SA sides help URC break records
Yesterday at 04:18 AM
South Africa's franchises again led the way as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship broke another attendance record in the latest round-robin action.
For the third time in 12 months the URC has set a new attendance record across a single round with 153,398 packing out stadiums in round 8.
That figure overtakes the previous record of 146,046 set in January and has been made possible by some incredible interest across the league's northern and southern hemispheres.
In Durban, 34,827 turned up for 'Sharksfest' as the Sharks beat the Vodacom Bulls while 22,410 went through the turnstiles at Cape Town Stadium for the DHL Stormers' bonus-point victory against the Lions.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, defending champions Glasgow Warriors took on Edinburgh and broke new ground by playing their first game at Hampden Park in front of 27,538 – their biggest ever crowd for a home game.
Leinster have made the most of their temporary move to Aviva Stadium attracting nearly 34,000 for their derby clash with Connacht in Dublin.
In Italy, Benetton hosted a sell-out crowd against Zebre Parma and Dragons finished off Round 8 with a full house for the visit of Cardiff.
The 2023-24 season boasted a season record 1.69 million fans coming through the gates across the league with round 8 and subsequently round 9 setting new records for a single round.
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All of this occurred in tandem with a third consecutive year of the URC setting a record for broadcast with 47.7 million watching on TV.
Now, in the current season crowd numbers are already up by over 15% and this latest record provides further encouragement that fans are responding to the fantastic match-day experiences on offer across the league.
"The rise of the league continues and we see our clubs going from strength to strength to drive the levels of interest. Since the inception of the URC we have seen incredible growth across all fan metrics – attendance, TV viewership and social media growth," CEO Martin Anayi said.
"Between the league and our 16 teams there is a great spirit of collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation – without this none of the success that has been occurring for three-plus years would be happening. We are also seeing players participate more and more in the promotion of fixtures and in this era of athlete-first interest in sport that is proving more and more valuable.
"Great credit also goes to the partners of clubs and the league who do so much to support these games. More than ever, it's becoming clear whether it's in the stadium or in front of a screen the URC is must-see rugby."
Round 8 – Attendance by fixture
Ulster v Munster: 14,313
Benetton v Zebre: 5,000
Stormers v Lions: 22,410
Sharks v Bulls: 34,827
Ospreys v Scarlets: 6,836
Leinster v Connacht: 33,963
Glasgow v Edinburgh: 27,538
Dragons v Cardiff: 8,511
Previous best single round attendances:
146,046 – Round 9 of the 2023-24 season
135,747 – Round 8 of the 2023-24 season
123,307 – Round 11 of the 2022-23 season
121,117 – Round 21 of the 2017-18 season
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The post SA sides help URC break records appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
