A 9pm kick-off? I should be at the opera

When I heard that France and Wales will begin their match in next year's Six Nations at 9pm on Friday night, my heart sank and I wondered what the supporters of this wonderful competition would think of this.

Then I realised. I am a supporter of the Six Nations and have been for 50 years. So, what do I think?

I think this is another kick in the teeth for those who travel to watch their teams and in those matters few travel so well, so far, so noisily and so enjoyably as those who support Wales. I don't like the sound of this proposal one little bit. There is a time and place for things. You eat breakfast in the morning, have tea in the afternoon. You don't go to the opera after breakfast any more than you go out to dinner first thing in the morning. Nine pm, the proposed kick-off time, is a time to be cooking or eating dinner not watching or playing rugby. 

Down the decades there has been something of a Lions tour in miniature about away games in this competition. Gather a few friends, travel to Edinburgh, Paris, Dublin, Twickenham, Cardiff and now Rome, let your hair down. Drink too much, sleep too little; Eat too little, spend too much. Arrive home late and tired and get told off for:

a) being away too long
b) not cutting the grass before departure
c) reeking of drink upon returning
d) spending a small fortune and
e) leaving your glasses in your hotel room/taxi,bar/nightclub.

Ah, international weekends. Those were the days, boys, those were the days.

For whom is this proposed change to be made, if not for the supporter? It is made for television, the winking eye in the corner of the sitting room. The change is made for the popularity of the Six Nations, for tv viewers. In other words it is made for money.

I watch a lot of rugby on television and enjoy it, sometimes more on the screen than in the reality. But the Six Nations is not the Magners League or the Heineken Cup any more than magnetic north is north. One is about clubs and regions, the other about countries. The competitions are as far apart as east and west Pakistan. The Six Nations has a rhythm of its own.

And now those terrific weekends have gone. The soul of the Six Nations as I knew and loved it has been sold. It has become a made-for-tv programme, like Come Dancing, or Big Brother or I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. What next? A game on a Sunday evening as well?  If it brings in the viewers you can bet it will happen. The spectator is an anachronism. The spectator is dead. Long live television. The elephant in the room.

Comments

[Stan Huxtable]

Super kick off time!
Stan Huxtable
Australia

[Andy]

So what if they move it to a friday evening? Just as many people will travel, the games will still be sold out so just as many fans will watch the game live.

If you are a traditionalist it's yet another blow. However there have been so many of them since professionalism that I hardly notice any more.

As for the atmosphere and passion, well if the games are sold out they will be the same. As for the true supporter, the majority of them watch from home. These are the millions of supporters who can't get access to or can't afford a six nations ticket).

For many years now live access to international rugby has been a privilige of the few. You either have the right corporate contacts, or the right club contacts and the wherewithal to pay for the ticket and the weekend.

By the way, I'm one of the few.

[Ali]

I totally agree, rugby has now gone the way of most other sports, sold down the TV river. Who cares about atmosphere, passion and the true supporter anymore, as long as they can squeeze a few more quid out of the game?

[Steffy]

The TV companies pay huge amounts of money for the 6 nations so they should be allowed to maximise their ratings. Bigger ratings attract more money and rugby union is all about money. The BBC certainly wouldn't be spending a large percentage of the licence fee on the 6 nations unless it could show games in prime time.

[nick lloyd]

How quaint, still thinking of sport as anything but a televisual spectacular and moneyraiser.

Seriously, in the four decades I've followed the Five/Six Nations I've toured and watched - and, getting home, often needed to study the video the girlfriend/wife had made to find out what happened.

In soccer, Premiership fans are just realising that the Croesus of TV has ripped the soul from Saturday 3pm kick-offs. It is too late to recover that but rugby still has a chance.

The cash that TV has lavished on the game has allowed standards to be raised to dizzying heights and the game played by today's internationals is a quantum leap away from 3-3 England-Wales mudbaths in the sixties.

A compromise is needed. Three games on a weekend can work well with two on Saturday, one on Sunday.

Heck, never mind Tosca, if Midsomer Murders is on at 9pm Friday that night, the chance of me watching France-Wales live is less than Italy winning the Grand Slam.

[Peter Griffin]

Well Mr. Hopkins you have taken the Murdoch shilling, I do not contribute to his ventures.