Saracens eye Heineken Cup move to Cape Town

[TRF_Ezequiel]

English Premiership Rugby Champions Saracens are looking into moving their Heineken Cup clash against Biarritz to Cape Town South Africa.

The Heineken Cup match is scheduled to be played at Vicarage Road on the weekend of January 13-15 but the club want to keep the dates but move the venue to Cape Town.

The match move follows on from the Super Rugby earlier this year in London between the Crusaders and Sharks at Twickenham.

The move would have to be approved by the European Rugby Cup, the Rugby Football Union and the South African Rugby Football Union.

European Rugby Cup organisers have yet to approve the move to Cape Town but none of the three parties involved are believed to be against it.

Reports say that the RFU have received a request to hold the match either at Newlands stadium or the Cape Town Stadium, which was constructed for the 2010 football World Cup.

Biarritz who lost the 2010 Heineken Cup final to Toulouse, are said to be interested in the idea.

Edward Griffiths, the Saracens chief executive has confirmed that the London club are looking into moving the match and that they have already committed to moving their Heineken Cup match against the Ospreys in December at Wembley.

"The idea of playing one of our Heineken Cup matches in Cape Town has been mooted, and it is appealing in many ways, but our first obligation is to protect the interests of our supporters," Griffiths told the Daily Telegraph.

"We have made contact with ERC, the RFU and SA Rugby, but we are primarily engaged with our season-ticket holders to explore how, either by compensation or other means, we can make this work for them.

"On a broader level we are a genetically innovative club and, with the permission of ERC and the respective unions, the sponsors and other stakeholders, we would be eager to showcase the strengths of top-class European rugby on a grand southern hemisphere stage. It's an increasingly small world."

Saracens plan to stage the match at 7pm local time, 6pm UK time, on January the 14th to satisfy the tournament broadcasters Sky Sports.

http://www.rugbyweek.com/news/article.asp?id=31251



Very interesting. We've seen a Super Rugby match in Europe, now we might have a Heineken Cup match in the SANZAR area

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Biarritz........

Fans in Cape Town are in for a treat

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Shorter commute for the squad/coaching staff anyhow

 

[munstermuffin]

This is unfair ...... Saracens will truly be at home

 

[cyRil]

The wisecracks write themselves for this one

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I guess Schalk Brits is already in town so it kinda makes sense? I'll certainly attend if he ticket prices aren't too high.

 

[SelimNiai]

Ha, they walked right into that one. Decent idea though, give the South a look at a proper rugby tournament.

Oh snap...

 

[Sixesandsevens]

Hmm its not like you hear much praise for the Heineken Cup or european rugby in general from SH fans. Wonder if they will manage to sell many tickets :/ Wonder how the season ticket holders feel!!!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I guess Schalk Brits is already in town so it kinda makes sense? I'll certainly attend if he ticket prices aren't too high.

I presume he'll fly back to England for the first three-four months of the season, rather than stay in SA until this match

 

[Teh Mite]

I can see the logic of Griffiths - to cash in looking at the 'success' of the Twickenham SR match - But then again he lives in his own little world.

When Sarries are angling for a move to Barnet (about the furthest they can possibly be from the SA ex-pat communities in London), there is little or no logic in taking away the biggest home game of the season to create what would be seen as nothing more then an exhibition match half a world away from the target market.

There are 3,000 people who already have tickets for this one. Plus the regulars who turn up without tickets and pay on the gate. HEC rugby isn't noticed in the SH. People simply won't pay to watch it down there. It's a cash in, but a dumb one. If they get a crowd of 20,000 people paying £10 each to get in, they should consider this a success - Forgtting the logisitcal costs of such an episode.

I'll wager that SAIL have demanded they get to see some of their investment returned.

 

[ZeFrenchy]

^^ I think it can be very profitable to create awareness in the Cape area. Most of Sarracens fans already own the shirt, they may sell a couple of thousands in SA now. Plus, they probably take the youth teams for a little trip that may be very useful rugbywise. I'm not claiming that it is the best idea, but it has some "hidden" upsides (and downsides surely) that the management must be thinking of.

 

[Teh Mite]

^^ I think it can be very profitable to create awareness in the Cape area. Most of Sarracens fans already own the shirt, they may sell a couple of thousands in SA now. Plus, they probably take the youth teams for a little trip that may be very useful rugbywise. I'm not claiming that it is the best idea, but it has some "hidden" upsides (and downsides surely) that the management must be thinking of.

Short term thinking.

Stacking out the stadium on a weekly basis by regularly delivering the local fans is what they need to turn the fiscal side of the club around (bare in mind that being crowned playoff champions last season cost them a nett loss of £6million pounds, while the other playoff contenders broke even or made a profit). Selling a few dozen shirts won't change things - Crusaders and Sharks never saw the number of fans supporting them rocket as a result of the Twickenham game.

 

[ZeFrenchy]

How is creating awareness short term thinking? It's precisely the first stage of a long term plan. Just as Biarritz is doing in the spanish basque country, Perpignan in Catalonya and Toulon in the Marseille area. Enlargening the fan base can only be benefitial. Of course it will have downsides (and of course they can offset the upsides) but if they were thinking only short term, it would obviously be a lousy idea given the direct costs involved.

Edit: Re-reading my post it sounds as if I was a hardcore supporter of the Saracens' CEO or something, which I'm definitely not. The point I'm trying to make is that they're probably (I hope so at least) evaluating some 'hidden' advantages that are not so obvious.

 

[Gavin]

Wonder if the supports who have already bought season tickets are going to have to pay for their flights to South Africa; I would be quite annoyed if I was a season ticket holder.

 

[smartcooky]

If they were to hold a game like that at Eden Park, I would fly to Auckland for it!

 

[nickdnz]

Wow, would be a great oppertunity for South Africans to see the H-Cup. It had to be Saracens...

Sadly I've been beated to all the good jokes...

 

[big ginger 8]

Why Saracens and Biarritz? Know the SH people will be able to say the H Cup isn't good. Better teams could have showcased it.

 

[SelimNiai]

Why Saracens and Biarritz? Know the SH people will be able to say the H Cup isn't good. Better teams could have showcased it.

There arent many better than Biarittz in Europe

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Biarritz is a massive team, Saracens the new champions of England... Everybody knows no European team is more popular in South Africa at the moment than Saracens. Why have Leinster and Toulon play in South Africa when it will only attract 500 people?

 

[Teh Mite]

Being as it's Sarries marketing idea, not the ERCs.

Looks like the Sarries fans on their board are none too pleased with the idea.