DHL Stadium is set for a capacity crowd of around 55,000 when the Springboks host New Zealand in Cape Town on August 29, with the match having sold out shortly after tickets went on sale in February. The contrast with Ellis Park is pronounced — tickets for the second Rugby Championship Test in Johannesburg were still available on Friday, with prices ranging from R1,650 (category C) to R4,000 (category A).
Official Cape Town ticket prices ranged from R400 to R4,000, but the secondary market has pushed prices well beyond face value, with hospitality packages being offered for as much as R18,000. SA Rugby spokesperson De Jongh Borchardt confirmed that reselling at any price constitutes a breach of ticketing terms and conditions, and said the organisation was not aware of bulk purchasing for resale purposes. SA Rugby declined to break down ticket allocations by category.
The secondary market has also attracted fraudsters. Cape Town resident Chance Andrews said she was unable to secure tickets at face value and found that most sellers offering tickets around R1,500 turned out to be scammers. "I've also seen people asking for R4,000 and upwards, which I think is completely excessive," she said, adding that pricing made it difficult to justify for ordinary South African supporters.
Sports broadcaster Mthuthuzeli Scott attributed Cape Town's exceptional demand partly to the city's historically strong affinity for All Blacks rugby, rooted in the support New Zealand received from black and coloured communities during the apartheid era. He pointed to the 47,000 supporters who attended the Stormers' clash against the All Blacks at DHL Stadium on August 7 as evidence of that enduring connection.