Can Cape Town rival Hong Kong as Sevens venue?
The inaugural Cape Town Sevens tournament attracted over 100,000 fans at the Cape Town Stadium over the two days, with supporters from as far afield as Germany, Sweden, Singapore, Brazil, United Kingdom and the United States making the journey to the Mother City.
Those statistics meant it was the biggest South African sevens tournament yet since the inception of the World Series in 1999.
The electric atmosphere at the stadium was also intensified by the success of the home town favourites, the BlitzBoks, who went all the way to Cup success on Sunday.
The question is, can Cape Town rival the granddaddy of them all, Hong Kong, as the biggest and best tournament on the circuit?
New Zealand Sevens legend Karl Te Nana, who is now a World Rugby ambassador and Sevens commentator, believes Cape Town is now the perfect home for Sevens in South Africa.
"I think it is a great place," said Te Nana.
"I played in Stellenbosch when it started here in South Africa, then in Durban and also in George and I was lucky enough to go to Port Elizabeth last year as a commentator.
"However, I think it was great move bringing the Sevens tournament here in Cape Town.
"The city has evolved. I have not been here since I played for the Highlanders, which was about 14 years ago.
"Just seeing the stadium and the support was great. There is also a lot of great things to see in Cape Town."
For some of the players participating in the tournament it was an unforgettable experience as well – particularly for some of the home town favourites.
"It is a feeling you can't describe," said Justin Geduld, who was the star of the BlitzBoks' victory over Argentina in the Cup Final.
"You might get crowds like this in other countries, but not for us. It was an amazing feeling knowing all the people is behind us and we just picked up the energy of the crowd."
Springbok and new BlitzBoks star Francois Hougaard echoed Geduld's sentiments.
"It was unbelievable. We are fortunate to live in such a beautiful country and a country with such strong support for rugby. It has been a great two days," said Hougaard.
It seems the success of the tournament was also a temporary distraction away from some of the well-known issues plaguing the South African Rugby Union at the moment.
SARU Chief Executive Officer Jurie Roux espressed his overall satisfaction of the event.
"The rugby action was of the highest standard and we hosted an event which exceeded all our expectations, with the BlitzBoks’ victory the cherry on top," said Roux.
"When all the tickets were effectively sold out more than two weeks before the tournament, we knew it would be a great event.
"People talked about the Cape Town Sevens and the excitement was palpable on the weekend.
"There were some teething problems, all of which were sorted out as the tournament progressed.
"It’s not out of the ordinary for a big event in its first year such as this one, and we've learnt valuable lessons which will see an overall improvement for fans and participants alike in 2016.
"I would like to thank everyone from SARU and World Rugby who worked tirelessly to make this event a success, all the volunteers, sponsors and other stakeholder.
"But above all, I would like to thank every supporter who dressed up and brought heaps of 'gees' to the Cape Town Stadium this weekend – you were as much part of the success as the teams."
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
