Waratahs vs Crusaders 2014 Super Rugby Grand Final

[WTF?]

NSW rugby fans have gone rugby crazy, snapping up over 12,000 tickets to see the Tahs host their first ever Super Rugby final this Saturday in the first hour of public sale!


Today’s public clamour follows a tremendous members’ pre-sale and takes total ticket sales for Saturday’s Asteron Life Super Rugby Final at ANZ Stadium to over 38,000.

http://www.waratahs.com.au/Waratahs...ID/12059/NSW-goes-crazy-for-Tahs-tickets.aspx

Awesome, I don't like being wrong but very happy to be on this occasion.

 

[Antony]

40,000 is going to be poor to be honest. Does anyone believe that it will climb significantly from here?

Yeah definitely. There's some strange pessimism floating about. That press release says that by 2pm today they were up to 38,000. Maybe that includes stadium members with guaranteed seats, but from the wording of the various press releases I don't think so. In the hours after that calculation it's probably already cracked 40K, once it gets on the news a bit more in the lead-up to the weekend it'll get even higher, then word of mouth will drive it higher, then you have to account for walk-ups (which won't be as large as at the SFS, but will still exist).

With this kind of start, I'm going to be very surprised if it isn't over 60,000.

 

[TahDan]

just did a mock transaction 2 X 'best available/any price' and ended up behind the sticks in the bronze section..70K I reckon, Sydney is getting right behind this thing.,.

Very interesting...

What about stadium members though? Is there a way for their tix to become avaiable if any of them won't/can't go?

 

[Bessa]

What are everyones thoughts on the actual game? The Crusaders pretty much subbed their whole bench with 20mins to go and they were cruising....
Sure the Sharks were pretty crap, but I am so nervous.
I have been waiting so long for this. I am taking my 6 year old along with me, because who knows, the next time the the Tah's make a final, he may be old enough to be playing for them.....

 

[Set piece magic]

Well apologies for the Gusto then.

Whoever is at the NSWRU better get emailing every fucking club in the state with discount prices for m8s and fucking fill this joint up.

 

[Bessa]

Just wondering, what is everyones fascination with the number of people at the stadium? I 100% agree it will be great to get as many people there as possible but some of the enthusiasm posted here regarding filling the stadium is a little over the top.

No disrespect intended, I'm just as excited as the next guy but was just wondering....

 

[qwerty51]

I'm confident, the Waratahs haven't gone close to losing at home this year. Crusaders don't have the attack of previous years and will struggle to score tries against this Tahs defence. They should get plenty of penalties however but Tahs will come home strong and win 28-19.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I think it's got a lot to do with the general feeling that rugby in OZ needs a bit of a lift after a few years in the semi-doldrums, especially in NSW. With Sydney being the biggest and longest standing rugby market in Australia, a good turnout at this game will feel to most like a turning point in the games fortunes in this country.

And besides, it'll be good to stick it up those league nuffies.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Qwerty, I tend to agree. If the Tahs are going to win this, it'll be on the back of a mighty defensive effort and flooding the breakdown. They'll need to counter ruck like a mofo and tie up that Cru back row, because if guys like Read can range wide like they did against the Shorks, the home side are in trouble.

 

[TahDan]

Just wondering, what is everyones fascination with the number of people at the stadium? I 100% agree it will be great to get as many people there as possible but some of the enthusiasm posted here regarding filling the stadium is a little over the top.

No disrespect intended, I'm just as excited as the next guy but was just wondering..

I think for most people it's because it will firstly make the atmosphere at the Grand Final electric if there's 80k screaming Waratahs fans, and secondly having such a massive crowd will mean that the appeal of the game has extended well beyond the traditional fan base.

Of course, most of us are also desperate to see the boys win first and foremost (barring the odd kiwi here), but the health of the game is also part of the equation here and the crowd numbers serves as a barometer.

And besides, it'll be good to stick it up those league nuffies.

Hopefully a few of them will come along. Would massively boost the game if we could get a bit of cross over with the fans. Wouldn't hurt to have that Origin crew with their Blue wigs come along for instance.

 

[Set piece magic]

The numbers at the game mean a whole lot. It's not about revenue (although it is a fair bit), it's about sending a message and creating an atmosphere.

