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it apart from all other rugby stadiums in South

Africa and around the world. That ‘something’

is indefinable but very tangible to any rugby

supporter who has ever watched a match there

and any rugby player who has ever had the

I use the word supporter deliberately because a

fan is someone who follows any sport depending on

the current success of their team. Newlands and

Western Province Rugby have supporters who stick

with them through thick and thin, successful times

and frustratingly unsuccessful times. No matter what

the weather, the Western Province supporters

support their team. No other rugby team in the world

can possibly have followers so dedicated that in

freezing cold or howling rain or both, they will still be

I’ve often wondered whether the fans give

Newlands that unique quality or whether it has that

unique quality because of the fans? The fans

change over the years so it can’t be them? The

stadium has developed over the years so it can’t be

Whatever the case Western Province and

Stormers rugby is the Manchester United of world

rugby. It is the most

supported rugby franchise

in the world and the envy

of all other rugby

organisations. Since the

inception of Super Rugby,

Newlands has consistently

enjoyed the largest

crowds. The Stormers haven’t performed too well in

recent years, yet our fans still pitch up and pay up to

watch every game. No wonder all rugby players love

But what is it that makes Newlands so special?

Being in the most beautiful city in the world must

help but there’s more to it than that. After all, you’ve

got to be fairly high up in the Railway Stand to even

Not only is Newlands the oldest rugby stadium in

South Africa, it is the third oldest in the world! And

maybe that has something to do with it? The first

official matches were played at Newlands on

Saturday 31 May 1890! It was between Villager and

Stellenbosch and apparently was so muddy the

curtain-raiser between Bishops and Hamiltons had

Maybe it has something to do with the restricted

area in which it has had to grow organically, making

use of every nook-and-cranny resulting in stairways

and passages of odd shapes and dimensions that

slow all access to a python-dance-like shuffle. This

has also always meant that the spectators are

closer to the playing field than most other grounds.

In the late 70s I remember many games with friends

from UCT chatting to their mates who made the

Province team while they were playing! The old

standing room at the bottom of the railway stand

Maybe it’s the legends who have played there.

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Cover: Geissorhiza, Dr Bruce Stevens

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Visser, both Burger families, Tiaan Strauss and

Tommy Loubscher,  to name just a very few of the

illustrious names that have graced Newlands and

spectators with some of the best rugby the world

At 32 times, Western Province have won the

Currie Cup more than any other province (although,

to be fair, the Bulls are inexorably catching up). 

Maybe that fills us with a superior air, but that’s not

Maybe it is the real rail carriages under the railway

stand that act as hospitality suites. Possibly it’s the

neighbouring brewery which, when the time of day

and wind direction are both right, envelops the

whole ground in a yeasty-hopsy smell that makes

every beer taste a whole lot better!  Really! They

say taste is 90% about smell and that warm smell

Maybe it’s because it doesn’t have a sponsor’s

name as a prefix (although it did for a while) and for

that we can all thank current sponsor Investec for

It could be the unique crowd at Newlands that

reflects our Rainbow Province, and means you

could sit between someone from Bishopscourt or

Bishop Lavis and chances are both will be

knowledgeable rugby followers and you’ll be trading

high-fives whenever Province,

the Stormers or The Boks score. 

We’ll cheer together and boo and

give the bird to any opposition

player who gets dirty – and we’re

not talking about with mud.

Sometimes, if the opposition

team is being particularly bad

we’ll even boo their kicker when he takes a shot at

What is impossible to convince anyone else of... is

the fact that the booing is good-natured! I know it

sounds crazy but it’s not the murderous chuck-a-

naartjie-wanna-hurt-you booing that happens at

other rugby grounds around South Africa and the

world. It really is meant in fun and to perhaps unite

the spectators in passion for their team. I don’t

Speaking of the Boks, where does the press get

off always saying the Boks don’t have a good record

at Newlands? Since readmission from sporting

isolation we have played 20 matches at Newlands

and won 14! That’s not too shabby on any

It’s definitely not the poor excuse of a big screen

the Union subjects its supporters to year after year.

When will they install something that more closely

The fast-food vendors are definitely part of it. The

sizzling smell of boerewors and fried onions will get

the gastric juices of even the most diet-conscious

It could be any of these things, all of them, or

none of them. Whatever it is, I still get a buzz of

excited anticipation every time I go to Newlands to

watch a match. I let the little boy in me loose, and

cheer and scream along with the other 47 999 fellow

Whatever it is about Newlands... I love it!!

“Understanding of our fellow human

beings...becomes fruitful only when

it is sustained by sympathetic

Albert Einstein