Attendances

[taste2taste]

Official crowd was 30,042, but yeah that was capacity at the venue at the time. There was big groundswell for both the England and Welsh teams at the time, they could have comfortably sold more tickets if they were available.

40K is a great result. We shouldn't ever think that it's not.

Gotta wonder why the organisers thought they could fill a 60k stadium in the heart of rugby territory?
A packed 40k stadium in London would have been incredible.

 

[LeagueXIII]

Official crowd was 30,042, but yeah that was capacity at the venue at the time. There was big groundswell for both the England and Welsh teams at the time, they could have comfortably sold more tickets if they were available.

40K is a great result. We shouldn't ever think that it's not.

From memory Wales took about 10k fans as there was huge emotion behind the team in Wales after the group stages including a classic win over Western Samoa.

 

[yakstorm]

Gotta wonder why the organisers thought they could fill a 60k stadium in the heart of rugby territory?
A packed 40k stadium in London would have been incredible.

Unless you have an event where the demand greatly outstrips supply, it is a lot harder to get 40K into a 40K stadium than it is in a 60K venue.

If we possibly played it at a 40K venue we possibly would have ended up with a low to mid 30K crowd as people get turned off by reduced selection options / etc.

Secondly, organisers were hoping for Tonga as the opponent, who both had a better back story (recent wins over GB, NZ & Australia) and were better with the media (Samoa has had a media ban since the first England game).

I don't think the venue selection was bad, but in hindsight organisers possibly shouldn't have let Samoa enforce the media ban. There were at least 10 media opportunities this week cancelled as a result, which when you are trying to move those last tickets can make a significant difference.

 

[LeagueXIII]

I think the problem is similar to what we have here in Australia in that RL can get it's rusted on supporters to go to games but not the casual sports fan in great numbers.

Agree with you on the media ban. Parish is appalling with the media comes across like an old whino.

 

[England87]

Unless you have an event where the demand greatly outstrips supply, it is a lot harder to get 40K into a 40K stadium than it is in a 60K venue.

If we possibly played it at a 40K venue we possibly would have ended up with a low to mid 30K crowd as people get turned off by reduced selection options / etc.

Secondly, organisers were hoping for Tonga as the opponent, who both had a better back story (recent wins over GB, NZ & Australia) and were better with the media (Samoa has had a media ban since the first England game).

I don't think the venue selection was bad, but in hindsight organisers possibly shouldn't have let Samoa enforce the media ban. There were at least 10 media opportunities this week cancelled as a result, which when you are trying to move those last tickets can make a significant difference.

London is a tough market but outside Chelsea's home ground. Most football stadiums are either 90 - 60k big bobbers or 20 - 25k boutique stadiums.

The Emirates was a good choice. Great venue with easy-to-get public transport.

 

[Perth Red]

Fantastic game but okay crowd.

a new record for RLWC semi finals is just "an okay crowd" ?

 

[Perth Red]

Another record broken at this tournament

semis
2000 24k (eng)
2008 42k (aus)
2013 67k (eng)
2017 53k (aus and nz)
2021 68,062 (eng)

 

[England87]

Excellent. Shame we will see a significant downward trend in France.

With the rise of Samoa and Tonga since 2017 I kinda wish we had a New Zealand sole host for 2025.

 

[Dark Corner]

a new record for RLWC semi finals is just "an okay crowd" ?

Yes good crowd but just wished it was in a 40000 seater.

 

[England87]

London had to have a big game and there’s simply no other stadiums mate.

 

[England87]

If we can get 50-55k into Old Trafford then this tournament has been a rousing success imo

 

[taste2taste]

How we looking for the final ?

If the game looks like it won't sell out I wonder if the organisers have thought of following other sports and doing a 'TV crowd' ?

Selling out the eastern, southern and northern stands before selling any tickets for the Western stands. That way on TV it appears as though the stadium is packed as the cameras are shooting the stands that are full.

