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I’m sometimes a bit hesitant to weigh in on issues around sport because I am more of a fair-weather friend these days.

Paul Lewis’s report in the New Zealand Herald about rugby sevens’ troubles was a shock. Financial issues are at the heart of it, and World Rugby seems unable to make sevens profitable.

Stories of extravagance at the top don’t help, especially with rugby competing against other sports for attention and money. While players are obviously selected on performance, you have to wonder if the same standard applies to management.

I’m no expert on the international game but as someone who was once a passionate rugby fan, it did make me reflect on whether there needs to be a shift in attitude here in New Zealand.

Now I’m not about to have a go at coaches or the players and I’m persisting with my hope to see the Scott Robertson era excite us in 2025.

But I just get a sense that the game here is managed, in this professional era, with a lingering old-fashioned attitude to accessibility. This makes our teams and players seem more remote than ever. Just look at some of the offerings that are available to sports fans from other sports that are now competing for our attention – and money.

I’m a recent convert to following F1. That’s mainly because of the access that Netflix has had in filming its ‘Drive to Survive’ series. It’s let us into the dramas and the lives of people who are participating in an incredibly high-stakes game – and yet we still see them letting it all hang out with what they think, the rivalries, the bitchiness, and all while seeing that these are incredibly talented folk try to squeeze every last degree of performance out of their teams and vehicles.

Whereas by contrast sometimes it feels like New Zealand rugby is so carefully stage-managed that it is becoming more and more remote from rugby fans and supporters. Possibly why the NZRU’s nickname behind the scenes with sports journalists is “the Kremlin”.

Surely the reason that rugby became our national religion for decades was because we all felt like we owned the game. We felt connected to our local clubs, school teams, provincial teams, and, of course, the All Blacks. Not now. Somewhere that’s got a little lost.

I have to remind you that I’m just saying this as more of a fair-weather fan of rugby – but I didn’t use to be. There was a time when the outcome of an All Black match would dictate whether it was a good or bad day. One of my brags as a singer was having sung the anthem for the All Blacks seven times (they won them all by the way...).

I just get the feeling that something has to change. Because, as I said, there is a lot competing for our attention.