Springbok ticket prices have increased by as much as 366% over ten years

Entry-level tickets to go and watch the Springboks live have increased by about 230% over the past decade, while top-of-the-range seats now go for 366% more than they did in 2015.

Although the minimum price of tickets has not surged as much as those at the other end of the spectrum, the growing difference between the two has allowed for the increased tiering of ticket prices.

The exorbitant cost of going to watch the four-time World Champions live on home turf was highlighted during South Africa’s opening fixtures of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship against Australia in August.

Ellis Park in Johannesburg, which hosted the first match, offered tickets ranging from R525 to R3,500 for the eighty-minute rugby match.

Similarly, Cape Town Stadium, which hosted the second fixture against the Wallabies, sold tickets at a minimum of R525 and a maximum of R4,000.

Many of these high-end tickets, priced between R3,500 and R4,000, did not come with any added perks apart from being conveniently positioned along the side of the pitch and being close to the action.

These prices are significantly more than those charged for matches against similar high-profile opponents and also have far more pricing categories.

For instance, South Africans paid between R280 (R447 in 2025 terms) and R350 (R559) to watch their national team take on Argentina in 2015

A more pricey fixture to watch the Springboks take on the All Blacks at Ellis Park cost between R350 (R559) and R750 (R1,200), with only two tiers in between: R400 and R600.

The Test series against Ireland the following year saw tickets at Newlands in Cape Town range between R100 (R150) and R595 (R895), with mid-range tickets costing R295 (R445) and R395 (R595).

The cost of entry-level tickets remained stable in 2017 at around R100 (R144), with a match against Argentina at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium charging R400 (R576) for a mid-range ticket and R750 (R1,081) for the most expensive seats.

By 2019, for a fixture against Argentina at Loftus Versveld, entry-level tickets remained at R100, those in the mid-range increased to R450 (R592), and those at the top of the range rose to R900 (R1,184).

Once the Covid-19 lockdown had passed and spectators could return to stadiums, prices increased significantly, given the limited supply caused by the cap on the number of tickets, in some cases limiting attendance to 2,000 people.

For instance, the British and Irish Lions’ tour of South Africa cost locals R500 (R608) for the most affordable ticket and R3,000 (R3,650) for the best seats.

At the time, SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said that the organisation had introduced four tiers of pricing as opposed to the one-price-fits-all approach used when the British and Irish Lions had previously visited the country. 

Prices soon dropped once stadiums started allowing more fans into venues, with tickets costing between R200 and R1,500 for a match against New Zealand in Nelspruit in 2022.

However, by 2024, the prices of the most sought-after tickets had increased to R3,500 for a match against New Zealand at the Cape Town Stadium.

Price tiering

While the price tiering strategy may make tickets available to a wide range of budgets and maximise revenue by selling tickets at a higher price to those willing to pay for them, it can result in seats remaining vacant.

This trend seems to have occurred in the Springboks’ recent home matches against Australia, where stadiums did not meet capacity. 

While the seats in the most affordable pricing tiers sold out almost instantly, several South Africans noted that a large number of seats remained available in the days leading up to the matches.

It was also evident during both matches against that the stadiums were far from capacity, with large areas of open seats at Ellis Park and the Cape Town Stadium.

Rian Oberholzer, the CEO of SA Rugby, stated that the organisation had reached its crowd target of 85% for the match at Ellis Park in the week leading up to the game.

Ellis Park has a capacity of 62,000, which means that the crowd target was 52,700, leaving just under 10,000 seats available.

SA Rugby Mag reported that there were still several seats available across all sections of the lower bowl, where tickets were priced between R1,750 and R4,000.

Additionally, tickets were available in the Upper East and West Stands, priced between R1,050 and R2,650, and in the Upper Northern Stand, starting from R1,050.

This stands in significant contrast to the Incoming Castle Lager Series, which saw the Springboks take on Italy and Georgia just a month earlier, when tickets went for as little as R200.

It is also significantly more than in 2016, for instance, when seats in the East Upper, North, and South lower stands of Ellis Park cost R400, and those in the West Stand cost R600 for a match against Ireland.

North and East stand upper-tier seats cost R100, and those in the lower tier cost R250.

More expensive than other countries

A comparison by IOL found that not only are the most expensive tickets sold at Springbok home games more than double the price of those in other countries, but the difference between the cheapest and most expensive tickets is also significantly larger.

The comparison used purchasing power parity as a measure to compare local and foreign prices of rugby matches featuring the Springboks.

In New Zealand, the tickets ranged between R425 and R968. In England, the tickets ranged between R622 and R1,469, and in Wales, a trip to watch the Springboks ranged between R565 and R1,017.

‘Prices will have to come down’

Sports, Arts, and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie recently addressed the issue in Parliament, saying that they will soon have to be lowered to accommodate more South Africans.

“Ticket prices are very unaffordable for the men on the streets. Springbok ticket prices will have to come down; they are a national asset,” the Minister said.

“We are trying very hard with the deputy minister, and sometimes giving away tickets to less privileged and more deserving people.”

McKenzie has been vocal about enabling more South Africans to watch their national rugby team play, given the price of tickets and the fact that MultiChoice has purchased the exclusive broadcasting rights to Springbok matches.

In 2024, he arranged for one of the two Test matches played against the All Blacks to be broadcast by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), which is a free-to-air.

The same was done in July this year when South Africa took on Italy in Gqeberha.