Crusaders winners on the field, losers off it
While the Crusaders were racking up tries in their 40-10 win against the Sharks, the costs piled up off it.
Having thumped the Sharks in the Super Rugby quarterfinal at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday night, the Crusaders will host the Hurricanes in the semi this weekend.
Victory over the Hurricanes will guarantee the Crusaders a final in Christchurch for the first time since 2008, when they beat the Waratahs at Lancaster Park.
The Crusaders’ administrators expected to pay a heavy price for hosting the Sharks, and unfortunately, they were not to be disappointed.
They had to contribute a third of the Sharks squad’s flights from South Africa to New Zealand and accommodation expenses on top of paying a A$75,000 appearance fee to the Durban-based club.
Given only around 8500 spectators attended the game on a night when blustery winds prevented the big screen from being hoisted, the Crusaders will have to budget for a loss. Although the Crusaders will have to pay the Hurricanes a fee of A$100,000, the fact the visiting side will only have to take a short flight between Wellington and Christchurch, and stay in the host city for a couple of nights, will be welcomed by the club’s accounts staff. ‘‘When teams from South Africa visit, it is hard work. But in the end it is part of the landscape we work in,’’ Crusaders CEO Hamish Riach said prior to the quarterfinal.
‘‘There is a shared arrangement between the Sanzaar countries, and in our case the club that hosts the game gets to pay New Zealand’s share. There is costs of travel and accommodation that the club pays.’’
There is a history of quarterfinal games not attracting big crowds.
But there is potential for tickets to fly out the door ahead of the semi. Derby games between the Crusaders and Hurricanes are often popular, and given this will be a sudden-death fixture it should be a sell-out. The ground recently had the northern stand extended with a temporary structure to give it a 22,500 capacity.
The team hosting the final must pay a fee of A$125,000 to the visiting side. If the Crusaders beat the Hurricanes, they will face either the Lions or the Waratahs in Christchurch on August 4.
‘‘Of course the home advantage is much sought after from the team in terms of a performance point of view,’’ Riach noted. ‘‘Because they are in their own beds, with their own families and in a ground in conditions they all understand.
‘‘History says that is a worthwhile thing to have in your hip pocket, going into playoff games.’’