Vodacom Stormers to play in front of record crowd

“Clashes between the Highlanders and teams from South Africa and Australia are generally not well attended,” said Otago RU Marketing Manager, Chris Green.

“Sales for the weekend are going pretty well though and presently we will be looking at a crowd of around 12 or 13 thousand which is more than we have previously had for the visit of an SA team”.

The previous mark for an SA team at Carisbrook stands at around 11 000 spectators.

Green added that almost half of the crowd will be made up of students who this week returned to Dunedin for orientation and the start of the new academic year.

“We have sold 5 000 tickets in the standing area which will be packed with students,” Green said. “Most of the far side stand will be full and the atmosphere is expected to be festive”.

“Another attraction is one of New Zealand’s favourite bands ‘Elemeno P’ who will be performing before the match,” added Green.

Meanwhile, the Vodacom Stormers wrapped up their preparations for the match with a captain’s run at Carisbrook on Friday morning.

Cool, wet weather greeted the squad a day ahead of the game. The surface at Carisbrook is solid with a good drainage system and playing conditions should not be affected, despite the expected light showers on match day.