Leinster v Munster to smash attendance record as ‘incredible rivalry’ resumes at Croke Park
Croke Park during a Leinster Champions Cup match.
Over 80,000 supporters will grace Croke Park in a record-breaking attendance for the United Rugby Championship (URC) clash between Leinster and Munster on Saturday.
The turnout is set to smash the previous league record of 68,262 that attended the Judgement Day Welsh double header at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium back in 2016.
It’s an incredible achievement from Leinster and Munster supporters, but not overly surprising as these teams played in front of 82,208 in a 2009 European Cup fixture.
Previous individual game record
Judgement Day obviously provides two games but the highest figure for an individual match was 56,344 for the 2023 URC final in Cape Town, where Munster prevailed.
As for a regular season fixture, the previous best number was the 50,026 who attended the derby clash between the Bulls and Stormers at Loftus Versfeld in March this year.
The addition of the top four South African teams has seen a number of bumper crowds enjoy URC matches, with 50,388 watching this year’s grand final between the Bulls and Glasgow Warriors at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, while 47,261 attended the Stormers defeat Connacht in the 2023 semi-final showdown at DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
There has also been crowds of 44,106, 41,205, 39,925 and 37,246 for South African derbies over the last year or so but nothing close to this weekend’s URC turnout.
Looking ahead to what will be an incredible occasion, Leinster forwards coach Robyn McBryde admits that “it’s a big one” and he is excited by the magnitude of the fixture.
“The nature of this one focuses the mind straight away, with more than 75,000 tickets sold already,” he said.
“The internationals are now back. It’s a big one on Saturday. Croke Park is a great stage.”
The former Wales hooker added: “My experience is the form book goes out of the window in derbies. It’s all about winning on the day.
“You are not there to play pretty stuff. There is possibly a little bit more blood and thunder around the approach and we know there is plenty of blood of thunder about Munster.
“You can turn your season around just by having a great win over your local rivals. The nature of Munster and the threats they pose, that focuses the mind. It’s one we look forward to, but you’ve got 15 proud Munstermen in opposition, so we are going to have to be at our best.”
Munster head coach Graham Rowntree added that he quickly became aware of the rivalry between the two giants and is looking forward to another chapter in Dublin.
“You don’t get the rivalry between Munster and Leinster until you are stuck in the middle of it. For over 75,000 people to want to attend a club game that isn’t even a play-off just shows how incredible that competition is between us and Leinster,” he said.
“There is an intense, but respectful rivalry there and they are a great team. Our recent history against Leinster would have shown how class these games have been and certainly, from what I am seeing and hearing from the group, I am expecting a huge performance on Saturday.”
Previous highest league attendances
68,262 – Judgement Day (April 2016)
62,338 – Judgement Day (April 2018)
60,642 – Judgement Day (April 2017)
56,344 – Stormers v Munster (Final, May 2023)
52,762 – Judgement Day (April 2015)
51,297 – Judgement Day (April 2019)
50,388 – Bulls v Glasgow Warriors (Final, June 2024)
50,026 – Bulls v Stormers (March, 2024)
47,261 – Stormers v Connacht (Semi-final, May 2023)
47,125 – Glasgow Warriors v Leinster (Final, May 2019)
46,092 – Leinster v Scarlets (Final, May 2018)
44,558 – Munster v Scarlets (Final, May 2017)
44,106 – Stormers v Bulls (Quarter-final, May 2023)
41,205 – Bulls v Stormers (Feb 2023)
41,139 – Judgement Day (April 2023)
39,925 – Stormers v Bulls (Dec 2023)
37,904 – Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors (Jan 2024)
37,246 – Stormers v Sharks (Jan 2024)
36,174 – Judgement Day (March 2013)
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