1
Scotty Stevenson: 'Access to players has been weaponized'
By Ned Lester
Kiwi rugby pundit Scotty Stevenson has taken aim at New Zealand Rugby's depersonalisation of male players and urged them to learn from the success of the 2021 Rugby World Cup to improve fans' engagement with the sport.
Stevenson has been a rugby commentator and pundit for nearly 20 years and was part of the broadcasting panel that covered every match of last month's World Cup.
He delivered an impassioned protest to the commercialisation of rugby in New Zealand and all of its seeping implications as he appeared on The Rugby Pod last week.
"I think that access to players has been weaponized by media managers," Stevenson said. "And I think that is a terrible, terrible place to find yourself. It shows a lack of maturity, it shows a bone-deep concern for image.
"The flip side of that is by showing yourself - and again I go back to the women's World Cup, which I was at all 26 games, and every single one of those games had a human story that was compelling for the fans, compelling! And they were open.
"Ruby Tui is one out of the box, right? But the class of Sarah Hunter, and the class of Ward through the pain, and the class of Amy Cokayne, and all the others who were there, who could bare their souls, and show their emotion and feel like they were in a safe space and one of the things, just adding to the issues around the men's game; those crowds are the greatest, most friendliest, most spirited crowds I have been in for an international rugby game in my life.
"There was no focus on boos, there weren't middle-aged men in face paint with that low-level menace that a lot of the fans of the game and the expectant fans of the men's game have, everyone turned up on mass because they saw something in those women's stories that they could associate with, that they could connect with.
"Going back to the original point, we've become so gun shy about our male players showing anything nearing themselves because that might damage the jersey you wear on Saturdays.
"We've got to get away from that."
The number of male New Zealanders playing rugby is declining and many pundits, including All Blacks great Sir John Kirwin, have pointed to the emphasis on professionalisation as a major culprit; making the sport a fruitless activity for any young player who doesn't look to have an immediate avenue to a professional contract.
"We've put a lot of energy into the top end, into the shop window," Stevenson continued.
"Unfortunately we've got a grassroots game that's battling, we've got a schools game that's become super concentrated on just a few top schools and there is a superheated market around there - I believe an over-professionalisation of the schoolboy game.
"The enjoyment has gone away for a lot of kids who want to be involved in rugby because if you haven't made the first XV at one of these schools now, then you feel like the game's dead to you.
Stevenson questioned NZR's vision for the game and warned the governing body not to follow in the footsteps of the likes of FIFA and prioritise the money, stating "this level of corporate capriciousness is not reflective of what rugby is."
Also concerning to Stevenson was the attitude of depersonalisation extending to the fans, as he reminded the podcast's audience of the place rugby holds in New Zealand's DNA and shared concern that NZR was treating fans as "nothing but a ticket stub and a jersey buyer."
"The private equity has been looked at, mulled over by the public, trying to understand 'well what is this now? Is this just a professional sporting organisation?' And as you know, a professional sporting organisation is one thing, it's a property rights business.
"Is that what rugby's going to be reduced to or can rugby still have a role to play throughout communities, for our children, for our women and right across the spectrum? And that's where I think New Zealand Rugby is struggling a little bit, it's moved into a hyper-commercial role, they've wanted to be the money of the game, that has seen them change their constitution, move away from the constituent members of New Zealand Rugby, the provincial unions and a lot of the focus now - I think too much focus - on that top end.
"Rugby Union, if it keeps going down this path, I fear it loses so much of its soul."
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Gregor Townsend breaks silence on his Scotland future
3
Fissler Confidential: Paddy Jackson Premiership bound?
4
Four England talking points after their Six Nations rout of Wales
5
Latest Comments
It started with a gut-wrenching realization. I’d been duped. Months earlier, I’d poured $133,000 into what I thought was a golden opportunity a cryptocurrency investment platform promising astronomical returns. The website was sleek, the testimonials glowed, and the numbers in my account dashboard climbed steadily. I’d watched my Bitcoin grow, or so I thought, until the day I tried to withdraw it. That’s when the excuses began: “Processing delays,” “Additional verification required,” and finally, a demand for a hefty “release fee.” Then, silence. The platform vanished overnight, taking my money with it. I was left staring at a blank screen, my savings gone, and a bitter taste of shame in my mouth.I didn’t know where to turn. The police shrugged cybercrime was a black hole they couldn’t navigate. Friends offered sympathy but no solutions. I spent sleepless nights scouring forums, reading about others who’d lost everything to similar scams. That’s when I stumbled across a thread mentioning a group specializing in crypto recovery. They didn’t promise miracles, but they had a reputation for results. Desperate, I reached out.The first contact was a breath of fresh air. I sent an email explaining my situation dates, transactions, screenshots, everything I could scrape together. Within hours, I got a reply. No fluff, no false hope, just a clear request for more details and a promise to assess my case. I hesitated, wary of another scam, but something about their professionalism nudged me forward. I handed over my evidence: the wallet addresses I’d sent my Bitcoin to, the emails from the fake platform, even the login credentials I’d used before the site disappeared.The process kicked off fast. They explained that scammers often move funds through a web of wallets to obscure their tracks, but Bitcoin’s blockchain leaves a trail if you know how to follow it. That’s where their expertise came in. They had tools and know-how I couldn’t dream of, tracing the flow of my coins across the network. I didn’t understand the technical jargon hash rates, mixing services, cold wallets but I didn’t need to. They kept me in the loop with updates: “We’ve identified the initial transfer,” “The funds split here,” “We’re narrowing down the endpoints.” Hours passed , and I oscillated between hope and dread. Then came the breakthrough. They’d pinpointed where my Bitcoin had landed a cluster of wallets tied to the scammers. Some of it had been cashed out, but a chunk remained intact, sitting in a digital vault the crooks thought was untouchable. I didn’t ask too many questions about that part; I just wanted results. They pressured the right points, leveraging the blockchain evidence to freeze the wallets holding my funds before the scammers could liquidate them. Next morning, I woke up to an email that made my heart skip. “We’ve secured access to a portion of your assets.” Not all of it some had slipped through the cracks but $133,000 worth of Bitcoin, my original investment, was recoverable. They walked me through the final steps: setting up a secure wallet, verifying the transfer, watching the coins land. When I saw the balance tick up on my screen, I sat there, stunned. It was real. My money was back.The ordeal wasn’t painless. I’d lost time, sleep, and a bit of faith in humanity. But the team at Alpha Spy Nest Recovery turned a nightmare into a second chance. I’ll never forget what they did. In a world full of thieves, they were the ones who fought to make things right. Contacts below: email: Alphaspynest@mail.com, WhatsApp: +14159714490, Telegram: https://t.me/Alphaspynest
Go to commentsFrom a kiwi point of view it would be great if a fleet of 7s could consistently give a big 7/1 bomb squad the run around. That will be helped if World Rugby continue to learn from Super Rugby and the Premiership.
Although I wouldn't take too much from a win over anyone not employing a seven forward bench, especially Wales. SA and France are winning the big trophies for a reason.
Go to comments