Kings’ clash with Bulls on track to be sellout
MORE than 30 000 tickets have been sold already for the muchanticipated clash between the Southern Kings and the Bulls at the weekend.
The match is expected to be a sellout.
EP rugby bosses appealed earlier to Kings supporters to show their appreciation of their team’s outstanding efforts in the Super Rugby competition thus far by filling the 44 000 seats in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium when the teams go head to head on Saturday.
The Kings have garnered a huge following for their courageous play in their first season in Super Rugby.
They lost to the Crusaders and Hurricanes in New Zealand, drew with the Brumbies and beat the Rebels in Australia on the overseas leg of their competition.
In Port Elizabeth, they beat Australia’s Western Force, and lost to the Sharks and New Zealand’s Chiefs in heart-stopping matches.
While the exact number of tickets sold could not be confirmed, EP Rugby interim chief executive Charl Crous said more than 30 000 had gone so far, with sales surging at the weekend.
“Following the Southern Kings’ performance on tour and their phenomenal win over the Rebels last week, we have seen a huge upsurge in ticket sales,” he said.
Stadium spokesman Buli G Ngomane said tickets were selling like “hot cakes”.
“Considering the way sales are going – very well and extremely fast – we are hoping for a full house. The change [in sales] hour to hour [yesterday morning] was astronomical,” she said.
“We are aware that both teams have huge followings that often travel with them, which makes it difficult at this stage to say where people are coming from.”
Kings supporters are being encouraged to wear black to the match to show support for their team.
The gates to the stadium open at 3pm.
There will be a beer garden, and live music and DJs to entertain fans, who can also watch the televised Sharks v Cheetahs game on the big screens at 5.05pm.
At 4.15pm, the EP Kings take on Natal in a Vodacom Cup curtainraiser. Ticket winners for Kings v Bulls game:
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