Fans complain about ticket prices for Springbok season-opener
· The South African
This past weekend the Springboks opened their 2026 season against the Barbarians front of a crowd of 26 398 in Gqeberha, but while the supporters certainly made their presence felt, it was disappointing to see empty seats across large parts of the stadium.
Many fans took to social media to suggest that they had been priced out of purchasing due to the fact that many tickets were only available for around R1000 for this ‘warm-up game’.
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Although prices were believed to have initially been available at a much more accessible R250, these were snapped up quickly, and many of the remaining tickets were seemingly unaffordable for many.
What was said on social media about Springbok ticket prices?
Social media was filled with comments from fans who questioned the pricing for this opening fixture of the year for the Springboks.
how did SA Rugby bleed more than R200m in accumulated losses across the last decade?! 💰💰
— Koshiek Karan (@iamkoshiek) June 20, 2026
answer: greedy, financially illiterate decisions
today's match has thousands of empty seats
unsold tickets are priced at 20% of South Africa's minimum monthly wage (in a poor province) pic.twitter.com/uGtnn3k2so
Dear South African Rugby Union. The price of your tickets brought a disgrace to our beautiful empty stadium at yesterday's game.. I hope that the Minister @GaytonMcK will ask for a detailed report.. pic.twitter.com/9PCIA9FzAY
— Glenda Perumal (@pumpkinangel09) June 21, 2026
It’s still overpriced, Mut. How can an average ticket be R1000 in JHB (for example) 😂 Also, it’s the Springboks in GQ – it should should sell out, as they get starved of seeing the Springboks. It’s people like you that are part of the problem. Tone deaf. pic.twitter.com/UFstxXwg4Z
— TP Pillay (@TP_Pillay) June 21, 2026
@Springboks management of SA Rugby should be deeply ashamed for the exorbitant pricing of the Barbarians game. Empty stadium in PE solely to blame on ticket prices.
— Jaun-Pierre Pretorius (@jppretorius_7) June 20, 2026
SA Rugby must reflect on ticket pricing in a country with high unemployment. At R1,000 a ticket, rugby is becoming unaffordable for many fans. Today’s turnout in PE shows the impact clearly.🇿🇦 #Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvBAR
— Themba Rumbu (@ThembaRumbu) June 20, 2026
In the past we fought to get the Springboks to our stadium and ensured that we discussed the price of tickets. The efforts are National, Province and City's effort to promote the game.. Paying R1000 for a ticket is ridiculous 😳
— Glenda Perumal (@pumpkinangel09) June 21, 2026
Im not saying @Springboks tickets should be R50. But not selling out the stadium for the first game(yes not A team and also not a real test) is shocking, and the ricket prices is 90% to blame for that.
— Vincent (@VinceJacX) June 21, 2026
SA rugby have sought to address this issue
Acknowledging that empty seats are a terrible look for the back-to-back world champions, SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer explicitly stated that they took note of the public backlash heading into this season.
For the inaugural Nations Championship Tests in South Africa, there had been a reassurance from SA Rugby that there would be a larger number of ‘affordable’ tickets.
Tickets, priced from only R450 (England Test), R375 (Scotland Test) and R250 (Wales Test), went on sale in early April. However, those also disappeared in the blink of an eye, and many fans have once again had to fork out serious money to watch the Springboks live this year.
Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, said: “We’re excited to welcome England back to South Africa for the first time since 2018, Scotland haven’t been here for 12 years and we last hosted Wales in 2022, so our supporters are in for a treat in July.
“We’ve taken notice of what people have been saying about ticket prices and we’ve changed the model to try and accommodate as many spectators as possible in the stadiums, while still fulfilling our need to fund our national teams and grow the game at all levels.”