The new benchmarks Cape Town is setting on and off the field
The United Rugby Championship is continuing to push the boundaries of popularity and the participation of South African teams is playing a significant role in this appreciation.
In fact, as they were in their Super Rugby days, the SA teams are again proving to be the most popular – attracting record audiences.
URC Chief Executive Martin Anayi said the data from season two suggest the league is in “excellent health”.
“If I look at it from a game point of view, we are in pretty good shape,” he told a media round table.
Anayi added that after the previous season’s record television audiences, of about 34.9-million, they are looking to be even better in the 2022-2023 edition.
Their growth on social media showed a 35 percent increase in fan engagement.
However, it is stadium attendance where the URC has shown significant ‘growth’.
“The average attendance per game is up 32 percent,” he said, adding that they are sitting at around 9,500 average per game.
“It is still very early days.
“There is lots to work on.
“However, it has been a very successful season for the most part.”
It is the in-stadium attendance where the most telling numbers are.
(Article continues below the Martin Anayi interview ...)
This past weekend – when the Stormers beat Irish province Connacht 43-25 in their semifinal – set a new all-time attendance record.
The 47,261 spectators at the Cape Town stadium was the biggest in the history of URC, and Pro14/12 competitions.
It even beat the record for a Final, which was 47,125 in 2019 at Celtic Park in Glasgow – for the encounter between Glasgow Warriors and Leinster.
That is a record they may well fall when the Stormers host Munster in the 2023 Final in Cape Town next Saturday, May 27.
This past Saturday’s Cape Town attendance was in Stark contrast to the all-Irish semifinal, when Munster edged Leinster 16-15 in Dublin – 26,795.
This Dublin game was the biggest crowd to attend a semifinal in the UK and Ireland in the URC/Pro14/12’s history (dating back to 2001).
The Stormers’ record this past weekend is not the only benchmark they have set.
They, along with fellow SA franchises, have attracted bigger numbers than most – with Leinster the only one that can match them.
Before this past weekend, the biggest attendance was the Leinster versus Munster Round Six encounter in Dublin – 45,436.
That is followed by the Stormers versus Bulls quarterfinal in Cape Town (44,109), Bulls versus Stormers Round 14 encounter in Pretoria (41,205), Dragons versus Scarlets and Ospreys versus Cardiff in a Welsh Round 18 double-header in Cardiff (41,139).
The Stormers are part of the five top match attendances recorded this season – four in Cape Town.
Top of the list is the 47,261 against Connacht in Cape Town this past weekend, 44,109 (Bulls quarterfinal, in Cape Town), 41,205 (Bulls in Pretoria), 30,721 (Sharks in Cape Town) and 30,003 (Bulls league match in Cape Town).
The Sharks’ Kings Park stadium has the next three places on the list – versus the Bulls in Round 11 (25,813), the Lions in Round 10 (24,721) and the Stormers in Round One (23,787).
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