Durban fans once bitten, twice shy
Apart from the poor first-half performance there was one other major worrying factor from the Springboks opening Rugby Championship Test last weekend in Durban.
The Boks bounced back in the second half to clinch the Test 34-21 after trailing 10-14 at the break to continue the upward curve which had been started under coach Rassie Erasmus against England back in June.
But the poor attendance of the Durban crowd must have been a source of concern for both SA Rugby and the Sharks bosses with a mere 26 836 people turning up and one must remember that the stadium’s official capacity is 53 102, which means 26 266 seats were left empty – almost half of the stadium.
Of the four Tests played in South Africa this year, the Durban Test has by far been the worst-attended with all three England Tests in June drawing more than 40 000 people, while the counter argument could be that Argentina simply isn’t as big a drawcard.
But in sharp contrast, the first England Test at Ellis Park attracted 55 610 people, the second Test in Bloemfontein 40 010, while the third Test in Cape Town drew as much as 42 060 even though it was a dead rubber.
The other side of the argument is that Durban is probably the venue where the Boks have their poorest success rate, having won just 21 of their 34 Tests there, losing 10 and drawing three for a winning percentage of just 61%.
In comparison the Boks have won 36 from 54 Tests at Newlands for a 66% win ratio, at Ellis Park the Boks played 50 Tests, won 35 and lost 13 and drawn two to boast a healthy ratio of 70%, a figure similar to Bloemfontein where they have won 14 from their 20 outings, while Loftus remain the Boks’ happiest hunting ground with a 77% win ratio thanks to 27 wins in 35 Tests in the capital city.
The poor attendance record in Durban could also be the result of two record defeats the Boks suffered there of late.
Before last weekend’s win and last season’s 37-15 win over France, the Boks suffered two of their most humiliating defeats in the two Tests before that. In 2015 the Boks suffered their first ever defeat at home to Argentina when the Pumas stunned them 37-25 on the eve of the World Cup, while only a year later the All Blacks swept them aside in a 57-15 win, an agonising record home loss for the Boks.