single in 2004 Will I Ever See Biff Again? It aired in Australia lamenting how soft rugby league was going Down Under. Sample lyric: “What happens when a man can’t punch his friend?” It was a satire, but only just.
Now Biff is back on the menu in the National Rugby League (NRL) as the league’s biggest club competition prepares for a double-header at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, which hosted the Super Bowl earlier this month. To win over believers in its cause in the entertainment capital of the world, the NRL produced a slick, well-produced video narrated by Russell Crowe that received more than 1.2 million views on X, formerly Twitter.
Maximus’s first book begins with “arguably the fastest, most aggressive game of on-ball football in existence,” followed by five minutes of footage, about 70 percent of which consists of violent tackles. Viewed through the prism of unity, it can seem jarring to see so many major, potentially staggering achievements celebrated. The shelter would begin to melt.
Unlike the League, which unapologetically boasts about its aggressiveness, the union appears to have come to fear its own basic physicality as a concussion case winds its way through the court system. In the eyes of former Harlequins and current Fiji Drua CEO Mark Evans, this holds the union back, especially in terms of how the sport sells itself. As the former CEO of the Melbourne Storm, Evans has seen first-hand how the NRL has exploded in popularity, and it hasn’t happened by hiding from its visceral, violent elements.
“I thought the NRL ads were brilliant, they were brilliant,” Evans said. “NRL is in good shape.”
“Rugby [union] not for everyone. Not like that. Likewise, diving is not for everyone. The thought of doing this scares the hell out of me. But that doesn’t mean it should stop them from doing so. This is another world. Continue. Rugby isn’t for everyone. How can a collision sport not emphasize its physicality? This is nonsense.
“That’s what people like. You can make the game safer, solve the concussion problem, and not lose the physicality of the game. I refuse to believe that these two things are not possible. We are also talking about adult rugby. We’re not talking about kids rugby. I don’t think the NFL emphasizes physicality. Or the NRL. Or MMA. Or WWE. I’m not saying you should use it to the exclusion of all the other things you want to highlight, but we shouldn’t hide from it or be ashamed of it. “It’s a physical game.”
Having worked all over the world, Evans believes that the phenomenon of unions denying their inherent dangers and risks is particularly evident in the UK. “Only Britain is shy of this truth.” [celebrating rugby’s physicality]said Evans. “They don’t do this in France. They don’t do this in Fiji. They don’t do this in Australia. So is this an Anglo-British phenomenon? I don’t know but I feel like it’s more obvious there.
“The whole culture has become more risk averse. Maybe we tend to be more comfortable criticizing things rather than celebrating them. I think this is happening to some extent. “We may have lost some confidence in sport in Britain and parts of Ireland, but I don’t buy the idea that it’s going to distract people.”
This message seems to be percolating with senior managers such as Mike Tindall also calling for this message to change. Rob Calder, Premiership Rugby’s chief growth officer, said: Times, “Rugby has a deep-rooted, conservative feel and we don’t see that when we look at the NRL. We need to strengthen this.”
This view is far from universally shared. The stories of many of the individual players involved in the concussion trial are as horrifying as they are harrowing. At a time when the sport is working so hard to make itself safe, wouldn’t it be a step backwards to start celebrating big achievements that might scare parents away from taking their kids to mini-practices?
Evans argues that choosing between making the game safer and celebrating the physicality of the game is a false dilemma.
“I don’t think these are mutually exclusive and it’s vital that we don’t conflate them,” Evans said. “I’m also going to make a really clear distinction between adult rugby and the mini, tag and touch down the miles. We should not present them as if they were one and the same thing. That’s why the NFL, the biggest sport in states with physicality at its core, encourages tackle football so much. They’re not changing the core adult television product, except for a few changes.
“Let’s be clear about this. The game is much less violent. The game played now is much less violent than the kicking, punching and stamping games I used to play. This just went away. If it happens, this is an isolated incident. Many people enjoy watching physical sports. That’s why boxing is popular. Don’t act like you’re not.”