ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham has expressed his disappointment after a shocker crowd at their Super Rugby quarter-final against the Hurricanes at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.
In the Brumbies fifth consecutive finals campaign just 9771 fans rolled out to see co-captain Christian Lealiifano's incredible comeback less than a year after being diagnosed with cancer.
![ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham was left disappointed with a poor Canberra crowd for Friday's quarter-final.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170728150417im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/h/q/j/b/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxh8x3.png/1500890392523.jpg)
The game marked Larkham's final at the Brumbies helm before he moves into a full-time Wallabies assistant role.
When asked about the turnout, the Brumbies great couldn't hide his disappointment.
"Yeah I was [disappointed]. Partly for Christian but partly for the team, we're trying to get into this community and be part of this community and you certainly appreciate support on big nights like that," Larkham said.
"We had more turn up this year than last year but it would have been nice to see more people come out and appreciate the effort that has gone into this season and not just Christian's effort but the whole team."
Australia lost all 26 Trans-Tasman games this season which fans cited, along with cold weather, for staying at home, but Larkham said chilly conditions are part and parcel of winter sports.
"I think winning is very important to crowd numbers but the weather plays a part and the Super Rugby competition has changed over the years," Larkham said.
"Super 12 finished up in May so the last couple of games were cold, but now it's now June, July, August and temperatures do get cold out there, but that's all part of the appeal.
"Rugby is a winter sport, come out and rug up and enjoy the underdog status that we had and come watch us try and win."
Spectators have also asked for more family-friendly and warmer kick-off times but Larkham said that is unlikely to change anytime soon.
"We've been asking for afternoon games since forever, but it's all controlled by Fox Sports and their best ratings slots which is 7:30pm Saturday night. We get a little bit of say but not as much as we'd like," Larkham said.
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