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Highlanders preparing for 'world first' if rugby bring back crowds for Super Rugby Aotearoa

(Photo by Teaukura Moetaua/Getty Images)

The Highlanders could have the honour of of being the first top-class sporting side on the planet to host a live event in front of a crowd since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Tickets for their opening Super Rugby Aotearoa clash against the Chiefs next Saturday could go on sale as early as 4:30pm on Monday, depending on whether New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern lifts public gathering restrictions in the coming days.

“We could be the first live sporting event in the world so you’ve got to be excited about that,” Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark told the Otago Daily Times.

“Of course we have to wait until Monday and see what the Prime Minister says, but if we get the go-ahead, then that would be great.”

“This could be a history-making, world-first event, the first of its kind since the pandemic.

“It’s bloody exciting for Dunedin, the stadium and for the Highlanders.

“We are getting ready for the tickets to go on sale at 4.30pm on Monday and have been in touch with all our sponsors and members who are pretty excited about it.”

The match at Forsyth Barr Stadium will be the Highlanders’ first in Dunedin since their 28-22 defeat to the Melbourne Rebels on February 28, meaning Clark was hopeful of a big crowd for the return of rugby after over three months.

“Anecdotally, from the people I have been talking to, everyone is really hanging out for the game,” he said.

“Between stadium members and our members we have about 7500 and they are really looking forward to something like this.

“We’ve had all those weeks when you had to spend time with just your family, not able to do much. Now I think everyone wants to go back out and be part of a big event.”

Next week’s opening round will also see the Blues – the new home of star playmakers Beauden Barrett and Dan Carter – take on the Hurricanes at Eden Park in Auckland.

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Dan Carter joins the Blues

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Dan Carter joins the Blues

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J
JW 2 hours ago
How the four-team format will help the Wallabies defeat the Lions

Have to imagine it was a one off sorta thing were they were there (saying playing against the best private schools) because that is the level they could play at. I think I got carried away and misintrepted what you were saying, or maybe it was just that I thought it was something that should be brought in.


Of course now school is seen as so much more important, and sports as much more important to schooling, that those rural/public gets get these scholarships/free entry to play at private schools.


This might only be relevant in the tradition private rugby schools, so not worth implementing, but the same drain has been seen in NZ to the point where the public schools are not just impacted by the lost of their best talent to private schools, there is a whole flow on effect of losing players to other sports their school can' still compete at the highest levels in, and staff quality etc. So now and of that traditional sort of rivalry is near lost as I understand it.


The idea to force the top level competition into having equal public school participation would be someway to 'force' that neglect into reverse. The problem with such a simple idea is of course that if good rugby talent decides to stay put in order to get easier exposure, they suffer academically on principle. I wonder if a kid who say got selected for a school rep 1st/2nd team before being scouted by a private school, or even just say had two or three years there, could choose to rep their old school for some of their rugby still?


Like say a new Cup style comp throughout the season, kid's playing for the private school in their own local/private school grade comp or whatever, but when its Cup games they switch back? Better represent, areas, get more 2nd players switching back for top level 1st comp at their old school etc? Just even in order to have cool stories where Ella or Barrett brothers all switch back to show their old school is actually the best of the best?

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