The Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) festival, scheduled for the second half of the year, is once again under a cloud due to a standoff between suiteholders and the management of Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
The Loftus suiteholders want Saru and the Blue Bulls Company to reduce the price of the match packages from R5 300 and to ease the tight deadline set for payment ahead of the duel between the All Blacks and the Blue Bulls set for August 15.
The RGR is a venture between SA Rugby and New Zealand Rugby, culminating in a series of matches between the two countries’ provincial and national rugby teams. South Africa is hosting the RGR this year, which will see the All Blacks play matches against provincial sides before competing in a Test series with the Boks.
On March 6, suiteholders received communication from Stefan van der Merwe, the Blue Bulls Company chief commercial officer, regarding the RGR event wherein suite owners were offered first right to purchase tickets in their respective suites. But these demands have raised the ire of the suiteholders, who responded in a letter of their own on March 17. On Thursday, the two parties met, where the suiteholders ventilated their grievances in person.
Sunday World has seen a memo from the meeting where the group expressed their unhappiness over the lack of consultation when the August 15 match was initially planned. They believe that the Blue Bulls Company failed to take their interests into consideration.
“It seems like decisions are being imposed on us without considering the continuous loyalty we have shown to Loftus and the Blue Bulls Company.”
“Our contractual relationship with Blue Bulls remains binding, and at this stage, there is no justifiable cause for interference in pursuit of commercial interests between Saru and NZ Rugby.”
Suiteholders also claimed that on December 2, 2025, ticket sales for the Loftus match went live in New Zealand at R1 200 per ticket, while they say that they are forced to buy hospitality suite tickets at R5 300.
“We stressed that vacating the suites is no option, nor are we prepared to vacate at our expense. We made it clear that we have a number of options available to us, which could frustrate the process, which inter alia includes approaching the courts and/or not making the suites
user-friendly. However, we hope our hand won’t be forced to resort to these extreme measures,” said the representatives of the Loftus suiteholders.
As part of their demand, suite owners want to be compensated for the use of their suites if they forfeit them on match day, arguing that they are still liable to pay rent for August.
Last week, Sunday World reported on the FNB suiteholders, who were also given a two-week ultimatum to buy suite ticket packages ranging from R8 000 to R10 000 or forfeit use of their suites for the Boks and All Blacks match set for September 5.
Saru CEO Rian Oberholzer said all suite owners are subjected to the same terms and conditions since Saru had rented the venue as a clean stadium.
“People are creating an unnecessary issue here. They don’t have a right to their suites when it comes to Test matches, as that right is excluded,” said Oberholzer.
Van der Merwe had not commented by the time of going to print.
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