NRL brand, So that's why we get
these decisions. Mate.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Did you just acquiesce to that? Did you fights? Did
you go hold on? We've got a massive League community
over here, massive amounts of PACIFICA residents over here and
Kiwi fans. This was made surely for a sold out Eden.
Part that how much fight grig did you put up
for this?
Speaker 3 (02:33):
One hundred percent? We went hard on it, you know,
as I said to you, we wanted to host a
whole thing and all of the games in New Zealand
this year and it would have been amazing for the game.
But what we did have for to really cool events
went against some area obviosite, Mount Smart and last weekend
that you indicated, it's probably the most unusual and amazing
(02:56):
event that I've ever been part of because crowd was
cheering for both sides. In fact, our girls were in
the shed after their game and they heard the cheering
and they thought, Tom, I must be up and they
came out. We were winning twenty points. So it's unrivaled
and unheard of kind of scenes in sport and this
part of the world.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Anyway, So to Aussie offer you those two games as
a way of saying that we're really sorry we're having
the final here even though we're not competing, was that
part of the negotiation. How did that come about? Greek?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Well, NZDRL and the KIWI and Kiwi ferns. I only
agreed to plan in the Pacific Championships if we could
host games in our own territory because obviously we have
commercial program and deal with Sky and stuff like that
that were built around these, so we couldn't you know,
we wouldn't have been part of it unless we'd had
(03:46):
at least some part of the part of the cake
in New Zealand. And it's been two fixtures every year
since the start of the Pacific Championships in twenty twenty three.
And you might recall that we actually started this whole
thing back with the Oceania Cup in twenty nineteen, so
and then it got interrupted by COVID. So that's the
kind of rational behind it.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
The NRL are looking after this tournament and they're the
national Rugby League. Do they care about it at an
international level? They only interested in looking after themselves. In Ossie,
I can't work out why ahead of a World Cup
they wouldn't want to have the best of the best
and an Australian team involved as well, because they're not there.
It doesn't make sense, Greg.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Yeah, that's say. There is obviously sort of a conflict
there with the n r L. People call the n
r L. It's the NRL plus the ar l C,
the Australian Rugby League Commission which runs which runs what
owns the Pacific Championships brand. As I said before, we
run and market and host the games in New Zealand's
(04:49):
that's part of our deal with them. And you know,
as I say, we' are really happy with both games
that we've had. We would have liked the whole tournament
in New Zealand, but it's not to be.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Is it up for grabs again? Is a possibility that
it could actually occur as a whole over here? Do
you think? Or was it because the ARL slash NRL
alunder that's that's just not going to happen.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Look, I think this is the last year before the
World Cup and then this is the last year of
current arrangements around the Pacific Championships, so both well, I
think all countries are actually quite interested in having a conversation
about what that looks going forward, looks like going forward
and having more more international content because of the strength
(05:32):
of it. If you look at it now, it's it's
rivaling state of origin in terms of crowd participation and
support and also, you know, like England and the Ashes
as well, if the international game is really on fire
at the moment and we want more of it, not
less of it.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I also find it old. Greg Peter's the chief executive
and he's in and Rugby League joins us that this
is a big pre amble to the World Cup, but
the Australians aren't playing in it. They're over in Britain.
So where where does that logic sit? How did that operate?
Because it is strange, isn't it. Kiwi Yossi Tonga Samoa
minus one odd.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Well, remember we've got the girls as well, so we
are planning jailies in the final. Qui fans playing Jaileres
on Sunday as well.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Excuse me, thank you very much, put in my place.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yes, granted double header for us and this is a
part of the international calendar that we collectively need England
to be strong. And England unfortunately at the moment, doesn't
have anyone at home backguard that it can be competitive with.
When it plays against France men's and women's they win
(06:41):
by sixty points and it's their closest competition. So if
we're true about wanting an international game. We have to
find a way to involve England in the game at
the international level, and one of the ways is obviously
having an ASHES tour or case of Kiwi's we're going
up here in twenty seven so that we can keep
(07:03):
England alive and competitive and the International Forum.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Do you agree though, in principle that in order for
rugby league to get a decent foothold and good traction
on a global scale, you've all got to come together
and organize this. It's been I suppose piecemeal for want
of a better term. Is this going to change you?
As the head of the ends at RL, you want
(07:28):
to get in there and go, guys banging head together.
