JJ Harmse

Pretoria – Springbok supporters will have to pay big money if they want to support their team during the defence of their world crown in New Zealand next year.

And the better the team fares, the more it will cost anyone keen to see South Africa hold the Webb Ellis Trophy aloft on 23 October next year.

In fact, for anyone interested in being a spectator at Eden Park that day, it will cost at least R2 160 (category 4), R4 150 (category 3), R6 100 (category 2) or R6 900 (category 1) for a ticket, depending on how close you want to be to the action.

The account can be considerably higher if you arrived in Auckland a week earlier to attend the semi-final, where the costs will be R1 600, R2 700, R3 800 and R4 300 in the respective categories.

Tickets for the quarter-final, where the Springboks are likely to play against Ireland or Australia in Wellington on 9 October, will be equally “precious” and will be priced at R1 000, R1 600, R2 200 and R2 700.

Plane tickets to New Zealand will cost at least R10 000.

Jo Heaton, international marketing manager for Wellington, says the city is looking forward to welcoming South African supporters.

“We expect that several people will just come to Wellington for games and explore the country for the rest of the time, but we are prepared for big crowds. We encourage South Africans to visit Wellington and use the city as a base because we have a lot to offer,” said Heaton.

The Boks’ World Cup programme:

11 September: Wales (Wellington)
17 September: Fiji (Wellington)
22 September: Namibia (North Shore, Auckland)
30 September: Samoa (North Shore)
8/9 October: Quarter-final (Wellington)
15/16 October: Semi-final, Eden Park, Auckland
23 October: Final, Eden Park, Auckland