The tournament, which was officially launched in a pristine beach setting on a perfect day in Port Elizabeth, will now also feature a Tens tournament and will look to take another step forward from last year’s impressive first outing at the Nelson Mandela Stadium.
With the tournament moved to a Saturday and Sunday setting, from last year’s Friday and Saturday mix, there is a hope that the weekend holiday atmosphere will filter through and be embraced by the locals and holidaymakers combined.
The tournament, which is the third leg of the HSBC Sevens series, will hope to see a repeat of the epic final between the Blitzbokke and New Zealand, but hopefully with a different result as the Kiwis won the massive battle in the dying seconds last year.
Another great move by Saru is that ticket prices have not increased, meaning a full day of international rugby costs as little as R80 at the tournament. Tickets are currently on sale from any Computicket outlet anywhere in the country.
Having taken a leaf out of some of the more successful tournaments in the HSBC Series, Port Elizabeth will also employ a “South Stand” as is done in Hong Kong, where fans who are dressed in fancy dress will be allowed and a “party atmosphere” will be created with non-stop DJs playing between games.
The Tens tournament will precede the Sevens and will have its finals played on the Saturday during a break in the Sevens tournament.
Speaking at the launch, Andy Marinos, the Saru GM for Commercial and Marketing, said rugby supporters will definitely get full value for their money at this highly anticipated event.
“Saru have lined up a top-class entertainment programme for our supporters and we believe that, with the new elements we have managed to add to this year’s programme, we will soon establish the Nelson Mandela Bay SA Sevens as one of the stand-out tournaments of the World Series.
“This year we will have the Party Stand on the Lower South Tier, so we expect that area to be jam-packed with bright coloured, fancy dressed fans. On the Saturday evening supporters will be able to watch a free music concert featuring musical acts by the outstanding DJ Reddy D, The Graham Watkins Project as well as Good Luck bands. This will be exclusively for Saturday match-ticket holders,” explained Marinos.
Ticket prices for the Saturday are as follow: Upper Tier R80, Lower Tier R120 while premier seating on the Main Stand costs R250. The different admission prices for Sunday are: Upper Tier R100, Lower Tier R150 and premier seating on the Main Stand R300.
Source: Supersport
