PE jol gets bigger, but it’s not spectacular
10 Dec 2011
GARETH DUNCAN writes a 30 000-strong crowd is expected on the second day of the PE Sevens, but the hype of ‘rugby’s biggest party’ is still missing.
High expectations were created with all the PE Sevens propaganda that hit the streets and was broadcasted all over the media and social networks over the last several weeks. ‘Rugby’s biggest party’ is what tournament organisers dubbed the inaugural event hosted in the Eastern Cape city. However, despite the Blitzboks’ great form, the support shown by most South African sports stars, the warmer weather on day two and entertainment provided, the expected overall atmosphere was just not there.
Maybe the Nelson Mandela Stadium was too big or too much hype was created? Maybe it was the lack of enthusiasm when the home team wasn’t on the field? Maybe it’s the fact that South Africans will never care about sevens like it embraces 15s? Maybe Saffas don’t take a liking to the idea of day-long rugga party? Whatever the reason may be – I was left wanting more. 
Hong Kong and its 40 000-seater national stadium is considered the Mecca of sevens rugby, simply because the party does not stop. It’s the benchmark all tournaments measure themselves up against. PE’s display was well short of the standards set by the World Series most celebrated event.
Only about 8000 fans showed up in PE on day one. With Friday being a working day, that was the excuse used for the disappointing turnout. Only about 5000 fans remained for the last match between South African and Australia. A mixture between cold and rainy weather and disinterest was the reason for the lost spectators.
On day two, 25 000 people were present just before Blitzboks entered the field for the first match. A huge improvement from day one – but their presence was only felt when the Springbok Sevens were on the field. During the other fixtures, only a small contingent of fans could be heard while there was the odd cheer for a spectacular try. There were also other small issues that spoilt the day – with the toilet water supply dried up, lack of food and the security guards’ lack of knowledge affecting service delivery.
George, with it’s smaller ground compared to the 49 500-seater Nelson Mandela Stadium, proved to be a bigger and better festival during its nine years of hosting the South African leg. There is also that strong feeling that Cape Town could’ve presented a better tournament at its World Cup stadium – but that of course, is just speculation.
If the PE Sevens is to become a success, new innovations must be implemented to grow interest and to live up to the hype created heading into this weekend. Maybe provide better entertainment? Maybe organise top prizes or invite celebrities as draw cards? Maybe make ticket prices more affordable? Anything to add greater effect.
The harsh reality is that the first attempt was a flop – whether the Blitzboks win or not. It was not ‘rugby’s biggest party’ that we believed it would be. But it doesn’t mean it will be a disappointment for the following three years. Lessons must be learnt heading forward and more work needs to be done. There should not be that feeling of wanting more.
35 Comments
10 Dec 2011, 15:58 pm
go bokke go boys
10 Dec 2011, 16:11 pm
This is jumping the gun a bit… The tournament is not over and the impression I get from TV is that the atmosphere is rocking… The author actually comes across as a typical CapeTown-is-be-all-and-endall p.rick
10 Dec 2011, 16:19 pm
Party pooper
10 Dec 2011, 16:27 pm
Maybe … You need a few cape coloured crusaders there for a real jol.
10 Dec 2011, 16:30 pm
@Dawn-4: Yeah, you fools can boo the Blitzboks to your heart’s content… In your Cape All Black jerseys…
10 Dec 2011, 16:31 pm
You fall for it every time!!!!
10 Dec 2011, 16:32 pm
Tis the season to be jolly.
Lighten up and ho ho ho!
10 Dec 2011, 16:34 pm
Lol!
Just saw toga tac!
10 Dec 2011, 16:34 pm
@Dawn-6: I am having fun, Prawny… At your expense
10 Dec 2011, 16:35 pm
Aaaagh go ahead I couldn’t give a feck.
10 Dec 2011, 16:38 pm
@Dawn-10: Good. Then we’re all having fun…
10 Dec 2011, 17:03 pm
And the crowd goes mal.
10 Dec 2011, 17:07 pm
Oh yes they do.
10 Dec 2011, 17:10 pm
Seriously Gareth? After Day 2 your thoughts are that the PE Sevens isn’t as great as the Hong Kong Sevens!! NOTHING is as big as the Hong Kong Sevens when it comes to the carnival atmosphere…give PE at least until the end of the wkd and then a year to figure things out.
10 Dec 2011, 17:17 pm
@Wolf-14: That’s what I said at the end of the article. You see the fullest parts of the stadium on TV, it’s misleading. It’s only a ‘jol’ when the Blitzboks play. But then it gets pretty dead when the other teams play. Only All Blacks gets some kind of support – otherwise fans seem disinterested.
10 Dec 2011, 18:14 pm
Gareth you Grinch.
