The Southern Kings have announced the ticket pricing for the Guinness PRO14 home games.
A total of eleven PRO14 home games will be played in Port Elizabeth's Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in the next eight months.
The first of these is Saturday 16 September against Irish powerhouse, Leinster.
Southern Kings CEO Charl Crous has urged the public to support the team in large numbers when they face visiting teams, adding that crowd support really inspires the players.
“Southern Kings rugby fans in particular, and Eastern Cape rugby fans, in general are in for a treat and will be able to watch their favourite team against world class opponents as the Guinness PRO14 comes to South Africa, with tickets to this exciting new addition to the rugby calendar available immediately,” Crous said at a media briefing in Port Elizabeth on Thursday.
The Kings will be in action in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium 11 times, taking on the best teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy, as well as a local derby against the Toyota Cheetahs.
There is a first-time offering of scholars’ tickets to be purchased and according to Crous, the pricing structure is aimed at making this international competition really affordable and allowing supporters, especially families, the opportunity to experience the match day action in the stadium.
“We will be playing against some of the best teams in world rugby and this promises to be an exciting era awaiting not only the Kings, but the spectators as well. We have some exciting competitions and fan engagement initiatives planned for this season which will add to the excitement being created by this competition and the quality of rugby produced by the players on the field.”
The Kings were in Ireland the past few days, preparing for Saturday’s clash against Connacht.
In a message from Connacht, Kings Head Coach, Deon Davids urged fans to come and support the team: “There is no doubt, as we saw earlier this year, that our team plays at its best when they have local support. We are grateful to those who came out in numbers this year and I am confident that they will come back for more when we play against all these world stars in the Guinness PRO14.
“The Kings want to do well in this competition and we will need the support of all our fans in order to achieve this. There are really so many world stars in action and every opposing team will bring their own brand of play and particular skills set said Davids.”
The Southern Kings will take on Leinster (Ireland), Zebre (Italy), Ulster (Ireland), Scarlets (Wales), Edinburgh (Scotland), Dragons (Wales), Benetton (Italy) and Cardiff Blues (Wales) as well as the Toyota Cheetahs.
Tickets were available from Thursday 7 September.
The pricing structure is:
Royal Lounge Season Ticket (R1,295) - Only available to purchase from the Stadium TicketPro Office
Royal Lounge Match Day Ticket (R150) - Available to purchase online at www.ticketpros.co.za and all TicketPro outlets.
East Stand – Adults (R50) - Available to purchase online and all TicketPro outlets.
West Stand – Adults (R60) - Available to purchase online and all TicketPro outlets
East and West Stand - Scholar (R20) – Only available to purchase from the Stadium TicketPro Office
The following fixtures are applicable:
16/09/2017: Leinster, 14:15
23/09/2017: Zebre Rugby, 19:35
04/11/2017: Ulster Rugby, 17:00
26/11/2017: Scarlets, 15:00
01/12/2017: Edinburgh Rugby, 19:15
13/01/2018: Toyota Cheetahs, 17:00
02 or 03 or 04/03/2018: Dragons Time, Exact date and time TBC
23 or 24 or 25/03/2018: Benetton Rugby, Exact date and time TBC
06 or 07 or 08/04/2018: Munster Rugby, Exact date and time TBC
13 or 14 or 15/04/2018: Cardiff Blues, Exact date and time TBC
27 or 28 or 29/04/2018: Toyota Cheetahs, Exact date and time TBC
Pics below: 1) At Thursday’s media briefing in Port Elizabeth, from left: Lubabalo Mtyanda, Freddy Ngoza, Charl Crous ( Southern Kings CEO), CJ Velleman and Justin Forwood. 2) The Southern Kings’ home & away kits and 3) The Guinness PRO14 Trophy.
