Early this morning New Zealand put on a rugby league masterclass as they defeated rivals Australia 30-0, handing the Kangaroos their biggest ever loss and keeping them scoreless for the first time since 2005.
That incredible result came just a week after Australian breezed past the Kiwis 36-18, however that game was played back in Melbourne, compared to today’s clash at Hamilton on New Zealand’s North Island.
A crowd of 13,269 turned up to witness the historic match with the majority home crowd loving every minute of the game as New Zealand eased and dominated their way to a landslide win and the Pacific Cup.
Questions are now being asked by the media down under as to where the rest of the crowd was with the 25,800 capacity stadium only just reaching halfway full. Moreover it was a fixture between the number one and number two teams in the world, making the poor attendance even more shocking.
For perspective that attendance surpasses the England Tonga second test at Huddersfield’s John Smith’s Stadium, and just 500 fans more than the opening test at St Helens. It’s expected that today’s test at Headingley will far surpass both those crowds with 15,000 plus expected to turn out at the home of the Rhinos.
The Daily Telegraph are now reporting that the NRL will take back control from New Zealand’s governing body for the sport, NZRL, in regards to plotting where test matches are played in New Zealand next year.
Hamilton’s stadium is seen as more of a rugby union home than one for rugby league, with the traditional home for league being in Auckland however that stadium was unavailable for this test.
What made the attendance look far worse was the fact that on the television broadcast it highlighted all the empty seats. The Telegraph has now confirmed that media within the stadium revealed fans had chosen to pack the other stand out to avoid the sun, thereby leaving the television cameras filming an empty stand.
Fans did take to social media to question the poor turnout with images circulating to highlight the lack of fans in the stadium.
What a disappointing crowd for the final at Hamilton. #AusVNZ pic.twitter.com/8oI0J9CP9J
— The Oracle (@BigOtrivia) November 4, 2023
One fan joked instead though about the situation, suggesting the Aussies had bigger problems to worry about than a sub-par crowd.
They posted on X: “All these Aussies whinging about the crowd in Hamilton should probably spend more energy worrying about how they’ve had their pants pulled down by the Kiwis in another final.”
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