Shaun Treeby: South African rugby fans 'way more passionate' than New Zealand fans

South Africa fans at Waikato Stadium. Photo / Getty

Kiwi midfielder Shaun Treeby has a unique perspective on the differences and similarities between New Zealand and South African rugby.

The 50-cap former Highlander moved to play for the Stormers this season, and shared his thoughts about the move to the official Stormers magazine.

In a wide-ranging piece, Treeby touched on several comparisons between the two rugby-playing nations, most notably the fan support in both countries.

While noting that New Zealand fans are passionate, Treeby believes they can't compare to the rugby-mad South Africans.

"I find supporters over here, to be way more passionate than in New Zealand," said Treeby.

"Fans back home are passionate about and love rugby, but it is definitely a step up over here. Even a couple of hours after the game once we've changed, there is always a big crowd around for pictures and autographs. In New Zealand, we certainly don't have that. There's more passion for rugby here in Cape Town - South Africans are definitely more rugby crazy."

Treeby, who has played a nice 69 times in the National Provincial Championship with Wellington, argues that the South African Super Rugby sides are evolving to play a more expansive style, but are still lagging behind with skill development.

"Back when I started playing Super Rugby, we knew what to expect from a South African team. They mauled, used their big forwards and kicked a lot. They were really good at it. But with the new rules, teams have to score more points and play more attacking rugby. There has been a definite shift to a more expansive style of play.

"In New Zealand from a young age skill work is a huge part of training. Coming here, I found it interesting that many of my teammates, especially the forwards, didn't do that much skill work growing up. However, there's a much greater emphasis on technical skills now. We're focusing on offloads and doing more skill work at the Stormers."

One of the biggest differences, says Treeby, is line speed, where the Hurricanes and Crusaders lead the way in putting defensive pressure onto their opposition.

However, he thinks that South Africa can catch up, and that there's little separating the two nations.

There's a big perception that there's a massive gap between New Zealand and South African rugby currently, but I can tell you that it's definitely not true."