We've got to do something. We are losing traction and
it's such a great gain too.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Well, I'd argue we're gaining traction because if you look
at where the game was in twenty three after COVID,
and even prior to COVID, we didn't see the crowd
numbers that we're getting in Pacific championships now and also
what they're getting in England for the eshes. So if
you're true internationalist, you've got to look at not only
(07:56):
your backyard. You've got to look internationally. So what we
want to do is what you see against Tonga and
you see against Sama and New Zealand, that's great, but
we need the same for Australia New Zealand, and we
need to stay in for England, New Zealand and England
Australia down here and up there, because that's a true
international game like in any other sport, that's what you
(08:17):
would see. So we have to work towards that, and
we start. We're on a trajetary that's going up, and
as I said, our post World Cup next year will
be able to sit and say, well, what does it
look like going forward? But we actually have got a
calendar which we've had in place now since twenty twenty
two World Cup, which is the first time rugby leagues
had that so dearly.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
So greeg Peter's ideally what does it look like international
rugby league in the future. What is the best possible
program or structure for the game internationally, So everybody gets
to turn. Everybody breathe.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Well, the first thing they're going to do is take
some of the clutter out of the NRL season. So
we start in Vegas and we go to All Stars
and we've got it State of Origin and got twenty
six rounds of NRL and NURL Final series, which was
amazing this year as you know. So we've now got
to look at how can we create more weeks in
(09:13):
that season for international football so short in the NRL season,
with more teams that coming in as you know, play
it and two conferences, and create a window that's meaningful
at the end of it. So whilst you're seeing these
sort of colin flash and a pan events I suppose
(09:33):
popping up and amazing sights and crowds and everything like that,
it's just it loses momentum because we can't continue it
because we don't have enough weeks in the year and
the player workloaders obviously pretty critical, pay well being and
welfare is pretty critical and all of that as well.
So those are the sorts of things we need to
create a longer window so we can play different games,
(09:56):
more meaningful games, and have more of it. For example,
during this current championship, we assembled in week one, then
disassembled the whole team in week two, and we've now
come back in week three, two last week and obviously
the final this week. So that's not a true high
(10:16):
performance program either. So we need to find a way
we can bring a group of people together, work with
an over period of time, play a number of matches
in territories different territories, and grow the whole proposition, not
just not just a few matches here and there.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
For more from sports Talk, listen live to news talks.
They'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Darcy Wildergrave
from News Talk ZEDB Kiwi.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Ponger match up on Sunday Afternoons Slash Evening shows that
international rugby league very much alive here in New Zealand.
Nearly forty thousand fans Eden Park, which apparently is the
third most attended international rugby league match, and there's three
of New Zealand. Oh good, so we're keen, We're up
(00:34):
for it. So why's the final between the New Zealand
QWI and Sarmur being played in Sydney and a competition
that hasn't even got the Aussie Mean there Re Peters
joins us. Now he's the CEO of he's in a
rugby league and he's going to tell us why we
just shed some light on the state of international rugby
league in twenty twenty five. Hey Greg, how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Hey Darcy, thanks for having me on mate, Yeah very well.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I hope you are too, Yeah I am, Thanks very
much for joining us. It's coming up to the end
of what's been a pretty fascinating Pacific Champnship. The Kiwi
are taking on some more after that crazy game against
tong are over the weekend crazy, not because of the scoreline,
but because of the crowd. They're the best fans in
the world. But here's the problem, Greg, and I know
(01:19):
you know what I'm going to say. Why are the
Kiwi taking on somewhat in Sydney in a competition that
the Australians aren't even playing in And this is just weird,
isn't it.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Yeah? Yeah, Look, we would have been happy to host
the whole thing in New Zealand and it would have
gone off even you know some are Eden Park. You
can imagine that would have been special as well, like
it was last weekend. At the end of the day,
what the Ossies wanted was content in this market, well
in their own market in Australia prior to World Cup
twenty twenty six. So they didn't want to lose momentum.
(01:55):
And of course, you know, although we run and are
on risk for the games in New Zealand and that's
all our marketing and all our effort of rule, Pacific
Championships are the NRL brand, So that's why we get
these decisions. Mate.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Did you just acquiesce to that? Did you fights? Did
you go hold on? We've got a massive League community
over here, massive amounts of PACIFICA residents over here and
Kiwi fans. This was made surely for a sold out Eden.
Part that how much fight grig did you put up
for this?
Speaker 3 (02:33):
One hundred percent? We went hard on it, you know,
as I said to you, we wanted to host a
whole thing and all of the games in New Zealand
this year and it would have been amazing for the game.
But what we did have for to really cool events
went against some area obviosite, Mount Smart and last weekend
that you indicated, it's probably the most unusual and amazing
(02:56):
event that I've ever been part of because crowd was
cheering for both sides. In fact, our girls were in
the shed after their game and they heard the cheering
and they thought, Tom, I must be up and they
came out. We were winning twenty points. So it's unrivaled
and unheard of kind of scenes in sport and this
part of the world.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Anyway, So to Aussie offer you those two games as
a way of saying that we're really sorry we're having
the final here even though we're not competing, was that
part of the negotiation. How did that come about? Greek?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Well, NZDRL and the KIWI and Kiwi ferns. I only
agreed to plan in the Pacific Championships if we could
host games in our own territory because obviously we have
commercial program and deal with Sky and stuff like that
that were built around these, so we couldn't you know,
we wouldn't have been part of it unless we'd had
(03:46):
at least some part of the part of the cake
in New Zealand. And it's been two fixtures every year
since the start of the Pacific Championships in twenty twenty three.
