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Canterbury Rugby Union is not taking its residency at One NZ Stadium lightly, despite the intense popularity the new enclosed venue has enjoyed since it opened in April. Over the past four months, the Crusaders, Warriors and All Blacks have all enjoyed sellout crowds at the Christchurch stadium, whichhas a capacity of 25,000-30,000. “We’re quite mindful of the fact that we were probably fourth in line. We were acutely aware that there was potential for stadium fatigue, and although we believed that our pricing structure was appealing, we also knew that we still had to put on a show,” says Valentine Tauamiti, Canterbury Rugby’s general manager of stadium strategy. The red and blacks have thoughtfully themed each home game to encourage the crowds to continue. Tonight they take on Northland in the Hilux NPC, a match that will double as a Ranfurly Shield challenge. The match is dubbed “Scrum & Bass”, with DJ Fairbrother providing the halftime and post-match entertainment. “We’ve tried to think about who a Thursday night game would appeal to. And so, we’ve gone after our student population, graduates and after-work drinks crews, sort of workplace social clubs in the city,” Tauamiti said. “Just to show that we are willing to be adaptable and be innovative and a bit fun, you know, instead of just sitting back and expecting the crowds to come.” The competition’s opening round was named “Homecoming” due to it being the first match Canterbury played at the stadium, and it included a hīkoi from the union’s spiritual home of Lancaster Park. It featured representatives of every club in Canterbury as well as live music from Shapeshifter – part of an intended “flat-warming” vibe. Canterbury travelled to Dunedin in round two and returned with the Ranfurly Shield, having wrested it from defenders Otago. The third round and first shield defence was against Bay of Plenty and was themed “Club Round”, which included a parade of every club’s flag and a race to find Canterbury’s fastest club player. “I think we must have ended up with close to 20 clubs in the end and Marist Albion managed to come out on top. He [Ben Hanrahan] was lightning quick. He came out of nowhere after about 40 metres,” Tauamiti said. “We wanted our clubs to walk in there and our young, especially our junior players, and really feel a sense of pride of being in there. For them to see, ‘oh yeah, the stadium does belong to us. This is our pitch’.” Upcoming promotions include the Cultural Round (against Wellington) and Rural Round (against Southland). Turning each game into a celebration has so far resulted in solid crowd numbers between 16,000-19,000. “We’re definitely punching up, aiming towards 20,000 for the last two matches. We know there’s naturally going to be a dip for a Thursday night match, but we’re hopeful we’ll get to that 10,000 mark.” NPC attendance figures increased by 9.5% across the competition in 2025 and they’re trending sharply upwards so far in 2026. New Zealand Rugby (NZR) reported a huge lift at the beginning of the competition as it celebrates 50 years of the NPC. “More than 70,000 fans have passed through the gates across the opening two rounds, with every provincial union hosting a home match. That represents an increase of more than 79% compared with the first two rounds of the 2025 competition,” an article published by NZR read. The Warriors remain New Zealand’s hottest ticket, but the NPC numbers compare well with the game’s biggest rival. Canterbury’s shield defence against Bay of Plenty drew a crowd of 19,000 on a Saturday afternoon – more than the 16,768 who turned up to watch a top-of-the-table NRL clash between the Penrith Panthers and the Sydney Roosters at CommBank Stadium in Sydney last Thursday night. While the pulling power of One NZ Stadium and its roof have certainly played their part, so has the initiative shown by the Canterbury Rugby Union. “I just think New Zealand rugby and rugby in general has a challenge around remaining relevant and making sure that we’re still appealing and selling a full afternoon or evening of entertainment, not just one match,” Tauamiti said. Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.