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Cape Town – Western Province Rugby are yet to announce the price structures for the blue-chip Rugby Championship Test match between the Springboks and All Blacks at Newlands on October 7.
A final-round game of the 2017 competition, it will also be the first Capetonian-staged Test between the traditional superpowers since 2008.
There have been lead-up uncertainties, with an initial delay caused by the cash-strapped WPRU having to wait for a necessary safety clearance certificate for the ageing venue.
That green light came in late June, which is roughly also when tickets became available to the public for the prior match between the Boks and Wallabies in Bloemfontein on September 30.
On June 26, the WPRU revealed that tickets for the New Zealand Test would go on sale on September 11, without revealing price details, and these are still awaited.
WP media officer Michael de Vries told Sport24 on Monday: “We will make an announcement before tickets go on sale.”
He did not specify when that would be, but Sport24 understands that, with demand likely to outstrip supply - the city has a strong contingent of All Blacks supporters, to go with the customary home fan base - rugby fans should brace themselves for potentially pocket-challenging prices.
They are set by the host union, rather than SA Rugby itself, and a sell-out is anticipated, regardless of public reaction to the price structuring.
Test ticket prices have been a sensitive issue in South Africa for some time, with former Bok coach (and now SuperSport pundit) Nick Mallett famously quitting his post in the immediate lead-up to a disciplinary hearing in 2000, regarding his comments on then-SARFU “greed” - as he saw it - over prices.
It is unlikely that Newlands will try to compete, for relative economy, with either Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (prices ranged vastly from R75 to R750 for last Saturday’s near-capacity Test against Argentina) or the Free State Stadium, which is offering tickets ranging between R300 and R500 for the looming Australia showdown in Bloemfontein.
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