Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry organisers got the ticket pricing of the All Blacks’ matches against South Africa’s URC clubs wrong and should have kept the Test series in South Africa, writes MARK KEOHANE.
Writing for the Sunday Times, Keohane argues that while the huge interest in the All Blacks has vindicated the decision to revive traditional tours, supporters were short-changed by expensive tickets for matches involving understrength, pre-season Stormers, Sharks and Vodacom Bulls teams.
Keohane says South African fans understood the reality of the fixtures. The URC teams were still preparing for the 2026-27 season and were without more than 40 Springboks, while the All Blacks used the matches to build combinations and momentum ahead of the Test series.
A crowd of 47,000 watched the Stormers face the All Blacks in Cape Town, around 14,000 attended the Sharks clash in cold and wet Durban conditions (with close to 25,000 tickets sold), while 30,000 were at Loftus for the Bulls match.
“These are proper numbers, given the extreme ticket pricing and the tour schedule,” he writes, adding that those crowds demonstrate the enormous appeal of the All Blacks rather than vindicate how the tour matches were packaged.
RENNIE: Boks will raise intensity fivefold
Keohane also believes the fourth Test in Baltimore should not have been part of the series.
“The series should have been a three-Test series in South Africa, with the winner determined in South Africa.
“The money grab fourth Test in the United States should have been the exhibition match that emphasised the depth available to both coaches.
“And the tour games should have spoken to the rugby public who could never afford Test tickets.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Greatest Rivalry tour cash grab cost fans appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry organisers got the ticket pricing of the All Blacks’ matches against South Africa’s URC clubs wrong and should have kept the Test series in South Africa, writes MARK KEOHANE.
The post Greatest Rivalry tour cash grab cost fans appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
