Makos, SBW the hottest ticket [Marborough Express]
Tickets for Sunday's Tasman Makos game at Lansdowne Park are selling four times faster than normal.
Tasman Rugby chief executive Tony Lewis said his commercial department had never seen ticket sales like it, with 3500 sold at last count yesterday.
They normally sold about 900 tickets two or three days out from the game, Lewis said.
Ticket sales for the Tasman Makos clash against Counties Manukau, featuring sporting superstar Sonny Bill Williams, were tracking significantly better than for last year's semifinal in Blenheim, he said.
Fresh off a 38-10 demolition of Canterbury last weekend, the Tasman team will look to continue their hot run of form in the National Provincial Championship.
The game offers an opportunity for the high-scoring and always entertaining Makos to secure a home final in Blenheim on October 25 - should they make it through next weekend's semifinal in Nelson.
Williams' return to the competition, and New Zealand rugby, went smoothly on Wednesday night with 20 minutes off the bench for Counties Manukau against Taranaki. Counties management had not confirmed their team for Sunday at press time, but SBW looks a good bet to start in Blenheim.
"They got 8500 people on a cold Wednesday night in Auckland to a Counties game. So we should be aiming for 8500. I encourage every person from Blenheim to either pre-purchase in the next 48 hours or make sure they get to the ground early," Lewis said.
Makos players Quentin MacDonald, Jesse MacDonald and Vernon Fredricks, all from Blenheim, spent yesterday engaging in promotional activities in town and spoke about playing at home.
"It's still a big game, but it takes [the pressure] away because you know it's your home town and you know what the ground will be like," Quentin MacDonald said. "You know there is always going to be a bit of a nor' wester blowing down and you always have those little things there to help you out. It takes away the nerves."
Fredricks said he enjoyed the home-town atmosphere. "It feels like the crowd is quite close to you, you can always hear them. It's real good."
"You can always spot a face in the crowd," Jesse MacDonald added.
Those faces will be smiling wide if the Makos manage to top the Premiership table in what is the last round-robin game of the competition. If Taranaki beat Canterbury earlier in the day, the Makos will need to beat Counties Manukau by a more convincing margin
