Shrinking crowds put pressure on Wallabies to perform
Smallest test crowd in Australia this century of 14,281 watch team scrape home against Argentina
The Wallabies have lost just one game in 11 tests and are unbeaten at home this season but fans are losing interest and staying away.
The smallest test crowd in Australia this century of 14,281 watched the team scrape home 32-25 over Argentina on the Gold Coast on Saturday after a below-average crowd saw them play South Africa in Perth the previous week.
That means sports like ours have an absolute obligation to find that sweet spot, that sweet intersection of winning and entertaining
Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium was also only half-full when 27,189 people turned out to watch them face France in June.
The NSW Waratahs may have broken the attendance record for a Super Rugby final against the Crusaders on August 2 with 61,823, but there were only 6,000 more spectators at the same Sydney venue for the opening Bledisloe Cup test against the All Blacks two weeks later.
The Sydney Morning Herald believes the crunch moment appears to have come in Auckland.
“Australia denied New Zealand their place in the history books with a 12-12 draw in Sydney, the best any country has managed against the All Blacks since 2011,” it said on Monday.
“But when they collapsed under the pressure of a hurting All Blacks at Eden Park, fans threw up their hands.