Chiefs-crusaders in Fiji again
The Chiefs will play a Super Rugby game in Fiji for a fourth successive season, hosting the Crusaders in Suva next year, on Saturday, June 1 (7.35pm kickoff).
After this year heading to Suva as the ‘away’ team in a clash against the Highlanders, the Chiefs will return to ANZ Stadium next year as the ‘home’ side once more, after previously doing so against the Crusaders in both 2016 and 2017.
The Fijian government invested NZ$1.6 million into a first-ever Super Rugby fixture in their country when the Chiefs beat the Crusaders 23-13 there in 2016 in front of a sold-out 20,000 crowd.
The government then agreed to a three-year arrangement to host a match annually from 2017-2019, in what they saw as a prime opportunity to showcase their country as a tourism and sporting destination.
The promoters of the game – Fortress Information Systems – decide on which team they’d like to get in touch with to host the fixture.
The Chiefs were happy to back-up in 2017, when they went on to lose to the Crusaders in front of 17,000 people, then it was the Highlanders who were approached for 2018, and they were flogged 45-22 by the Chiefs, when 20,000 turned out.
The home team is normally considered the promoter of a match, and retains gate revenue, though under this setup the two teams get a share of the funds, with the host getting the bigger slice.
That is a commercially sensitive sum, but one the Chiefs and Highlanders have both noted was significantly better for them than playing in front of a capacity crowd at their usual home base.
Chiefs chief executive Michael Collins said it was another exciting opportunity to take a game to the Pacific Islands for their rugby-loving public to see some of the world’s best players in action.
‘‘The Fijian people have been great supporters of the Super Rugby matches we have played in Suva, and Fiji has added a lot to rugby in New Zealand over the years, so we’re really pleased to be able to take another game there,’’ he said in a statement.
‘‘The Chiefs have played in Suva the past three years,
‘‘The Fijian people have been great supporters of the Super Rugby matches we have played in Suva.’’ Chiefs chief executive Michael Collins
including the very first Super Rugby game played in the islands, so we have a close connection with Fiji – it feels like a home away from home and a real part of our Chiefs territory.’’
There are Fijian connections in the Chiefs’ ranks, with loose forward Pita Gus Sowakula and assistant coach Tabai Matson both born there, while another assistant coach, Neil Barnes, is an assistant with their national team.
The match is the Chiefs’ last home fixture of the 2019 regular season – coming in the third-to-last round, before a bye and a match against the Rebels in Melbourne – while conversely for the Crusaders it’s their last away game, coming ahead of a home one against the Rebels and a lastround bye.
The Chiefs also confirmed their remaining seven regular season fixtures would be played at FMG Stadium in Hamilton.