SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer says the organisation has met its crowd and financial targets for Saturday’s Rugby Championship opener between the Springboks and Wallabies at Ellis Park, despite the 62 000-seat stadium not being sold out.
As of Friday, tickets remained available across several sections of the stadium, with prices ranging from R1 050 to R4 000, according to the official Ticketmaster website.
The steep pricing has raised eyebrows, especially when compared with a full DStv subscription, which offers access to the entire Test series – including the second clash in Cape Town next weekend – for roughly the same cost as the cheapest match ticket.
In an effort to boost attendance, the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, led by Minister Gayton McKenzie, was distributing 2 000 free tickets as recently as Thursday morning.
“We’ve Hit Our Budgeting Target” – Oberholzer
Speaking at Loftus Versfeld during the launch of Vodacom’s new telecoms sponsorship deal with SA Rugby, Oberholzer claimed that the match had already met financial projections.
“We’ve hit our targets in terms of budgeting for the event,” said Oberholzer.
“When we did our forecasts, we worked on an 85% capacity. We’re well over that. After the United Rugby Championship, we’ll review our programme and how we drove it.”
He added that any shortcomings in the campaign would be evaluated and addressed ahead of the 2026 season.
“If we’ve made any mistakes, we’ll rectify them before the season starts next year.”
Ticket Sales Under Pressure
Saturday’s fixture continues a recent trend of under-capacity Springbok Test matches, following lukewarm ticket sales for July Tests against Italy in Pretoria and Port Elizabeth, and Georgia in Nelspruit.
Despite this, SA Rugby maintains confidence in the Springboks’ commercial pull.
The team continues to generate strong TV viewership and remains a major drawcard following their 2023 Rugby World Cup victory.
The final chance for local fans to watch the Springboks live in South Africa this year will come on 27 September, when they take on Argentina at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban.
Is the price of the tickets the likely reason for the empty seats?
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