SA Rugby pushed back on Friday against reports that only about 21,000 tickets had been sold for Springboks v England at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. The union said those attendance predictions were “entirely erroneous and misinformed” before Saturday’s Test.
That dispute sits over a stadium with a 60,000 capacity and a sale target far higher than the figure being circulated. SA Rugby said it wanted to get close to 91% of capacity, which works out to about 54,600 tickets, while several category tickets were still available on Ticketmaster at the time of writing.
Rassie Erasmus and Jake White
Rassie Erasmus will take charge of the Springboks for the 54th time against England, a figure that puts him level with Jake White as the most-capped South African head coach. Erasmus has won 75.5% of his matches in charge and holds the record for the most wins as head coach with 40.
The England Test is also the Springboks’ official kickoff to their Test season in a Nations Championship fixture. That gives the ticket debate a sharper edge: SA Rugby is not treating Ellis Park as a routine crowd number, but as the start of a major run of matches in a market where tickets are on sale for four Test matches and two provincial matches against the touring All Blacks.
Ticketmaster and pricing
Earlier in the week, reports said just 21,000 tickets had been sold and that some prices had dropped from R950 to R650. On Friday morning, SA Rugby responded with a second statement, saying: “Predictions that the attendance would be little more than 21 000 were entirely erroneous and misinformed.”
The union added: “SA Rugby hopes to get close to the historic average against England in SA of 91% of the stadiums’ capacity in a market in which tickets are on sale for four Test matches and two provincial matches against the touring All Blacks.” It also said: “Assertions of lack of interest are unfounded and not supported by the actual sales data.”
Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg
Ellis Park has a long place in the sport’s memory, having hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup final between the Springboks and the All Blacks. This week’s sales fight is smaller in scale but similar in tone: one side pointing to weak demand, the other insisting the figures do not match the data.
Tickets were still on sale until kick-off, and the final count will settle the argument better than the headlines have so far. For fans still deciding on Saturday’s Test, the practical detail is simple: seats remained available across a range from R650 to R3,000, with the match scheduled to go ahead at Ellis Park Stadium.