 

[Perth Red]

Seen lots of bought tickets trying to be sold lol. There might be a lot of no shows. Shame as the last RLWC featuring these two sold it out. Hopefully we will at least beat the 2017 final number.

for comparison: RLWC final attendances
2000 44.3k (eng)
2008 50.5k (aus)
2013 74.4k (eng)
2017 40k (aus and nz)
2021 ? (eng)

 

[taste2taste]

Seen lots of bought tickets trying to be sold lol. There might be a lot of no shows. Shame as the last RLWC featuring these two sold it out. Hopefully we will at least beat the 2017 final number.

for comparison: RLWC final attendances
2000 44.3k (eng)
2008 50.5k (aus)
2013 74.4k (eng)
2017 40k (aus and nz)
2021 ? (eng)

That 2013 crowd is phenomenal considering England weren't playing.

I guess realistically 45k for this final ? The stadium being only 60% full won't look great on TV

 

[wain]

At this stage, Id love to see them 'donate' 1k family tickets to a group like first responders, military or local junior players. If its a smaller number it wont seem like a huge deal, plus if its for a target group that people get behind, it is less likely that people create a stink on social media about freebies. And if its a family ticket, its a nice way to get another 3-5k to fill out seats and have a bit of good will gesture.

I think they should have been doing this at most matches...just my two cents.

 

[Coastbloke]

Seen lots of bought tickets trying to be sold lol. There might be a lot of no shows. Shame as the last RLWC featuring these two sold it out. Hopefully we will at least beat the 2017 final number.

for comparison: RLWC final attendances
2000 44.3k (eng)
2008 50.5k (aus)
2013 74.4k (eng)
2017 40k (aus and nz)
2021 ? (eng)

The only tixs I’ve seen ‘for sale’ are on various FB pages and seem to be a pi**take just being English fans expressing their disappointment.

2013 had no England team in the final and still got 74,000..

I like the idea of fans turning up to see possible (if unlikely lol) rugby league history being made..

 

[Perth Red]

The only tixs I’ve seen ‘for sale’ are on various FB pages and seem to be a pi**take just being English fans expressing their disappointment.

2013 had no England team in the final and still got 74,000..

I like the idea of fans turning up to see possible (if unlikely lol) rugby league history being made..

its expected to be a walk over and fans haven't responded this tournament like they did in 2013 generally. Hopefully they already sold a lot and people go because they have already paid. Anything 50k or above is a pass imo.

 

[taste2taste]

its expected to be a walk over and fans haven't responded this tournament like they did in 2013 generally. Hopefully they already sold a lot and people go because they have already paid. Anything 50k or above is a pass imo.

Haha yep, Asking Brits to shell out £££ to watch thier arch rival win a WC is a big ask

Is there any way to find out how many tickets have been sold ?

Are Samoa still doing no promotion on thier media ban ?

 

[Perth Red]

Haha yep, Asking Brits to shell out £££ to watch thier arch rival win a WC is a big ask

Is there any way to find out how many tickets have been sold ?

Are Samoa still doing no promotion on thier media ban ?

Hopefully not!

Got to love Vossy's take on it leading up to the semi!

Voss tweeted angrily earlier in the day: “Media bans in rugby league are a crock of shit. @RLWC2021 Seriously…Do your job. It’s not life or death. It is sport. Sport attracts opinions all day every day. And you take the good with the bad. If it is offensive material you delete or block.”
He continued: “Further to my view on media ban;let me tell you that Samoan squad has some of the best personalities in the @NRL. Talented yet humble men who are great to deal with. Luai,To’o,Crichton, Papali’i etc.I hope coach changes his stance.Nothing but good will be achieved as a result.

 

[taste2taste]

Hopefully not!

Got to love Vossy's take on it leading up to the semi!

Voss tweeted angrily earlier in the day: “Media bans in rugby league are a crock of shit. @RLWC2021 Seriously…Do your job. It’s not life or death. It is sport. Sport attracts opinions all day every day. And you take the good with the bad. If it is offensive material you delete or block.”
He continued: “Further to my view on media ban;let me tell you that Samoan squad has some of the best personalities in the @NRL. Talented yet humble men who are great to deal with. Luai,To’o,Crichton, Papali’i etc.I hope coach changes his stance.Nothing but good will be achieved as a result.

The ban has been in place since the loss to England I believe.
I remember one of the coaches went off at a reporter for asking a question about Origin.


I wonder if the media ban is so the players can focus on the game ? Or is it because of a small % of peanuts in the media who don't think they are Samoan because they were born in a hospital in Auckland or Sydney.