How South Africa can better Croke Park record

OPINION: It is portrayed as an ‘incredible occasion’. Ireland is, rightfully so, proud of the record-breaking United Rugby Championship derby between Leinster and Munster at Croke Park.

The early season pacesetters, Leinster, beat arch-rivals Munster 26-12 in front of a crowd of 80,468 – the biggest ever in URC history.

However, it is a record that could be short-lived – if two South African franchises have the appetite for it.

The Croke Park derby could be ameliorated when the Bulls host the Stormers in the big North-South South African derby in a URC Round 12 match on March 1.

The match is scheduled to be staged at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, but a change of venue could easily elevate it to the Croke Park level.

The venue: The 94,736-capacity Soccer City in Soweto.

There is a precedent for moving #BIG oval ball games to the round ball venue.

The Bulls are the real trendsetters – having played both the Super Rugby semifinal and Final at Soweto’s Orlando Stadium – because Loftus was being ‘upgraded’ for the 2010 soccer World Cup.

On May 22 the Bulls beat the Crusaders 39–24 in front of 38,534 spectators and a week later the same venue was sold out (40,000) as the Bulls won their second Super Rugby title by beating a star-studded Stormers 25–17.

The Croke Park derby between Leinster and Munster was played out in front of 80,468 spectators this past weekend.

The two Irish rivals have produced some classics over the years.

They met in the last Pro14 Final. Leinster won their last piece of silverware when they recorded a 16-6 win over Munster.

Leinster won both league matches in the 2022/23 URC season, but Munster got their revenge and beat their more fancied rivals by 16-15 to set up a Final against the Stormers in Cape Town.

Munster edge their Cape Town hosts 19-14 – the team they play in a Round Five match at the same Cape Town venue this coming Saturday.

The Bulls and Stormers rivalry in the URC has also been well documented, with the Cape side having had a seven-match winning streak over the Bulls.

The streak included the 2022 Final and 2023 quarterfinal in Cape Town, before the Bulls stopped the bleeding in Pretoria in 2024 – beating the Stormers by 40-22 and ultimately ending the former champions’ stranglehold over fellow South African sides dating back to December 2021.

The rivalry remains as strong as ever – with the 2022 URC Final limited to just 31,000 spectators due to COVID-enforced crowd restrictions.

Their last meeting at Loftus Versfeld, which the Bulls won 40-22, took place in front of a then record 50,000 spectators.

The Bulls could consider, after their strong start to the 2024/25 URC season, to take their clash to Soccer City Stadium in Soweto.

It’s too early to say how the URC table might look come March 1, but history has proven that it’s almost irrelevant when these two sides meet as the crowds always come out in their numbers.

A packed Soccer City could just break the Croke Park record.

@rugby365com