As part of our work with the Rugby World Cup, I was interviewing a load of rugby fans the other day.  I asked them why they used social media, how they used social media and what effect social media had on their interaction with rugby. They were big social media users and used it mainly to follow teams and players as well as getting tips on how to train, what to eat and how to be a better player.

I asked them what other sports they played and followed and they listed off the likes of CrossFit, UFC and Tough Mudder. What was the most interesting aspect after they named the sports they now follow was how social media played a huge role in drawing these rugby fans into ‘new’ sports and new fan communities – it spoke to them in their language like a friend would – raw and real, straight from the source. According to these regular sports fans, these sports felt new, open, free, alive and fearless.

“We don’t get that from rugby, really. It’s all very polished and closed off”, one of them added.

What these new sports were doing was sharing what these fans wanted, filling a social media hole left by Rugby Union.

Unbeknownst to them, CrossFit in particular was not only cannibalising the time spent on rugby in social media – it was cannibalising their participation and fanship of rugby in general. They were starting to switch out of rugby and into this new breed of brave, socially-supercharged sport.

And suddenly, they realised it as well in which a very worried look came over their faces. They hadn’t noticed that the game they had loved since they were kids was becoming less a part of their lives.

Is this something to learn from? Or is it a reminder of what we already know? Stay fresh or others will steal your lunch. Across the whole spectrum of brands and marketing, those that are brave enough to let their barriers down, see their brand equity go up.

The Rugby World Cup has been and gone. It was a great event. A real beauty. Probably the first truly social Rugby World Cup.  An arsenal of social tools, tricks and trinkets were at the disposal of the biggest brands in the world.  And for the first time in a long while in the UK, the audience went way beyond the stereotypical ABC1 male rugby fan.

It was an event ripe for fresh, fun and creative social activation – an event that brands and the like could really sink their teeth into.

But now that it’s all said and done, do we think brands took advantage of the opportunity?

Many had the chance to not only celebrate their story in the context of this fantastic game, perhaps even reinvent it for a new general with the help of the most creative communications landscape we’ve ever seen.

No need to mention any names, but probably not…

In 2016, the long-standing sports need to be careful, courageous and creative. The new kids on the block are extremely flexible, built for social and have very little to lose. And they’re not just moving in, they’re taking over.

*Josh Robinson is the Head of Digital at Synergy Sponsorship based in Central London.