Mayor of Cape Town tells Munster fans: ‘Have our wine, but leave the trophy alone’

As excitement builds ahead of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship final between the Stormers and Munster, the mayor of Cape Town has welcomed the visiting fans from Ireland to the Mother City, but on one condition: that they don’t cheer their team to victory.

In a tweet posted by the mayor of Cape Town on Thursday morning, Geordin Hill-Lewis writes: “You may leave with good memories, friendship, photos and great wine. But one thing you can’t take home is the trophy! That’s staying here!”

The defending champions, the Stormers, won the inaugural URC trophy by beating the Bulls in the final last season, but this time they are up against Munster from Ireland.

The final is set to be played in front of 55,000 fans from 6.30m on Saturday.

According to sarugbymag.co.za, a fair number of fans will be cheering for Munster this weekend.

Opportunity to watch final

With the cheapest tickets costing R80, which is just over £3, it is understood several Munster fans have traveled to South Africa to watch the final in the Cape Town Stadium

“My son is 13 and has never had that feeling of a cup win with Munster,” a fan told Irish online publication City A.M. “I did not want him to miss the opportunity to share in the experience. He will miss a couple of days of school but I think the impact will be minimal.

”He will not remember all the times his mum was sensible but will always remember that time his mum took him out of school to go to a Munster final in Cape Town!”

Another fan said she was delighted to get the opportunity to watch a grand final for such a low price of entry.

“We’ve not planned too much for while we’re there, we’re looking to just go with the flow and explore a new city, but we’ll definitely be heading up Table Mountain and out to Robben Island, as well as to some of the many restaurants and bars that have been suggested to us by Stormers supporters.

“As for the ticket prices, I absolutely love it. I think ticket prices in general can be quite scandalous, but I don’t see why, as a supporter or otherwise, you wouldn’t rather see and hear a packed out stadium. Our tickets were €18.”