Rugby bosses put brave face on as support dips for premier competition

Crowds at Super Rugby Aotearoa matches have so far failed to match the sellout audiences seen last year.

Even blockbuster fixtures such as the top-of-the-table Crusaders/ Blues match a week ago only managed a half full Eden Park, compared to average crowds of more than 30,000 last year.

Last year's inaugural Super Rugby Aotearoa was the first professional rugby competition to happen anywhere in the world since the start of the pandemic.

The head of professional rugby at New Zealand Rugby, Chris Lendrum, said the run of sold out stadiums as New Zealanders celebrated being out of lockdown, was always going to be a tough act to follow.

"2020 was a unique year and it's still really tough for events but we are seeing some good signs. There was a good crowd for the game on Sunday afternoon at Eden Park last weekend [Blues versus Crusaders] and it's still early days, we're only a few rounds in."

A better apples for apples comparison was actually the first four rounds of Super Rugby last year, before the country went into lockdown, he said.

Compare that period to the first four rounds of this year, and crowds were actually up by around 5 percent.

"That's positive. We always would love to have more people in our grounds. There's no doubt that we're not satisfied with the volume that we're getting at the moment and we want to do more but the product's fantastic.

"That Chiefs/ Hurricanes game last week, there were some incredible moments in that game and I really encourage people to consider getting down to the ground."

Lendrum insisted there were still plenty of big crowd pullers among the ranks of Super Rugby teams, despite the loss this year of superstars such as Beauden Barrett, TJ Perenara and Brodie Retallick who have all gone overseas.

"Ironically, one of the silver linings of the Covid period has been we've experienced higher retention levels amongst our players for obvious reasons, people are less keen to travel overseas. But... stars [do] make a difference. We'll fortunately see those players back in Super Rugby next year."

As well as being one of the main means by which local rugby unions fill their coffers each year, big crowds at rugby matches are also incredibly important to hospitality and accommodation providers.

Loren Heaphy from ChristchurchNZ, the city's development and tourism agency, said now was a great time for rugby to be going all out to attract a new breed of fan to stadiums who might never have considered going to a game before.

"There is absolutely a pent up demand post-lockdown but also the fact that people have less ability to spend their disposable income on offshore travels, so they're looking at other ways to spend money on experiences and they're looking at events, they're looking at local tourism."

The threat of having an event cancelled due to Covid-19 may account for demand so far this year not being quite as strong as last, she said.

"We're seeing a little bit more loosening around ticket sales across the board but I think that's mostly because of the risk of entering into a lockdown. So we think that ticket sales are selling really last minute, so the lead time for event organisers is really tight."

Heaphy said having a winning team like the Crusaders was also good for business.

While the city's fancy new stadium, due to open in late 2024, would also be a huge drawcard, people would ultimately be drawn by the product on offer and not just the venue, she said.