With two-and-a-half weeks to go before the test between the Springboks and Los Pumas at the Mbombela Stadium, the match has officially been sold out.
The SA Rugby Union (Saru) confirmed on Wednesday, September 11, that the final ticket for the Battle of Mbombela, as the test between the Springboks and Argentina later this month is being billed, has been sold.
This means that no fewer than 40 000 tickets have been sold, and it is now the second major sporting event in Mpumalanga this year to reach a capacity crowd after the Nedbank Cup final achieved the same feat in June.
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But what makes the selling out of the Bok test so special is that it marks the first time ever that a match between South Africa and Argentina has sold out in South Africa. Previous tests in Durban (2022) and Gqeberha (2017) have come close, but no test has managed to sell out completely.
Along with the announcement that the test had sold out, Saru issued a warning to members of the public to be on the lookout for third-party resellers of tickets. “Springbok match tickets have become highly sought after, and that has brought out the fraudsters aiming to make a quick buck,” said Rian Oberholzer, the CEO of Saru.
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“We hear too many stories of people searching online for tickets and paying way over the price at the first page they land on – only to be disappointed when they lose their money and don’t receive their tickets. Only tickets obtained from Computicket or the stadium ticket office are the genuine article for the final Bok home match of the year. You will lose your money if you buy from online resellers who have zero access to tickets.”
Online ‘resellers’ charge inflated prices for ‘tickets’. However, as the event approaches, they typically become increasingly evasive as to when ticket collection will occur. In some cases, the ‘company’ simply disappears.
“There is a long list of people who have been left disappointed, angry and out of pocket and it is hugely frustrating to see it reoccurring every season,” said Oberholzer.
The public should refrain from seeking to purchase resold tickets from third parties, so if you do not have a ticket yet, your opportunity has unfortunately come and gone.
