With South Africa’s ultimately successful maiden participation in the URC confirmed by the hosting of two of the quarter finals this weekend, one blight on the performances has been the sparse crowds at venues around the country. A lot has been said and written about both the reasons for the low numbers, as well as pontifications on how to improve traffic through the turnstiles.
Unfortunately, the unions are still hamstrung by the government’s stubborn refusal to lift capacity above 50%. A fact made all the more galling by SOLD OUT signs going up on the ticketing website for the first home Bok test in nearly 3 years at Loftus on 2 July. There is still a month to go, and yet any prospective punters are denied access to see the World Cup winners. But I digress.
To my mind, and after chatting with various friends in and around London, Harlequins in England are the standard bearers for providing an entertaining product for young and old alike, and maximising revenue through crowd engagement, special game days and a general ease of access to players which draws youngsters back to the game. Add all of this to a team that plays an exciting and successful brand of rugby. They are the defending Premiership champions and have already secured a place in this year’s playoffs before the final round of fixtures this weekend.
Quins created ‘The Big Game’ concept, which is an annual home fixture that they move from their usual home ground, the Stoop, to the monolithic Twickenham, a stone’s throw away. This game is always played during the Christmas holiday season and attracts capacity crowds to Rugby’s HQ.
A few weeks ago, Quins held a new event, ‘Big Summer Kick-Off’ at Twickenham, for their home fixture against Gloucester. A classic game of two halves was witnessed by an enthusiastic crowd, with Quins winning an absorbing contest 28 – 24. A glance at the day’s schedule (below) gives one a glimpse as to how much was going on besides the rugby match. Not sure I would have gone with Craig David as the main attraction but that is beside the point!
The Stormers and the Bulls have home quarter finals in the URC on Saturday and ticket sales are encouraging, but in a bid to maximise the home support in the future in this competition, as well as when our sides join the European Champions and Challenge Cups, here are some of the points I believe the SA sides can consider plagiarising from the experience offered by Quins:
- Players Walkover
The players walk in a tunnel of sorts, from the Stoop nearby to Twickenham for young fans to high 5, with minimal security interference. This is similar to the tunnel school sides run through! Imagine the Stormers players doing the Fan Walk before a big European Champions Cup game, spine-tingling!
- Fan Village
With the DHL Stadium as an example, a fan village on the concourse or at nearby Hamiltons would be a great idea. One could include non-rugby entertainment here like a mini amusement park for kids, but also a “Have a Go” concept park where kids could kick for poles or take part in passing accuracy competitions etc. Speaking of DHL Stadium, there is already the infrastructure in place for a Fan Walk, this concept MUST be resuscitated at all costs!
- Merchandise
Quins and England merchandise is freely available. It is important to create a sense of identity and belonging for young and old. Rugby is a sport where adults wearing replica kits is not seen as weird.
- Live music everywhere
A rugby match should be seen as only part of an entertainment experience. Live music outside the ground would help to create a vibe and draws adults to the beer gardens and hipsters to underground stars.
- Massaoke
I was not familiar with this concept but how good would this be?! As the name suggests it is a live band mass-singalong party, to take place after the game. With the lyrics on the big screen. This may not be to everyone’s taste but I would be there for sure, especially after an afternoon in the beer tent!
- Mascots
Photo opportunities abound with team mascots, and this also helps with brand identity and getting kids involved in the team. Maybe the Cheetahs can even forego the Harleys before a game??
- Interaction post-match for signatures and photos
It has been noticeable how the Stormers make a concerted effort to stay behind after the game and chat to fans and oblige with photos and signatures. This should be the norm, kids love to see their heroes.
- Freebies
Free gimmicks to fans like flags or other apparel could go a long wat to making the crowd a sea of (insert your team’s colour here). With the amount of disadvantaged kids in SA, each union should commit to transporting and getting those less fortunate to the game free of charge, and thereby break down barriers to the sport like travel time and money.
- Bars open after the game
SuperSport provides the best coverage of sport in the world, bar none. With this in mind, big screens showing other sports events after the game would help keep the fans at the ground, spending money at source rather than in town.
- Half-time Competitions
Sponsors could get involved in the form of prizes to winners of kicking/catching competitions on the field at half-time.
With the post-COVID financial effects still being felt by unions up and down the country, we need to think about the game differently, and how we can make the game an experience.
La Rochelle, a town of 75 000 on the French west coast, won the greatest prize in European rugby last Saturday. They took around 25 000 to the Stade Velodrome in Marseille for the final. As if that was not impressive enough, the scenes of the team bus winding its way through the port where what seems like the town gathered to celebrate is a culture all of us in SA should aspire to create.