And you might recall that we actually started this whole
thing back with the Oceania Cup in twenty nineteen, so
and then it got interrupted by COVID. So that's the
kind of rational behind it.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
The NRL are looking after this tournament and they're the
national Rugby League. Do they care about it at an
international level? They only interested in looking after themselves. In Ossie,
I can't work out why ahead of a World Cup
they wouldn't want to have the best of the best
and an Australian team involved as well, because they're not there.
It doesn't make sense, Greg.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Yeah, that's say. There is obviously sort of a conflict
there with the n r L. People call the n
r L. It's the NRL plus the ar l C,
the Australian Rugby League Commission which runs which runs what
owns the Pacific Championships brand. As I said before, we
run and market and host the games in New Zealand's
(04:49):
that's part of our deal with them. And you know,
as I say, we' are really happy with both games
that we've had. We would have liked the whole tournament
in New Zealand, but it's not to be.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Is it up for grabs again? Is a possibility that
it could actually occur as a whole over here? Do
you think? Or was it because the ARL slash NRL
alunder that's that's just not going to happen.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Look, I think this is the last year before the
World Cup and then this is the last year of
current arrangements around the Pacific Championships, so both well, I
think all countries are actually quite interested in having a conversation
about what that looks going forward, looks like going forward
and having more more international content because of the strength
(05:32):
of it. If you look at it now, it's it's
rivaling state of origin in terms of crowd participation and
support and also, you know, like England and the Ashes
as well, if the international game is really on fire
at the moment and we want more of it, not
less of it.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I also find it old. Greg Peter's the chief executive
and he's in and Rugby League joins us that this
is a big pre amble to the World Cup, but
the Australians aren't playing in it. They're over in Britain.
So where where does that logic sit? How did that operate?
Because it is strange, isn't it. Kiwi Yossi Tonga Samoa
minus one odd.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Well, remember we've got the girls as well, so we
are planning jailies in the final. Qui fans playing Jaileres
on Sunday as well.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Excuse me, thank you very much, put in my place.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yes, granted double header for us and this is a
part of the international calendar that we collectively need England
to be strong. And England unfortunately at the moment, doesn't
have anyone at home backguard that it can be competitive with.
When it plays against France men's and women's they win
(06:41):
by sixty points and it's their closest competition. So if
we're true about wanting an international game. We have to
find a way to involve England in the game at
the international level, and one of the ways is obviously
having an ASHES tour or case of Kiwi's we're going
up here in twenty seven so that we can keep
(07:03):
England alive and competitive and the International Forum.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Do you agree though, in principle that in order for
rugby league to get a decent foothold and good traction
on a global scale, you've all got to come together
and organize this. It's been I suppose piecemeal for want
of a better term. Is this going to change you?
As the head of the ends at RL, you want
(07:28):
to get in there and go, guys banging head together.
We've got to do something. We are losing traction and
it's such a great gain too.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Well, I'd argue we're gaining traction because if you look
at where the game was in twenty three after COVID,
and even prior to COVID, we didn't see the crowd
numbers that we're getting in Pacific championships now and also
what they're getting in England for the eshes. So if
you're true internationalist, you've got to look at not only
(07:56):
your backyard. You've got to look internationally. So what we
want to do is what you see against Tonga and
you see against Sama and New Zealand, that's great, but
we need the same for Australia New Zealand, and we
need to stay in for England, New Zealand and England
Australia down here and up there, because that's a true
international game like in any other sport, that's what you
(08:17):
would see. So we have to work towards that, and
we start. We're on a trajetary that's going up, and
as I said, our post World Cup next year will
be able to sit and say, well, what does it
look like going forward? But we actually have got a
calendar which we've had in place now since twenty twenty
two World Cup, which is the first time rugby leagues
had that so dearly.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
So greeg Peter's ideally what does it look like international
rugby league in the future. What is the best possible
program or structure for the game internationally, So everybody gets
to turn. Everybody breathe.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Well, the first thing they're going to do is take
some of the clutter out of the NRL season. So
we start in Vegas and we go to All Stars
and we've got it State of Origin and got twenty
six rounds of NRL and NURL Final series, which was
amazing this year as you know. So we've now got
to look at how can we create more weeks in
(09:13):
that season for international football so short in the NRL season,
with more teams that coming in as you know, play
it and two conferences, and create a window that's meaningful
at the end of it. So whilst you're seeing these
sort of colin flash and a pan events I suppose
(09:33):
popping up and amazing sights and crowds and everything like that,
it's just it loses momentum because we can't continue it
because we don't have enough weeks in the year and
the player workloaders obviously pretty critical, pay well being and
welfare is pretty critical and all of that as well.
So those are the sorts of things we need to
create a longer window so we can play different games,
(09:56):
more meaningful games, and have more of it. For example,
during this current championship, we assembled in week one, then
disassembled the whole team in week two, and we've now
come back in week three, two last week and obviously
the final this week. So that's not a true high
(10:16):
performance program either. So we need to find a way
we can bring a group of people together, work with
an over period of time, play a number of matches
in territories different territories, and grow the whole proposition, not
just not just a few matches here and there.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
For more from sports Talk, listen live to news talks.
They'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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