‘Team Mbombela’ scrums down to secure Springboks vs All Blacks
Details of ticket sales will be announced soon.
MBOMBELA – A united front between the Mpumalanga Rugby Union, Mbombela Stadium management, The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, the Mbombela City Local Municipality and the provincial Department of Sports, Arts and Culture ensured that the Castle Lager Rugby Championship match between the Springboks and the All Blacks will be played at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday September 26.
The match will bring a massive financial injection, estimated at R140 million, into the greater Mbombela area.
The venues for the three Castle Lager Incoming Tour matches and the Rugby Championship home matches were announced by SA Rugby on Tuesday.
CEO of SA Rugby, Jurie Roux said, “The Springboks had a fantastic season last year which resulted in successes in both the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and the Rugby World Cup, and we saw the passion for the Boks from all South Africans upon their return from Japan.
“There is a huge amount of excitement among our fans to watch the Springboks live in action again in our own backyard and this year’s home schedule will give them just that, starting with a farewell to DHL Newlands in the first Test against Scotland, a historic clash with Georgia before the defence of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship gets underway, and we finish off by taking the All Blacks to the Lowveld for the very first time.”
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Come September it will be six years since the Springboks last won a home match against New Zealand. That victory was at Emirates Airline Park on October 4, 2014.
Since rugby became professional in 1996, seven stadiums in South Africa have hosted All Black matches: Newlands, King’s Park, Loftus Versfeld, Emirates Airline (Ellis) Park, Free State Stadium, FNB Stadium, Royal Bafokeng Stadium and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Two have a slightly lower seating capacity than Mbombela Stadium, the Free State Stadium and Royal Bafokeng Stadium. All, expect the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, have far more suites that Mbombela.
The home of the Phakisa Pumas has 43 500 seats and 27 suites. Loftus Versfeld boasts 51 762 seats and has 350 suites. Emirates Airline Park has 62 567 seats, 301 suites.
According to CEO of the Mpumalanga Rugby Union, Pieter Burger, extremely hard work by local role players went on behind the scenes to secure the test match.
“High performance sports is a business, and with the economy under great pressure, rugby needs to make calculated commercial decisions in order to maximise revenue streams and be sustainable. Because of this bigger stadia and metros have partnered together over the last five years to ensure that they secure events like an international tests.
“I must commend and thank the Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency, the City of Mbombela, the provincial Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, and Mbombela Stadium management, for not only acknowledging the benefit of hosting such a prestigious event, but their ability to, on very short notice, form a strategic partnership with the Mpumalanga Rugby Union by financially contributing towards the cost of hosting the event,” said Burger on Tuesday.
Burger said that about R140 million will be injected into the local economy in the time preceding and over the weekend of the test match.
Linda Grimbeek, chief operations officer at the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism, said it could well amount to R140 million. “All accommodation in the area will be booked to capacity. A rugby match is also a celebration, so people eat and drink a lot.”
She also expects a lot of New Zealand visitors to attend. “They are very loyal rugby supporters and the exchange rate is very favourable for them.”
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Burger said, “Mpumalanga Rugby Union, as a member of SA Rugby, lobbies annually to be considered as a test-hosting union when international fixtures are allocated. The hosting of an international test not only pumps millions of rand into the local economy, but also plays a major role in the development of rugby. Looking at the victorious 2019 Springbok squad, it boasts a lot of home-grown players and players that honed their skills and were provided an opportunity at the Pumas. One should never underestimate the inspirational value of a young mind being able to see someone who made from his hometown playing in his hometown.”
The Springboks 2020 Castle Lager Rugby Championship away match against the All Blacks will be played on Saturday September 5 at the 50 000-capacity Eden Park in Auckland. This will be the first match between the two countries since the Rugby World Cup pool B group stage game in Japan, which the New Zealanders won 23-13.
The British and Irish Lions will play South Africa A at Mbombela Stadium on Wednesday July 14, 2021. The Lions only tour South Africa once every 12 years.
“Tireless efforts over the last couple of years have paid off, and collectively we managed to secure a major test for the city in 2020, followed by another historical event when the British and Irish Lions visit Mbombela during their tour in 2021. I implore the people of Mbombela and Mpumalanga to embrace this opportunity, by not only ensuring that visitors to our beautiful province feel welcomed and enjoy their stay, but that we fill up the stadiums for the two mega events. If we are to be successful in future bids, it needs to be a memorable experience for supporters and also attended to maximum capacity,” concluded Burger.
The Boks have played three matches and won three at Mbombela Stadium.
In 2013 they defeated Scotland 30-17 and in 2014 South Africa beat Wales 31-30.
In 2016 South Africa played their home Rugby Championship match against Argentina at Mbombela Stadium and won 30-23.
The first test to be played at Mbombela Stadium was between Italy and Samoa in 2013, the first of a double-header on the same day the Boks faced Scotland.
Details regarding ticketing, availability and pricing for the Mbombela test match will be released before the end of February.
2020 Castle Lager Incoming Series
July 4: South Africa vs Scotland; DHL Newlands, Cape Town
July 11: South Africa vs Scotland; Jonsson Kings Park, Durban
July 18: South Africa vs Georgia; Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
2020 Castle Lager Rugby Championship
August 8: South Africa vs Argentina; Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
August 15: Argentina vs South Africa; Estaio Bicentenario, San Juan.
August 29: Australia vs South Africa; Optus Stadium, Perth
September 5: New Zealand vs South Africa; Eden Park, Auckland
September 19: South Africa vs Australia; Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
September 26: South Africa vs New Zealand; Mbombela Stadium
Mbombela Stadium will become the 12th stadium, in 92 years, in South Africa to host a match between the Springboks and the All Blacks. The others are, in chronological order, Kingsmead, Ellis Park, Crusader Ground (now St George’s Park), Newlands, Free State Stadium, Boet Erasmus Stadium, Loftus Versfeld, King’s Park, Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and the FNB Stadium.
