‘Embarrassing’: Fans slam ‘abysmal’ crowd at Pacific Championships final

Rugby league fans were fuming at an embarrassing sight at the Pacific Championships final, labelling it abysmal and pathetic.

Not a good look for an international final.

The poor crowd at the Pacific Championships final in Hamilton has been widely criticised by rugby league commentators and fans.

New Zealand defeated Australia 30-0 on Saturday in a huge upset to take home the silverware in the postseason international series.

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It was as emphatic a performance as local fans could have hoped for. The only problem was there wasn’t a lot of them to see it.

As the game got underway on Saturday afternoon, viewers immediately noticed there were more empty red seats than spectators in attendance at Hamilton’s FMG Stadium, which has a capacity of around 25,000.

The official crowd figure for the game was 13,269.

Hamilton, Waikato is located on the north island of New Zealand, a region known as a rugby union heartland.

Not a good look for an international final. Photo: Fox Sports.

Media at the ground explained that fans chose to sit on one side of the stadium to avoid looking straight into the sun. But regardless, it wasn’t a good look for an international final.

Andrew Voss said in commentary on Fox League: “Do you know what, I think there’d be some New Zealanders regretting they haven’t turned up at the stadium in Waikato to see what could be an historic afternoon.”

It was an embarrassing sight for rugby league, and fans slammed New Zealand locals and the tournament schedulers.

One fan wrote on X: “That crowd is abysmal. Where is everyone? And why would they choose to play the final in Hamilton, and not Auckland?”

A second said: “The stadium is pretty much empty…..? WTF?”

Another said: “Who’s decision was it to give Hamilton the Final? Terrible crowd, Rugby League shouldn’t be playing there again if they can’t even turn up to support their home country. Embarrassing!”

There were plenty of empty seats. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Most fans were on one side of the stadium. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

The criticism was overwhelming, with another viewer posting: “This crowd is a joke.”

Another added: “Great to see New Zealand supporting their team and an International final. Looks like there’s only a few 100 people there. Pathetic.”

All those empty seats in Hamilton… can we bring the @Kangaroos back to Sydney please??? Haven’t played NZ here since 2014. Guarantee a better crowd at Commbank. #PacificChampionships

— Adam Hawse (@AdamHawse) November 4, 2023

WHERE ARE THE FANS: Pretty ordinary crowd in Hamilton

Series was locked in late because of CBA talks, but still deserves better

Right time of year

But need smaller venues

And (gulp) need Aussies regularly beaten (to bring back interest)

— christian nicolussi (@mrchrisnico) November 4, 2023

Why. Why is this final in Hamilton. The crowd would have been way bigger if it was hosted in Auckland #PacificChampionships

— Tiffany Salmond (@tiffany_salmond) November 4, 2023

Many fans said they would have rather seen the game played at Auckland Mount Smart Stadium or in Sydney at venue like Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the game was organised and promoted by the NZRL and the NRL will take back control of all Test matches in New Zealand next year.

A week after losing to Australia, the Kiwis utterly dominated the Kangaroos in a complete performance that handed the Aussies their worst defeat ever.

It’s New Zealand’s first win over Australia since 2018.

Greg Alexander said on Fox League: “It’s an embarrassing result for Australian rugby league for the side we put on the field.”

While New Zealand turned up to play free flowing footy, the Kangaroos looked completely out of sorts, conceding 50 missed tackles and managing just four offloads.

Wingers Ronaldo Mulitalo and Jamayne Isaako did most of the damage, scoring the first three tries before Matthew Timoko and Griffin Neame sealed the victory in the second half.