Posts Tagged ‘Rugby’

1. When sorry is too little too late

   Published on Friday, October 14th, 2011
   It was an outrage, but there was an apology.

   A “stupid thing” had been done and it was now deeply regretted.

   An All Black had gone out drinking (and smoking).  Fortunate for Cory Jane, he played a blinder and the match was won.

   The second apology of the week came from Costamare Shipping Company managing director Diamantis Manos.  His company owns the Rena which is causing a black tide of another type. Yesterday he apologised by video to Tauranga residents and New Zealanders for the “disastrous event”.

   Perhaps his advisers told him that New Zealanders like and accept apologies, as we’ve had a “sorries” from a veritable catalogue of high-profile offenders from current and former All Blacks, and sports commentators, to MPs and church leaders.  Sorry has become the get-out-of-jail-free card.  But not this time, not from owners and managers of the ship that is violating the Bay of Plenty.  It came too late and from too far away.

   There are times when you have to front up in person, and this is one of them.

2. Let’s not allow the Grinch to steal our Rugby World Cup (RWC)

   Published on Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
   You’ve got to agree – we can occasionally be a bunch of whingers and whiners.  When something amazing happens there are always those who will find fault and plenty more who will then jump on that particular band wagon. 

   I have a feeling the RWC will go that way too. But does it need to be that way? How can we reap the most benefit from this event? Certainly not by criticising and complaining about every misstep or perceived “issue” that the public probably didn’t really need to know about.     

   Putting aside the actual games, there could be plenty of negatives to highlight if we go looking, and are that way inclined – crowd control disasters, ticket collection nightmares, bully boy RWC officials clamping down on people breaking the major event legislation, shocking service by international standards or maybe even visitors’ bawdy behaviour, bad weather and of course sub-standard stadium facilities. All of this will be played out to a contingent of international visitors, including media, who will then share these stories throughout the world.  Not to mention ear bashing those of us to listen to local news. 

   So right here right now I propose we put a ban on being unnecessarily negative about the RWC.  Unless there is very good reason to raise potential issues, we should leave the criticism alone and focus on the good stuff. If you share my view then share these thoughts with others and put the brakes on the negativity. 

   My advice to the doom-sayers is to think of the Cup as being a bit like Christmas! Love it or hate it, the 25th of December will always be Christmas day and for many it is the happiest day of the year. If you’re a knocker, keep your bar-humbugs to yourself. 

   So, let’s approach RWC as a great opportunity to celebrate and enjoy one of the many things we are passionate about in New Zealand.

3. Does a rugby final justify silence in the face of bad behaviour

   Published on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
   Given the public discussion around the Kelston Boys vs. Auckland Grammar rugby game brawl it has been interesting to see the marked difference between how the two schools have reacted through their communication with their pupils and the wider public.

   I was initially disappointed to hear the principals of both schools, in the first interviews I heard on Monday morning, defend their school and blame the other for inciting the incident. Neither one made the obvious point that no matter what the provocation, such violence is not acceptable. 

   However Kelston Boys Principal, Steve Watt is to be congratulated because he did just that later on that Monday.  What’s more, he took action against his own boys before they had even faced the Rugby Judiciary.  Their website shares their statement to the judiciary and the school and firmly puts the blame on all involved.  Although they do hold to the view that Grammar incited the incident.

   Compare this to Auckland Grammar who has, to my knowledge, so far made no public statement and taken no action against the boys who were involved in the fight – whether they started it or not. Surely the same situation applies and retaliation was not acceptable.  Even more for their team, who as the clear winners on the day could have been a little more magnanimous?

   One wonders if Grammar’s upcoming final, and the need to ensure they have a full team available, might have influenced their response. Grammar prides itself on its rugby heritage and is known for being the secondary school responsible for producing the most All Blacks. Is this a lesson we want to set for future All Blacks? And what message does it send to the pupils of the entire school.

   Furthermore, what has been done about claims that the Grammar Old Boys contributed to the heat of the situation?

   When we are constantly hearing about bad boy sports stars misdemeanours in the media, the chance to teach these emerging sports stars about the real consequences of actions has it seems been lost.  We have surely shown them that it is about winning the game at any cost.

4. Media training lessons from Jetstar

   Published on Friday, June 26th, 2009
   While the saga of Jetstars’ stranded All Black fans became a communications quagmire, with
   claim and counter-claim, there is one particular element we would like to reflect upon. It is the way Jetstar’s spokesperson responded to questions about the incident during an interview with Radio NZ’s Morning Report last Monday.

   Jetstar’s spokeman Simon Westaway was not prepared to give any ground, let alone apologise.  The key messages were:  These people were late; we will debate this any time anywhere; we carry 12 million people a year.

   To paraphrase: No ifs or buts, we were right; these people were wrong.

   This approach even seemed to ruffle Morning Report’s nice guy Geoff Robinson, and was almost certainly the reason for on-going criticisms of the airline, some of which became quite toxic in the online space.

   Jetstar seems to have seriously misread the New Zealand culture as, in all likelihood, a local company and a local spokesperson would have been more conciliatory with messages like:
   We take all complaints seriously; we will review the matter thoroughly and examine our processes; and If we are wrong, we’ll take it on the chin and talk to these customers about making it right. (Apparently there was CCTV footage that could be reviewed).

   Such an approach would have de-escalated the situation which quickly went from simmering to boiling.

   If you are going to adopt this staunch, brash approach – no nonsense, no vacillation, let’s move on – just be sure you’re bulletproof… Today (Friday), Jetstar’s own reported actions suggest the airline did make some errors.  They are apologising to some customers, offering discount vouchers and reviewing their check-in performance.

   Public 1, Jetstar 0