European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) chairman Dominic McKay has attributed increased viewership and interest in the Champions and Challenge cups to the ongoing success of South African teams.
The DHL Stormers, Sharks and Lions will be at home, while the Vodacom Bulls and Cheetahs will take to the road as SA’s full contingent are geared for their first taste of European cup playoffs this week.
In the Champions Cup, the Stormers will host 2020-21 Premiership winners Harlequins in Cape Town on Saturday, and the Sharks welcome Vodacom United Rugby Championship opponents Munster to Kings Park, with the Bulls facing a challenging trip to take on unbeaten Toulouse on Sunday.
In the second-tier Challenge Cup, the Cheetahs have to travel to face French giants Toulon on Sunday. The Lions, meanwhile, will also take on a French side when they host Racing 92.
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Speaking during an EPCR media conference on Tuesday, McKay lauded the impact of SA’s further involvement in the top flight of northern-hemisphere club rugby after the local franchises’ successful inclusion in the inaugural URC.
“We’ve been really pleased with the level of engagement in the first four rounds across the South African engagement, both in stadiums and also with audiences on television, and all the viewership figures on [SA broadcaster] SuperSport have been significant, which is fantastic,” he told reporters.
“We’ve seen a real growth and also new growth in the stadiums. We were averaging around 17,000 coming through the turnstiles over the last round of the Champions Cup, so we’re pleased with the progress and excited about what the future holds.
“We know that [interest] is going to become more, as South Africans become increasingly knowledgeable with the Champions Cup and with the Challenge Cup, so we’re working very closely with our colleagues [in South Africa] to raise the profile.
“And the audiences in Europe have also been extremely strong and we have seen growth in the broadcasters in France and the UK, and we think that’s partly down to the level of interest in how the South African teams are faring.
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“There’s a real intrigue and excitement around how the South African teams face off against foreign opposition, so we’re very pleased with the progress being made.
He added: “Bringing the South African teams in has added a whole new dimension and has elevated it even further. I remember having conversations with coaches and they were talking about their excitement about coaching against SA teams, because it was their first time coaching against southern-hemisphere opposition and all the challenges that brings, whether that’s travel or the heat, or the style of rugby SA teams play.”
McKay also hailed the development of new rivalries between northern and southern hemisphere clubs, in the grander of a World Cup year.
“Looking at this weekend, with Irish teams, French teams, English teams heading down to SA, makes for incredible fixtures in what is a special year, and some of those rivalries and fixtures will be akin to Test match rugby,” he said.
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“The intensity and the quality of those games, and to do that at such a high level even at what we believe is the pinnacle of club rugby is testament to the quality of players who represent each of those clubs, and many of them do that with half an eye towards selection for the World Cup, whether that be for the SA or French or English or Scotland national team.
“This year makes it extra special and some of those rivalries being created between the English and the French and South African teams will create some new talking points in the coming weeks.”
McKay, too, addressed the initial hesitancy of the likes of Antoine Dupont, the 2021 World Player of the Year, who hit out at the inclusion of SA teams in the new-look Champions Cup, saying it was “no longer the European Cup”.
He said: “Naturally change can be difficult from some quarters to adapt to, but once we got the games underway and the quality of the games and the crowds coming through and the experience from a spectator point of view, everyone got really excited about it and warmed to it.”
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