With Rugby World Cup fever starting to mount, Lifestyle Centre is gearing up to back the Bokke – the Ballito way! Families and friends will be able to meet up to watch the Springboks in action at The Market and a number of restaurants on Eat Street for the duration of RWC 2023.

Bruce Rencken, owner of Lifestyle Centre, explains that the Rugby World Cup was extremely well- supported and attended in The Market in 2019, when Springbok games were shown live on the big screen. “The vibe was unbeatable and locals really enjoyed coming together to support the South African team in Japan,” he said. “This year, we will be extending this atmosphere into Eat Street, with the installation of a number of large screens for patrons to enjoy the rugby. This will provide a number of different venues for people to support our national team in a great environment, with a choice of outstanding food and drinks on hand.”

The opening ceremony and opening game, all Springbok games, quarter finals, semi finals and the final will be screened live on the big screen at The Market and on Eat Street, making Lifestyle Centre the first-choice venue to watch the 2023 Rugby World Cup on the North Coast.

The new screens on Eat Street will be found outside Lupa, Peron Peron, Alchemy, Robsons and SOI 55, the exciting new Thai eatery, which is currently in development to open just in time for the Rugby World Cup. Rencken explains that they want to leverage the street-scene environment to create a number of options for viewing the games over the course of the tournament. “The Market is a such a great venue to watch the rugby live on the big screen, but we need more capacity and believe that the indoor / outdoor nature of Eat Street lends itself to providing further venues for customers to enjoy the games, while also experiencing camaraderie and good vibes, together with the great selection of food and drinks on offer. Due to the careful location of the screens on Eat Street, customers will have the choice of watching the games at a number of our restaurants, while those customers who may not be interested in the rugby can still choose to dine at our other eateries that will not be affected by the games being screened.”

Of course, an added bonus is that the rugby will not be affected by load shedding, due to the back up power systems in place at Lifestyle Centre. All restaurants and eateries at The Market and Eat Street operate as per normal and screenings of the games will not be interrupted by power outages.

The following RWC 2023 games will be screened live at Lifestyle Centre:

Rencken adds that the excellent live music that customers have come to expect at The Market and Eat Street will also continue during this time. “We aim to retain our high ground of live music during this period,” he said, “with performances by the best local musicians being built around the Springbok rugby games.”

Visit www.ballitolifestylecentre.co.za/events/ for all the details of the games that will be screened, as well as weekly live music lineups at The Market and on Eat Street.

“We look forward to creating a fantastic street scene vibe and backing the Bokke – the Ballito way!” concluded Rencken. “We know they are capable of lifting the spirits of the nation and of going all the way!”