THE much-anticipated Castle Tri-Nations Test match between South Africa and New Zealand this past Saturday was described as “the best test ever” in which the Springboks have played.

This according to Stephan Pretorius, CEO of Access Management (which manages the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium), who was told by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) that they have never experienced such amazing atmosphere at any test before.

“It truly is a great day for Port Elizabeth! We have shown once again that we can host any big event in our city and stadium,” Pretorius said.

Oregan Hoskins, President of SARU, told the PE Express that PE and the Test was “exceptional” and that the Springboks enjoyed the hospitality of the people immensely.

The stadium boasts a capacity crowd of 45900 at Saturday’s game the most to date at the stadium with tickets being sold out long before the game.

“This is what SARU wants to see at a test a stadium packed with supporters,” he explained.

This could mean more matches of this stature in the future, Pretorius believes.

“The Nelson Mandela Bay Sta- dium is now becoming a sought-after venue for SA Rugby. And all the publicity we received during the weekend can only be good for the upcoming Sevens Series.”

The South African Sevens will take place on December 9 and 10 at the stadium. The HSBC Sevens World Series will start in Australia on November 25 this year, with the Dubai tournament following a week later, before the third leg in Port Eli-zabeth.

Jurie Roux, the CEO of the South African Rugby Union, said: “The South African leg in Port Elizabeth is something that we’re looking forward to. We have less than four months to put everything in place, but as we’ve seen this week with the preparations for the Test, the infrastructure is in place. I’m confident we can put together a world class event yet again.”

Mandlakazi Skefile, CEO of Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) agreed and said this weekend showed that PE is ready for big rugby and that it gives the city another chance to prove its “mettle as an outstanding events and sports destination”.

“The support was beyond phenomenal as people poured into the city from all over the country our occupancy figures soared to between 98% and 100% full. This figure does not factor in people who stayed with family and friends, which also would have been very high.

“The spinoffs of such an event are huge, rippling over the whole tourism industry. Restaurants were bust-ling, transport services jetted people around, vendors made money, and with the perfect weather the vibe in the city was extraordinary,” Skefile said.

She believes the Test is a precursor of great things to come.

“The World Cup gave us the confidence we needed to start lobbying for our slice of the national events pie. Each successful event we pull off shows that we are an ideal events destination and all of our key attributes, like being the 15-minute, friendly, safe, clean and fun city we are, are helping us win the hearts of big event organisers and their supporters.”

Skefile also believes the IRB Sevens is going to be just as exciting, if not bigger.

“It will involve a lot more international tourism as people come from around the globe to support their teams. Remember the IRB Sevens is in December so we will have good weather, beaches, and a holiday vibe to complement the IRB Sevens sporting bonanza.”

In the meantime, everyone has started talking about the way in which the National Anthem was sung by the supporters on Saturday.

“It showed that everyone in PE knows the National Anthem!” Pretorius said.

Even the Springbok players tweeted about their experience in the Friendly City. John Smit, Captain of the Springboks, tweeted: “What a great week in PE. In my last home soil test, that was the most amazingly sung National Anthem and made me immensely proud to be South African!”

Bryan Habana tweeted: “Singing the National Anthem today was one of the best and proudest of my career! Well done PE! Absolutely spine-tingling.”