The credibility of the Wallabies and Super Rugby goes on the line in July

June 13, 2026 — 9:30am

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The crowds for the Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals will outstrip those for the equivalent fixtures in the United Rugby Championship, which were played last weekend.

Leinster v Stormers in Dublin attracted 15,346 and Glasgow’s “home” semi-final against the Bulls at Murrayfield brought in 17,981. The Leinster v Lions quarter-final a week earlier couldn’t crack 10,000, and even the official attendance in the 9000s was deemed generous by The Times correspondent Peter O’Reilly.

The URC, perhaps more so than Super Rugby, is a competition played out of necessity, but those underwhelming crowd numbers should not lead to any pleasure in this part of the world because they only tell half of a complex story.

Super Rugby’s purpose has always been partly to prepare Australian and New Zealand players for Test rugby. It is, by its own definition, a high-performance vehicle whose value is linked to the success of the Wallabies and All Blacks.........

© Brisbane Times