10 Dec 2011, 19:33 pm
The timing for the SA leg is diabolical, if it’s played on the EP coast. If it was a week later, it would fall into the holiday period.
10 Dec 2011, 19:53 pm
@Dawn-16: For some sort of consolation – the last 20 minutes was magical. St Georges band was there, music was pumping. Although there was no full house, the atmosphere was electric. That is what will make PE Sevens great.
10 Dec 2011, 20:39 pm
My afternoon nap was really invigorating.
10 Dec 2011, 20:52 pm
Wellington sells out in 5 minutes and rocks for two whole days. Packed out 40000 seat stadium in a city of only 400000 people.
10 Dec 2011, 22:46 pm
Oh blah you two wet blankets.
10 Dec 2011, 22:52 pm
i chose to study in stellenbosch (and i am a soutie) from watching 7s rugby on tv in the early 90s and seeing what a jol it was. can’t imagine a better place for it, the cradle of rugby in this country, a beautiful and enthusiastic crowd, a majestic setting and a statue of The Doc and bliksem outside, what more could you ask for.
who would like to disagree?
11 Dec 2011, 10:51 am
what a lemon crowd
watch the Wellington 7′s – brilliant, as was their RWC. Real rugby fans supporting all the teams.
watch the Dubai 7′s – despite no team of locals, its fun all the way.
watch the HK 7′s – party party party, tourists flocking in, no spare seats.
the SA 7′s is lemon custurd
11 Dec 2011, 12:28 pm
SA sevens boring as hell, only the final had a good vibe. Plenty of empty seats on day one, PE should have ensured the stadium is packed by giving away complementary tickets to schools and varsity. Cheeky watson is a imbecile of note, all talk with poor delivery.
I would have held this event on saturday and sunday and not the friday. Wellington and Dubai still the best.
11 Dec 2011, 14:54 pm
@PrickBoks going South-23: @NoRugbyGuru_0_-24: Finally, some people who weren’t actually fooled by the TV coverage of the event. The weekend could’ve been a lot better.
But I can’t deny, that last 20 minutes was awesome. Trick is to get that kind of vibe throughout proceedings next year. Hire the St Georges band!
11 Dec 2011, 15:10 pm
I think sevens rugby still has to take off here, its not that popular yet, and remember Eastern Cape is quite a poor area, so maybe the turnout wasnt that bad considering, oh and to get a fun vibe in such a large stadium when it is over half empty is not so easy.
Looked like people were having fun from the bits i saw on tv. Also i think a large stadium like that can be very impersonal..
11 Dec 2011, 22:13 pm
I was there both days from start to finish. This rubbish about there being no food is ridiculous. Some parts of the stadium ran out of food for all of 20 minutes. That was rectified immediately! I didn’t have a problem with the toilet facilities at all. Any problem was obviously fixed quickly. To say there was no vibe is retarded. Please get your facts right and don’t quote numbers you estimate yourself. There were officially 12 000 people on the first day. It was freezing on Friday night so anyone that went home for warmer surroundings can be forgiven. To say people left because of disinterest is a completely baseless statement. The crowd was fantastic on Saturday! Everyone who was there has said how awesome it was. Being the first year, it’ll be even better next year now that the organisers have some experience. The stadium was quite packed on the Saturday. I don’t know the number so I won’t make one up. In the end, though, it boils down to this. Haters gonna hate. These two days were absolutely epic. Can’t wait for next year!
12 Dec 2011, 08:53 am
@Gareth-25: Gareth, when your superior at HSM/SARugby Mag has been writing articles like the following for a number ofyears what make you think people will be INTERESTED in watching Sevens?
As some of you on this site know, I have always had a love-hate relationship with Sevens. I love the fact that the game, like T20 cricket, provides fans with plenty of action in a short space of time and allows minnow rugby nations, like Kenya and Portugal, to be a lot more competitive than they are in the 15-man arena.
However, I hate the fact that the best players do not take part. In South Africa, only those who aren’t good enough to play Super 14 rugby (with the exception of the talented Robert Ebersohn) are picked for the Sevens side. And while these guys tell everyone how much they love Sevens, it’s obvious they’d rather be playing 15-man rugby. Hell, even Fabian Juries, our greatest-ever Sevens player, turned his back on the abbreviated game this season when the Cheetahs included him in their Super 14 training squad. So much for him being a Sevens specialist.
The reality of the situation is that the SA Sevens team consists of Vodacom Cup-standard players, and because of this, I think they devalue the Bok jersey. Let’s be honest, do the likes of Mzwandile Stick and Marius Schoeman really deserve to wear the green and gold? My answer is a resounding no. I think the SA Sevens side should play in a different jersey, perhaps with gold being the dominant colour, and be called the Proteas. This would give the team its own unique identity and prevent the Bok jersey from being cheapened.
