Heineken Cup weekend draws record attendances

HEINEKEN Cup crowds last weekend were the highest on record, with almost 137,000 fans attending games in the six pools.

Tue, 31 Oct, 2006 - 00:00

Tony Leen

Six teams will resume European Cup action in December with 100% records — Perpignan, Agen, Stade Français, Biarritz, Munster and Llanelli.

The 12th Heineken Cup has gone into the autumn international break on the back of two record match attendances in Wales and Scotland — and a new tournament mark for any round of matches of 136,965. That is 8,945 more than the previous high of 128,020 figure for the Round 5 matches last season.

The Cardiff Blues’ decision to go next door to the Millennium Stadium for their Pool 4 clash with Leicester Tigers paid off handsomely with 26,645 fans enjoying the third highest attendance for a pool match.

It almost doubled the previous high for a Heineken Cup pool match in Wales, the 13,529 who watched the Ospreys beat Sale Sharks at Liberty Stadium the previous weekend in Round 1.

While the Ospreys’ Welsh mark lasted just nine days, in Scotland the 5,867 at Murrayfield who saw Edinburgh snatch the spoils from Leinster at the death beat the 5,764 who had watched Glasgow play Montferrand at Hughenden in 2001/02.

While the Blues comfortably topped the list there were six other five-figure crowds at Toulouse (18,314), Perpignan (13,450), Northampton (12,594), Munster (12,800), Stade Français (12,000) and Gloucester (10,134).

The weekend also saw three ERC Elite Awards earned. Treviso are the first Italian winners after playing their 50th tournament match and individual awards were won for making 50 Heineken Cup appearances by David Auradou, the Stade Français captain, and Girvan Dempsey of Leinster.

Top 10 pool match attendances

34,000 — Toulouse v Wasps (Rd 5 2005/06, Le Stadium, Toulouse); 33,883 — Harlequins v Munster (Rd 6 2004/05, Twickenham); 26,645 — Cardiff v Leicester (Rd 2 2006/07, Millennium Stadium); 23,463 — Leinster v Cardiff (Rd 5 2003/04, Lansdowne Road); 22,000 — Toulouse v Bath (Rd 6, 1999/00); 20,000 — Toulouse v Saracens (Rd 1, 2000/01); 19,700 — Stade Francais v Leicester (Rd 2, 2005/06, Stade Charlety); 18,184 — Toulouse v Edinburgh (Rd 6, 2003/04); 17,300 — Toulouse v Northampton (Rd 4, 2004/05); 17,138 — Toulouse v Llanelli (Rd 1, 2005/06).