In recent seasons, efforts to speed up the game have continued to increase dead time during DHL Super Rugby Pacific this year.
Reductions in TMO interventions, better referee management, and fast restarts of play have led to providing two minutes more rugby than two years ago.
Statistics show the benefits of referees being empowered to speed up the game while reducing reliance on TMOs.
Dead time has dropped by more than six minutes since 2020, with shot clocks on kickers adding an average of 34 seconds.
This season, games have started 14 seconds faster after tries than in 2022, eight seconds faster after a penalty is awarded with the ball back in play within an average of 21 seconds, and 12 seconds faster when a penalty goal is attempted.
TMO interventions have been reduced to 1.3 per game in 2024 compared to 1.6 last season, and the 2024 interventions have taken an average of 1 minute and 12 seconds less time. Try checking has dropped by 34 seconds, and managing foul play has reduced by 38 seconds.
Law innovations over the last two years have seen the average running time of games slightly reducing to 91min 7sec, an improvement of three seconds.
When the survey was done after nine rounds in 2024, the total tries scored were 361, compared to 411 at the same time last year. [Note: After 11 rounds completed, the total tries in 2024 now stand at 446].
Improvements in the game have been reflected in viewing figures.
After 10 rounds, nearly 1.67 million New Zealanders watched games on SKY Sport and free-to-air on SKY Open, an increase of 11 per cent compared to last year.
Games were streamed over 3.36 million times to 186,000 unique viewers on SKY Sport Now and SKY Go.
Until round 10, the Chiefs vs. Crusaders game on March 29 was the most popular game, with 482,000 viewers tuning in.
There have been more than 65 million views on social media channels between rounds 1-7, an increase of 74 per cent on last year.
While fans attending games have been stable, there has been a 2.5 increase in average ticket sales, with 11,300 tickets per game.