Having anything less than 60,000 fans at this game will be a bad result

 

[Bessa]

Yeah fair enough I suppose. I work in broadcast on the rival code so I am used to the people around me not giving two shits about the game. For the past two weeks I have been answering questions like ' so who are the Brumbies?', and 'how come the final isn't in Sydney every year'
I have already accepted that rugby will never be the powerhouse in Australia like the NRL and AFL are, and am getting sick of people who don't watch game complainjng about there being too many rules and it being too slow. I love the game, always have, always will. Bandwagoners annoy me, that's all. They are the first to jump off at the first speed bump.

Rant over......

 

[barbarian]

Jeez you guys are getting yourselves into such a lather over the crowd.

The result will mean far more to the overall health of NSW rugby than the crowd. This year they have already come out way ahead of previous years $$$-wise, and this is just icing on the cake for the bottom line. But shedding the 'underachiever' tag will be huge in the overall context of the club, and that has nothing to do with crowd numbers.

Remember the all-time Super record is only 55,000. The talk of 80k is ludicrous- we only just got that for a Lions decider!

50,000 is a realistic goal, and beating the all-time record would be very nice indeed. But I wouldn't be surprised if we end up in the mid-to-high 40s.

But frankly I'd prefer to talk about the game.
.

 

[Set piece magic]

The lions decider sold out in 10 seconds and the demand was a long way above 83,700 seats probably close to 130k trying to get seats... A full house is achievable, the Reds final sold out in 2 minutes and probably had ticket demand in the 70's or 80's.

I put the fact that this game won't sell out down to fluffybunnyy sydney media who are more focussed on people urinating on each other than an actual final

 

[wamberal]

A lot depends on how many travelling Saders fans there will be, also how many locally based Keewee fans decide to go to the game for a change.

I would hope there will be at least 15k visiting fans of one kind or another, another maybe 40k Tahs fans, plus maybe a few bandwagoners.


60k.

 

[Pfitzy]

I'm anxious about the crowd because the stadium needs a big one to create atmosphere, and with Tahs fans you're up against it already. Hopefully last week was a lesson in how to create noise, and everyone is ready to shout themselves hoarse again.

Also, I'm a greedy c**t and don't think we've broken quite enough records this year! I want:

1. Biggest crowd of 2014
2. Biggest Aussie Super Crowd ever
3. Biggest Super Crowd anywhere ever

And if I get 3, the others are assured.

 

[Omar Comin']

50,000 is a realistic goal, and beating the all-time record would be very nice indeed. But I wouldn't be surprised if we end up in the mid-to-high 40s

Under 50k would be a disaster. A failure of every rugby loving person in Sydney and a huge failure of the pricing. Under 60k would be disappointing. This is an extremely rare event and should have a crowd similar to a Bledisloe Cup.

A big crowd of over 70k would be a great story for rugby in Australia.

 

[qwerty51]

2 & 3 are basically the same with a 3k difference

 

[TahDan]

Jeez you guys are getting yourselves into such a lather over the crowd.

The result will mean far more to the overall health of NSW rugby than the crowd. This year they have already come out way ahead of previous years $$$-wise, and this is just icing on the cake for the bottom line. But shedding the 'underachiever' tag will be huge in the overall context of the club, and that has nothing to do with crowd numbers.

Remember the all-time Super record is only 55,000. The talk of 80k is ludicrous- we only just got that for a Lions decider!

50,000 is a realistic goal, and beating the all-time record would be very nice indeed. But I wouldn't be surprised if we end up in the mid-to-high 40s.

But frankly I'd prefer to talk about the game.
.

Part of the reason for the interest in the crowd is simply because the fucking thing is at the desolate Homebush stadium, where pretty well anything below 70k has no atmosphere because of its shithouse acoustics and distance from the field.

So having only 50k or less would weaken the atmosphere massively and the prestige of the event as a whole. It'd make the final a story on Monday for reasons other than the result, with righteous league writers carrying on about the "fickle rugby fans" who can't even rock up to their first ever Sydney grand final for its biggest and oldest state team.

The game itself Is obviously extremely important, but I think you don't quite appreciate the reason why the crowd itself is critical for this matches success as an event.

 

[barbarian]

The game itself Is obviously extremely important, but I think you don't quite appreciate the reason why the crowd itself is critical for this matches success as an event.

Oh I understand the reason, but I just think all the talk and the stress and the analysis on here is a bit much. I think in the context of the Waratahs overall the result is MUCH more important than the crowd figure.
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