Stormers fizzle on red letter day, but Cape Town smiles on its way to becoming SA's rugby mecca

At the Cape Town Stadium

Understandably, the Cape Town Stadium pitch came under significant criticism, even from the respective coaches at the end of the United Rugby Championship.

The groundskeepers must have been chuffed with the fact that Saturday's final between the Stormers and Munster could be the stadium's last game for a while as the surface is set to undergo a much needed renewal.

The turf, in some parts, was turned into a sandy garden that would make soccer teams feel ill, but that's the price paid for shared tenancy between soccer and rugby teams at a big venue.

In what has been a magical month at the stadium that certainly solidified the city's status as the capital of South African rugby, one more match-day on a weather-beaten and battered surface wasn't going to be too onerous. 

Once Western Province took the anchor tenancy of this ground, there was only going to be one winner: Rugby, even though the Stormers were on the losing side on Saturday.

MATCH REPORT | Stormers' URC dreams shattered as 56 000 at Cape Town stadium stunned by Munster

And indeed, it's rugby, since the 2010 World Cup, that has consistently drawn fans to this ground in numbers that football can only dream of (even if Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates are in town).

And, after the final that brought in 56 344 fans of all colours and creeds, Loftus Versfeld, Ellis Park, and Kings Park have a battle on their hands.

Yes, public transport access becomes a serious issue for local stadiums and the traffic, as with most major sporting venues, was chock-a-block, but not headache-inducing.

This, and a food stand selling boerewors rolls at R50, were probably the most minor of issues at a precinct where the public concourse inside and out was so festive -