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Durban - The Sharks have confirmed that they are expecting between 35 000 and 40 000 people at Kings Park for Saturday's Currie Cup final against Western Province.
While that number will fall well short of the 52 000 capacity at the stadium, it is what the union had hoped for in the build-up to the match.
All year stadiums around the country have struggled to generate interest in the tournament, but healthy crowds were seen last weekend for the semi-finals in both Durban and Cape Town.
It is not just the Currie Cup that has struggled for crowds, with Super Rugby this year also failing to get stadiums anywhere near full until the Lions hosted the semi-finals and final at Ellis Park.
Last year's Currie Cup final between the Free State Cheetahs and Blue Bulls in Bloemfontein saw over 43 000 people in attendance while the 2015 final between the Golden Lions and Western Province in Johannesburg saw around 44 000 people in the stands.
Kick-off on Saturday is at 16:00.
Teams:
Sharks
15 Garth April, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Odwa Ndungane, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Ruan Botha (captain), 4 Tyler Paul, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Thomas du Toit
Substitutes: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Jean Droste, 20 Jacques Vermeulen, 21 Michael Claassens, 22 Tristan Blewett, 23 Rhyno Smith
Western Province
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Huw Jones, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Substitutes: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Frans van Wyk, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Kobus van Dyk, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Werner Kok, 23 Dan Kriel
