The Vodacom United Rugby Championship will set a new record for season-long attendance with over 1.6million fans attending games by the time the final whistle is blown at this weekend’s Grand Final.
A sold-out crowd of 55,000 will watch defending champions DHL Stormers take on Munster this Saturday in Cape Town where a new record attendance for the Vodacom URC Grand Final will be set.
With fans responding to the appeal of the Vodacom URC average attendances have grown to just shy of 10,000 (9,893) per match for the regular season, which is the highest average the league has ever recorded. All 16 teams in the Vodacom URC experienced an increase in average attendance from the 2021/22 season with overall match attendance up 36 per cent.
A total of 1,424,520 attended the regular season games in Rounds 1 to 18 with a further 152,954 coming to the six Quarter-Final and Semi-Final matches. The 55,000 tickets sold for the Grand Final this weekend will see that figure for the Play-Off games top over 200,000 and set a new overall season record of 1,632,114.
Additionally, Leinster’s Semi-Final against Munster set a record attendance (26,795) for a Play-Off game in the UK and Ireland that wasn’t a final.
The DHL Stormers also continued to break their own records that held the title of overall highest attendances for non-final games in the Play-Offs with their crowds of 44,109 for their Quarter-Final win over the Vodacom Bulls and 47,261 coming through the gate for their Semi-Final victory over Connacht.
This also comes off a season where the league recorded its highest ever attendance figure for a single round when 123,307 fans turned out across all eight games in Round 11.
Martin Anayi, CEO of the United Rugby Championship, said: “We are blown away by the attendance records set across the league this season. Our teams put tremendous work into improving their match-day experiences for fans and promoting their games and this should give everyone in rugby great encouragement for next season.
“We are early days still for the URC but it is clear that fans are responding to the draw of the South African sides and the 18-round format which has increased jeopardy and competition across the board. The sell-out crowd in Cape Town this weekend is a fantastic sign of interest in URC, however, we are just as pleased with setting a new record for regular season attendances and there should be great pride across all 16 teams in that collective achievement.”
Record-Breaking Figures for Vodacom URC attendances in 2022/23
- Total cumulative attendance for R1-18 was 1,424,520, the highest in the competition history (including previous iterations)
- Average match attendance for R1-18 was 9,893 – the highest in competition history (including previous iterations)
- Total cumulative attendance for the full season (excluding Grand Final) is 1,577,114 – the highest in competition history (including previous iterations)
- Grand Final attendance of 55,000 will bring total attendance for the season to 1,632,114
- Total cumulative attendance for Playoffs so far (QF and SF) is 152,954 – the highest in competition history (including previous iterations)
- Average match attendance for Playoffs so far (QF and SF) is 25,432 – the highest in competition history (including previous iterations)
- Leinster v Munster set a new record for highest attendance in northern hemisphere for a non-Play-Off game at 26,795
- DHL Stormers set overall record for a non Final Play-Off game with 47,261 attending their Semi-Final against Connacht
- All 16 URC clubs have a higher average match attendance vs last season, with overall average match attendance increasing by 36%
- 123,307 record attendance for a single round recorded in Round 11
Twinkle Cutlass
Shahid Afridi used Sachin Tendulkar\’s bat to hit the fastest ever ODI century – Shahid Afridi was flown in to play for the Pakistan team from West Indies to Nairobi in 1996 and didn\’t have a proper bat. That\’s when Waqar Younis gave \’Young Afridi\’ Sachin Tendulkar’s bat. Afridi hit 11 sixes and six boundaries with the bat and scored a 37-ball century against Sri Lanka which was the then fastest ODI century. The record, broken later by Corey Anderson (36 balls), now belongs to South Africa\’s AB de Villiers (31 balls).
Lord Pistachio
Sport Trivia: Which South African golfer is known as the \”Big Easy\”? Answer: Ernie Els. His full name is Theodore Ernest Els. Ernie turned pro in 1991 at the age of 19. He is one of the most successful golfers in South Africa and the world. He is known as the \”Big Easy\” due to his large stature and seemingly effortless golf swing. He won 62 tournaments in his first 15 years as a professional golfer.