Liam Gill hoping good crowd is on deck for Waratahs clash at ANZ Stadium

[beige]

THE grandest derby in Australian rugby, featuring the code’s biggest stars, will attract fewer than 25,000 fans when the Reds take on the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.

It will be a hostile contest in front of a docile crowd at ANZ Stadium.

The 82,000-seat Olympic stadium will be less than a third full for the biggest game on the Super Rugby calendar, further proving the Waratahs are Australian sport’s ugly stepchild.

The lack of atmosphere could favour the Waratahs, with Reds players yesterday insisting they thrive in the hostile environment the game usually provides.

Last year’s interstate derby at Suncorp Stadium attracted 35,801 fans in a city with half Sydney’s population.

A crowd of 25,000 would be an awful attendance for a contest featuring Israel Folau, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, James Horwill, Kurtley Beale and Michael Hooper.

The clash features 30 Wallabies and there are no NRL games to compete with.

Read more: http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/...-1226837583119

[DarthMoose]

Australian sports ugly stepchild!
It's funny cos it's true, except in the eyes of the media and the ARU of course...

[beige]

I don't find it particularly funny that the team representing Australia's biggest rugby market is drawing crowds like that, especially at ANZ - they should be aiming for double. The ugly stepchild comment on the other hand...

[Sheikh]

Why bother with going to ANZ? The SFS holds 44,000 and if they think they'll only get 25,000, why bother going to a larger stadium?

[jargan83]

My understanding is that ANZ paid NSWRU to host the game

ANZ pay Souffs $100K a game to play at ANZ and I have read a similar deal for the Bulldogs.

[GIGS20]

I was more annoyed at this being touted as the (quote) Biggest game on the Super Rugby calendar

Chiefs - Sharks not bigger?
Chiefs - Crusaders?
Sharks - Bulls?
Anything between two FINALISTS from last year?

[The InnFORCEr]

How about the ARU force them back to Concord if they don't get sufficient numbers elsewhere. Could save them a heap of $$ and also save the ARU having to bundle them out every other year!

[Alison]

My maths is the worst in the world, but would I be right in saying that, PER CAPITA, the crowd number we normally get at NiB for ALL Force games is higher than the 25k predicted for this 'blockbuster'?

[jargan83]

I was more annoyed at this being touted as the (quote) Biggest game on the Super Rugby calendar

Chiefs - Sharks not bigger?
Chiefs - Crusaders?
Sharks - Bulls?
Anything between two FINALISTS from last year?

Hardly surprising given they're trying to market the game for an Australian centric market

[Happy]

NSW gets so many more bigger rugby games (bledisloe) that the fans can afford to be picky

[Sheikh]

My maths is the worst in the world, but would I be right in saying that, PER CAPITA, the crowd number we normally get at NiB for ALL Force games is higher than the 25k predicted for this 'blockbuster'?

Sydney's population is ~4.6 million (according to Wikipedia) with a total NSW population of 7.3 million. Even assuming no-one from outside Sydney comes to the Waratahs match, 25,000 is 1 per 184 (0.5% of the population).

Perth's population is ~1.9 million. If we got the same proportion of the population attending a Force game we'd get 10,325. I don't think we've ever had an attendance that low; even our stormy game against the Lions a couple of years ago got over 10,400. So our worst attendance is better than the Tah's biggest derby game!

[Alison]

Thanks Sheikh - very well analysed :-))

If you couple that with the fact that we are supposed to be a very strong AFL state and them a very strong rugby state, it's no wonder the ARU's coffers are empty!

[beige]

Sydney's population is ~4.6 million (according to Wikipedia) with a total NSW population of 7.3 million. Even assuming no-one from outside Sydney comes to the Waratahs match, 25,000 is 1 per 184 (0.5% of the population).

Perth's population is ~1.9 million. If we got the same proportion of the population attending a Force game we'd get 10,325. I don't think we've ever had an attendance that low; even our stormy game against the Lions a couple of years ago got over 10,400. So our worst attendance is better than the Tah's biggest derby game!

And an equivalent crowd at ANZ to what they got for the same fixture at Suncorp last year would be 47 000.