Baltimore, United States — The Springboks and All Blacks stand to share an estimated $8 million (R129,5 million) more by taking their series decider to the United States, than they would have earned had the match been played in South Africa.
That financial windfall has turned Saturday’s clash at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium into a landmark experiment for international rugby — and potentially a blueprint for taking more of the sport’s biggest matches to the lucrative US market.
The fourth and final Test of the series, dubbed “The Money Game”, is expected to draw a sellout crowd of around 70,000 to the home of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, with average ticket prices of about $200 (R3,200).
South Africa lead the series 2-1 after three bruising Tests and will defend that advantage against the All Blacks in what is by some distance the highest-profile rugby match ever staged in the United States.
For both unions, however, the Baltimore fixture is as much about the bottom line as it is about settling the series.
“This game was always about finding an option where we could make as much financial gain as we could,” South Africa Rugby Union chief executive Rian Oberholzer said.
“At SA Rugby, it is essential that we keep working on our financial stability. To do that, we have to take our brand wider than South Africa.”
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin has argued that the economics of Saturday’s fixture demonstrate that money need not prevent rugby from moving major matches offshore.
“In terms of the match-day economics, (South Africa vs New Zealand) is like a Six Nations match,” Gilpin told Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
“It starts to show that (financial return) is not the barrier. So if there is the appetite to take some of these big matches in the future to the US, we can now.”
Gilpin has suggested Saturday’s match could become a regular fixture in the run-up to the 2031 Rugby World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, and has also raised the possibility of taking a Six Nations match across the Atlantic.
An Italy-Ireland fixture in Boston or New York, where both countries have large diaspora communities, is one example he believes could work commercially.
No home support for both teams
The Baltimore experiment comes as rugby seeks to establish a stronger foothold in the world’s biggest sports market. The United States will host the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031 and the women’s tournament in 2033.
The All Blacks have previously played several one-off Tests in the US, including a memorable 2016 meeting with Ireland at Chicago’s Soldier Field. The Springboks have made only three trips to the US since 1981, most recently playing Wales in Washington in 2018.
But Saturday’s match is different: it is the first time a US fixture has formed part of a meaningful Test series between two of rugby’s global heavyweights.
The commercial stakes may be unprecedented, but neither team believes playing on neutral territory will affect the outcome.
“A neutral ground is still 70 by 100 metres,” Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus said.
The only significant difference, he added, would be the absence of home support for both teams.
On Saturday, the financial experiment and the rugby contest will therefore play out simultaneously: the Springboks are defending a series lead, the All Blacks are fighting to level the rivalry — and both unions are testing just how much money rugby’s biggest fixtures can generate on American soil.
AFP
