Fans stunned as planes skim metres above rugby stadium

Footage of a flyover at a rugby Test between the All Blacks and the Springboks has gone viral after spectators captured aircraft passing at what appeared to be an alarmingly low altitude above the stadium.

Fans inside the ground watched in a mixture of awe and disbelief as the planes cleared the stadium structure with what looked like only metres to spare, prompting immediate reactions on social media describing the display as "madness" and questioning whether proper safety clearances had been observed.

The flyover was staged as a ceremonial pre-match spectacle ahead of the highly anticipated Test match between New Zealand and South Africa — two of world rugby's most storied rivals. While low-level military and aerobatic flypasts are a staple of major sporting events across Australia and New Zealand, witnesses said this particular pass felt far closer than anything they had experienced before.

Videos shared online showed the aircraft descending sharply toward the venue before pulling up at the last moment, with the crowd's roar turning from anticipation into audible gasps. Several clips circulated on social platforms within minutes of the event, racking up hundreds of thousands of views.

"I've been to plenty of games and seen flypasts, but nothing like that — I genuinely thought something had gone wrong," one spectator said in footage broadcast by 9 News Australia.

Aviation authorities and event organisers had not issued a formal statement at the time of publication, though such displays are typically coordinated well in advance with civil aviation regulators and require strict approvals covering minimum permitted altitudes and approach corridors.

In Australia and New Zealand, low-level flypasts at stadiums must comply with Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Civil Aviation Authority rules respectively, which set minimum clearance heights and mandate route planning that accounts for crowd density and surrounding structures.

Whether the pass fell within approved parameters or constituted a deviation from the filed flight plan was not immediately clear. Aviation enthusiasts online were divided, with some arguing the apparent closeness was an optical illusion created by a camera's telephoto compression, while others insisted the footage spoke for itself.

The All Blacks versus Springboks fixture is one of rugby union's premier international contests, drawing sellout crowds and significant broadcast audiences across the southern hemisphere. Stadium flypasts have become an increasingly popular way to build atmosphere before such marquee events, though this one generated conversation well beyond the match result itself.