Take the Australian cricket team, for example. Would the famous baggy green cap be as special if their T20 players were also allowed to wear them? Of course not. Only those who are picked for Tests — the pinnacle of the game — have that honour.
Finally, I think SA Rugby should be doing everything in its power to get Sevens rugby televised on the SABC. Our Sevens team is full of black players, and black South Africans — many of whom do not have access to SuperSport — should be able to watch them throughout the year. Sevens is also a great way to introduce people to the sport, and they’d soon become fans of the 15-man version too. Hopefully, SuperSport would consider the bigger picture and share their TV rights with the national broadcaster — starting with the Sevens World Cup.
By Simon Borchardt
This entry was posted on Friday, December 12th, 2008
12 Dec 2011, 09:42 am
There’s an Olympic gold medal waiting for the Sevens champion.
12 Dec 2011, 13:41 pm
@rhysj-27: saturday the ‘official’ number is 27 500
12 Dec 2011, 13:45 pm
@Transformation-30:
castles?
12 Dec 2011, 14:01 pm
@rhysj-27: Good on you, chap. I wasn’t there unfortunately but I did watch on Sky Sports. The crowd was excellent on Saturday – atmosphere good, and the stadium looks fantastic. The studio commentators (All Poms) were suitably impressed and all were in agreement that PE is a far better venue with a better crowd than George.
The one step that could be taken to lift PE another notch is to hold the 7′s on Saturday and Sunday, not Friday and Saturday…
Saturday was truly good
- not quite on the level of Hong Kong or Dubai, but these tournaments have built up a reputation for being a international party and have a comparatively long history
- But PE on Saturday was at least as good as any other tournament on the Calender.
Not too farken bad on a first attempt, and PE will definitely improve. I will be pencilling in PE next year on my Rugby To-do list on evidence of what I saw with my own eyes this weekend – I want to be a part of that vibe.
(I also wouldn’t mind gooing a few spare or empty beer cans at those farken fake AB jersey wearing twats)
12 Dec 2011, 14:06 pm
@Knersboy-22: I would disagree… Will take PE anyday over Stellenbosch…
Its a simple equation:
PE = 7′s future
Stellenbosch = 15′s distant past
And PE is, lets just say politely, more accessible…
12 Dec 2011, 17:47 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-31: 19… 9 on friday 10 on sat…
12 Dec 2011, 23:49 pm
@gareth As pointed out in the comments earlier, there were in excess of 12,000 people at the stadium on Friday and around 28,400 people on Saturday (Figures quoted in the Herald this morning). That puts attendance figures for the event at over 40,000 over two days…. enough to fill the Outeniqua Stadium in George about four times over. (Outeniqua’s total capacity is listed as between 9,000 and 11,000 depending on where you look up your info.) So if we were evaluating the event from a pure numbers perspective, doubling your attendance year on year is a far cry from what you are so quick to label a “flop”
It’s also important to take perspective into consideration. Put 12,000 people in a 46,000 seat stadium (not 49,500 as you state) and admittedly the crowd will look small, but put them in George and the stadium would be overflowing!
Growing your support base takes time and, considering the growth in support for an inaugural event at a new venue… I’d say hats off to SARU for what they have accomplished.
Please note that I compare this year’s tournament to George last year, rather than Hong Kong, seeing as I like to compare apples with apples.
I will agree with you that the stadium did appear empty, especially on Friday, and that the television footage may have been a little misleading as they focused in on the crowds in the west and south stands, but can you honestly tell me they don’t do exactly the same at other events around the world?
I will not however agree that there was no atmosphere at the event… I simply have to think back to the Kenya supporters club dancing in the stands on Friday, the outrageous costumes worn on both days, the cheers reverberating around the stadium throughout both days, the crowds interacting with the teams as they walked around the field, signing autographs on Saturday… to know that there was, most definitely, an awesome atmosphere!
Your attitude in fobbing off the reasoning that attendance figures were down on Friday because people were working says more about you, I think, than it does about the event.
The fact that the IRB had already announced that they were looking at moving the Sevens tournaments from a Friday and Saturday to a Saturday and Sunday ahead of the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens, after attendance trends at both the Australian and Dubai legs showed a marked difference in Friday and Saturday attendance, with Fridays trending significantly lower, gives credence to concerns that working individuals are unable to attend on a Friday, wouldn’t you say?
As for making tickets cheaper, ticket prices, believe it or not, were in fact cheaper than the George event last year (on the lower end in any case). The cheapest ticket on Friday was R80 and the most expensive was R250, and on Saturday the prices ranged from R100 to R300. In George for 2010 the prices for a Friday ranged from R160 to R240 and on Saturday from R180 to R260.
All in all, I think you may have missed the mark on this one.
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