Out in force: The Waratahs are hoping to create a sea of blue at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night against the Crusaders.
A State of Origin-esque sea of blue, an Australian Super Rugby crowd record and the biggest take-up of corporate packages since the Manchester United exhibition match say ANZ Stadium will be the furthest thing from a ”neutral venue” when the Waratahs take on the Crusaders this Saturday.
As Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder and countless New Zealand pundits latched on to the notion the All Blacks’ 54 per cent win record at the Homebush Bay venue would take the sting out of the Waratahs’ home ground advantage this weekend, match organisers were putting the finishing touches to a plan to ensure it will do anything but.
ANZ Stadium will be turned sky blue, a ”Tah-Train” NSW Rail carriage will transport match-goers to the stadium free of charge, Cathy Freeman Park will be bathed in blue floodlight and even the Crusaders’ team hotel in the Olympic Park precinct will be cloaked in Waratahs colours.
For good measure, the Waratahs have not allocated Crusaders supporters a dedicated fan zone in the stadium, unlike last week’s semi-final against the Brumbies, where Brumby Jack was seated among Brumbies supporters.
Ticket sales were expected to reach 50,000 overnight on Wednesday, with Suncorp Stadium’s 2011 final mark of 52,000 looking vulnerable and leaving plenty of time to break the all-time Super Rugby record of 55,000.
Interest in corporate packages left stadium officals gobsmacked, with 195 of the venue’s 230 suites and boxes sold on Wednesday.
Stadium general manager of sales and sponsorship Shane Stoddard said interest from the big end of town was the biggest the stadium had seen since 2012, when tickets to Manchester United’s pre-season exhibition game went on sale.
The lure of $750 bottles of Penfold 2002 Grange Hermitage, which will be served into Riedel decanters to accompany delights including lemongrass scallops and racks of lamb with smoky eggplant, was no doubt well-targeted at the Australian rugby heartland.
But the Australian Rugby Union will also have been heartened to learn that 50 per cent of tickets sold on the first day of general sale were bought by people outside the traditional rugby communities of Sydney’s northern and eastern suburbs.
The Waratahs have won six of the 10 games they have played at ANZ Stadium, including two this season against the Brumbies and Reds.
They have played the Crusaders there only once, in 2009, when the then-reigning champions returned to Sydney to beat the Warathahs 17-13 in round six of the regular season.
A large section of their current squad, however, has travelled there with the All Blacks for annual Bledisloe Cup clashes.
The Wallabies came out on top in the 2003 World Cup semi-final, but overall the ledger favours the New Zealanders, with seven wins and six losses to the Test side on foreign soil.
Nevertheless, the Waratahs like playing at ANZ. It is a fast deck and, much as the Crusaders would prefer it otherwise, they consider it their second home.