Club rugby teams will discuss the exciting prospect of fans formally returning to stadiums after the announcement that fully-vaccinated supporters will be allowed to watch adult rugby matches.
SA Rugby’s announcement on Wednesday falls in line with sports, arts & culture minister Nathi Mthethwa’s brief on Monday and means that supporters will be allowed to return to club and professional rugby matches.
The announcement was welcomed by clubs in the Border region, who are competing in the makeshift Covid Challenge tournament which is set for the knockout stages on Saturday.
In past weekends, the tournament organisers and stadium hosts had to reiterate that fans were not permitted, but their pleas fell on deaf ears with club members and fans flooding stadiums.
The biggest crowd drawn to the Covid Challenge matches was at Police Park, with fans coming in numbers to watch the encounter between Police and Swallows.
Mthethwa’s declaration of a maximum of 2,000 spectators being permitted, follows the gazetting of new regulations and has lifted the pressure that comes with locking the gates to keep fans out.
Brad Burton, the chair of Buffs Rugby Club, who initiated the Covid Challenge, was pleased with SA Rugby’s announcement.
“It’s really cool news; we’re going to speak to the other clubs and see if we can follow this up right away and allow spectators to the playoff games on Saturday,” Burton said.
Swallows, who have a huge fan base are excited that their fans will be able to watch and be their driving force.
“We’re happy, we’re very excited,” Swallows Rugby club president Zuko Matyeshana said.
“It’s been long overdue for the spectators to be back in the stadium. What really drives us is the fans, we always have their support. When they’re not there, it shows.
“We haven’t sat down to see how we’re going to manage this. We’ll have a meeting to discuss this,” Matyeshana said.
SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said the governing body was in full support of the government’s drive to accelerate mass vaccinations thereby allowing society to return to normality while ensuring that rugby matches did not further spread the virus.
“This is very welcome news,” Roux said.
“It is 19 months since a fan was last allowed in a rugby stadium. This is the light at the end of the tunnel that our sport has desperately needed.
“We trust that this initial allowance will increase speedily as the impact of the vaccination programme and the experience in other territories points to a further relaxation of restrictions,” he said.
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