Rugby: 'Full house' signs dusty

Canterbury work hard but still can't fill their home stadium. Photo / Getty Images

There used to be a time when Lancaster Park would be bursting more than Richard Loe in a tight-fitting shirt.

Of all the centres in this country, Christchurch could guarantee a good crowd. It's not the case anymore. Average crowds at AMI Stadium, as it is now known, are up 10 per cent on last season's figures.

An estimated 12,000 fans turned up to last night's Air New Zealand Cup final against Wellington, following the paltry 8000 for last weekend's semifinal with Hawke's Bay.

The biggest crowd they've attracted this season was roughly 17,000 for the Shield challenge with Otago the week after they lifted the Log O' Wood off Wellington. There was another healthy attendance for the unsuccessful defence against Southland.

Rob Penney, the Canterbury coach, has recognised the challenges and even implored fans to come out in greater numbers. One of his initiatives was to allow spectators on to the grounds after matches to get some sort of connection with the players again.

Small crowds are not just a Canterbury problem. Just 9000 turned out to Wellington's Westpac Stadium last weekend for their semifinal win over Southland. Auckland has had similar problems.

It appears healthier in the provinces, with Hawke's Bay leading the way, but fewer games are played in the smaller centres and there are fewer alternative activities.

Several reasons have been advanced for the poor attendances - from too much rugby to the redevelopment of the ground and Canterbury being too successful.

But perhaps the most persuasive is that the Air New Zealand Cup does not often include All Blacks and that there is disillusionment with the highly public wrangling by the NZRU over its provincial competition structure - something of a turn-off for many, perhaps.

Rugby fatigue may also be a factor in declining crowds. It has been a long season not only for Canterbury players but also the fans with five home Super 14 games, seven Air New Zealand Cup games - plus the semifinal and final - as well as a test against Italy.

Finances will only stretch so far and it is the longest Air New Zealand Cup competition ever, with teams playing all 13 rivals for the first time in history.

But there has been an undeniable upsurge in interest in the Air New Zealand Cup this season, as evidenced by a small increase in average crowds at Lancaster Park and the massive 50-60 per cent spike in TV viewing figures.

But this has been offset in recent weeks with the loss of the team's All Blacks players on the end-of-year tour. If fans are going to part with their hard-earned money, they want to see the best.

As a counter-example, South Africa's Currie Cup final attracted 55,000 to a full stadium recently. The teams were full of Springboks and were largely the sides fielded by the Bulls and the Cheetahs in the Super 14 this year. Quality was assured.

Lancaster Park's redevelopment has also not helped. As Canterbury chief executive Hamish Riach said: "It's hard to make the ground look fantastic and to create a vibrant atmosphere when the game is being played on a construction site."

Anecdotal evidence suggests some fans have not returned because they don't want to sit anywhere other than the spot they have always sat. Furthermore, Christchurch's prevailing wind is a north-easterly and it rips through the ground now with one side exposed.

Canterbury have also become victims of their own success. They have now won the NPC (or Air New Zealand Cup) four times in the past nine years on top of the seven Super Rugby titles.

For some fans it is the manner in which a game is won now that is just as important as the winning itself.

"That's where we are at now," Riach said. "If you have a winning team for a period of time, then it's the style of winning that people demand.

"There's no silver bullet [to attract larger crowds]. You can't fix one thing and that will fix everyone's issues. We have to try to keep the best team out there and provide the best experience for people so they come back."