URC final ticket chaos: WP apologises as 'hundreds' are left without seats due to overbooking

The Stormers' deflating defeat in this past weekend's United Rugby Championship (URC) final has been further dogged by numerous complaints that Western Province Rugby and its ticketing partner, Ticketpro, overbooked the showpiece match at the Cape Town Stadium.

WP Rugby on Monday confirmed that it was "aware of a small number of double bookings" and offered an apology to "those negatively impacted".

However, there is mounting evidence that the problem is potentially being underplayed.

Eugene Myburgh, a News24 reader who attended the final, alleges that "hundreds" of people were left without seats due to Ticketpro's botched management.

In fact, according to Myburgh, the seats in his row at the stadium were triple-booked and, disconcertingly, none of the people who laid claim to that seating had illegitimate tickets for the match.

A Facebook post from Ticketpro imploring fans not to purchase tickets from third-party vendors also turned into a melting pot for fans' frustration as 27 people commented on experiencing the exact same issue as Myburgh.

At least four individuals had double bookings for seven or more tickets, with one woman pointing out that their seating - like Myburgh's - had been allocated on two further occasions, meaning that at one stage at least 21 people were vying for the same seats.

Some fans even missed kick-off as they sought to clarify and resolve their respective issues at the stadium, with Myburgh saying that the on-site manager was so overwhelmed that he "locked himself in an office once answers were demanded".

In a statement released by Cape Town Stadium on behalf of WP Rugby, the union gave the assurance that "steps are being taken by Ticketpro to resolve these issues".

"All issues are being individually