Continue With Judgement Day

Since the new Rugby Services Agreement (RSA) has now been signed in Wales, what it means for the day to day running of the game is slowly but surely being discovered. The latest change with the new agreement is that ‘Judgement Day’ in not included, leaving the 2015 edition of the event hanging in the balance.

It has been a divisive event and has not caught the attention of the Welsh public in the way that organisers had hoped. On paper it does sound an attractive proposition; the four Welsh regions all playing in Welsh derbies at one of the world’s best rugby stadiums. So why hasn’t it worked?

Marketing has been dreadfully poor and needs to improve no end. Last year 30,000 fans attended the event despite it being held on Easter Sunday. This in itself was a poor decision; the numbers could have been significantly boosted by moving the event by one week.

The marketing staff didn’t have a difficult job as they were selling a very attractive day out. At last year’s event the cheapest ticket was just £15 for two games of top class rugby. This should have been plastered everywhere but unless you went looking for tickets you would not have known how cheap they were.

If people had known more information about the event, more would have attended, it is basic marketing. However, the days themselves were thoroughly entertaining affairs. Last year’s fixtures were thoroughly entertaining affairs with the Blues beating the Scarlets and the Ospreys beating the Dragons. There was also music thrown in at the interval, all for £15. It really shouldn’t be hard to sell.

Meanwhile over the border the ‘London Double Header’ is going from strength to strength and Judgement Day was meant to emulate it. With 66,000 at Twickenham for this year’s event it is easy to see Judgement Day as a failure. However, in the second year of the London Double Header there were 35,000 people in attendance, which looks even worse in the cavernous 80,000 capacity Twickenham. It took time to grow as a brand and with that grow crowds, so it will with Judgement Day.

Therefore, Judgement Day is an event that needs to be supported. Even with last year’s lower 30,000 attendance, it was still higher than the cumulative attendance would have been for two separate fixtures. It is not just attendance figures either; Judgement Day should be used as the flagship event of the Welsh rugby calendar, to encourage more people to attend regional games.

With this in mind it does make more sense for it to be at the beginning of the season, as the London Double Header is. It would open the season with a big crowd and encourage more rugby fans to attend more games throughout the season.

If Judgement Day goes ahead this year it will not sell out. There is a date pencilled in the diary the weekend of the 24-26 April. If it is marketed correctly they can break the 40,000 barrier and move on from there. If the new agreement does what it promises and brings players back to Wales then this will rise as seasons continue.

The very concept of Judgement Day needs to be supported and encouraged. If we turn our back on it now we will prevent the growth of Welsh Rugby.