They may have only won one game at Eden Park but attendance figures released by the New Zealand Rugby Union show crowd numbers are up for the struggling Blues.
The figures show strong double digit increases on last year for all five New Zealand franchises after 12 rounds of Super 15 with the Chiefs and Highlanders enjoying the largest increase in crowds.
Average crowds are up about 37 per cent on 2011 while 1.9 million more people have tuned in to watch Super 15 so far this year, compared with the same period 2011.
The Chiefs, who sit on top of the New Zealand conference, have seen a 97 percent increase in attendance from their six home matches at Waikato Stadium, Bay Park Stadium and ECOLight Stadium Pukekohe. The Chiefs lost just one of those matches, a round one defeat to the Highlanders.
The new Forsyth Barr Stadium has helped attract 70 percent more fans to Highlanders' home games after a shift from the old Carisbrook ground last year. The Hurricanes (40 percent), Crusaders (13 percent) and Blues (12 percent) have also seen increases in crowds.
