Leinster’s December Heineken Champions Cup game at the Aviva Stadium has become the province’s annual marquee fixture and an invaluable financial shot in the arm. But tomorrow’s clash with Bath looks like being their lowest attendance so far for this traditional pre-Christmas date, with tickets sales pointing to a crowd of around 30,000.
This is despite Leinster not having hosted a home European game in front of supporters in almost two years, dating back to the 42-14 win over Lyon at the RDS in January 2020.
Starting with their first European fixture at the Aviva in 2010, when 44,873 turned up for the 24-8 win over Clermont en route to their second Champions Cup title, Leinster have hosted 10 pre-Christmas Champions Cup games there with an average attendance of 43,194.
Eight of those 10 have attracted 40,000-plus crowds, the highest being the 48,964 for Clermont again in 2012. Until now, the smallest has been the 38,500 crowd for the Harlequins game in 2014, meaning tomorrow’s projected attendance is set to be the lowest by some distance.
There are a number of factors at work. Rather than their opening game, normally this would have been the return fixture in the back-to-back rounds, ie Leinster’s fourth pool match, and hence with more of a build-up and more awareness of a competition that has slipped in a little under the radar. The later 5.30pm slot probably would have been more favourable than the allotted 3.15pm kick-off as well.
But most of all it’s probably just the prevailing concerns regarding large gatherings.
“We’re disappointed,” admits the Leinster CEO Mick Dawson. “But we understand the strange, Covid times we live in. Our season tickets are holding up well and I do think there’s an awareness of the match but it’s not being reflected in ticket sales so far.”
Dawson pointed out that Ticketmaster outlets will be stationed outside the ground.
Yet, on a positive slant, tomorrow’s crowd will still be considerably more than the 19,000-plus permitted at the Aviva for their seasonal opener against the Bulls and more than twice the attendance for any of their four intervening home games at the RDS since then.
Resonance
The fixture also has a certain resonance for the Leinster players.
“It’s exciting. Every time you get to go to the Aviva, it’s a bigger crowd, I think there will be about 30,000-plus there, so it is a real buzz,” says Hugo Keenan, one of those Leinster players for whom this occasion will have a novelty value.
“It obviously makes it a bit more special. The RDS is our home, and obviously it’s great to fill that out, but those Aviva days, I have never actually played one in front of a home crowd. I know I got the Bulls game but not a Champions Cup game so this is still new to me. I obviously played in that Saracens game that we lost,” says Keenan in reference to the quarter-final defeat at an empty Aviva in September last year.
“I’m not the only one in that situation as well. There are a lot of us (for whom) it will be a first, so we are looking forward to getting a good crowd out. It’s a good time on Saturday so there will be a good buzz.”
Nor will there be much in the way of a travelling support from Bath. They sit bottom of the Premiership with nine defeats in nine games, but Keenan speaks for all at Leinster when admitting their form belies their abilities for what will also be a welcome change in competition.
“You only have to look at the team sheet to see some of the individuals they have like Jonathan Joseph, Danny Cipriani and all these threats. They’re obviously a very good attacking side so we know it’s going to be a tough challenge but we’re just looking forward to getting out there.
“It’s a new competition for them as well. A fresh opportunity so I’ll say they’ll definitely be up for it.”
