Rugby Union 2010

[Real ale Madrid]

340 is a ridiculous amount of money for 4 games, no matter what spin you put on it. Its also stupid to ask even the most ardent international rugby supporters from Limerick, Cork, Donegal or wherever to come up to Dublin 4 weekends in a row and spend that kind of cash on fuel / food etc

There are 2 issues -

a) the prices are too high. ( You can get a ticket for France v Australia at Le Stade for €15 )

b) asking people to buy a 4 game package is ridiculous. They should be split into 2 blocks ( SA / Arg and NZ / Samoa )

I realise that its the daytrippers that are giving out, but it hurts the genuine regular fans the most. Those prices are indefensible.

[OneRedArmy]

Bit of perspective required. Yes the current prices are too high.

But stand tickets were €70 for big games in the last Lansdowne Road and were €90 in Croker. There were cheaper terrace tickets available, when there was a terrace. Bog standard ten year seats (not premium level, effectively the same as FAI block booker except you pay upfront) were €10,000 for 5/6 games a year, 6 years ago and £5,000 twenty years ago.

The recent increases are too much IMO, but rugby has always been a pretty expensive sport to watch international games.

[jbyrne]

But stand tickets were €70 for big games in the last Lansdowne Road

the most expensive were but not all as prices were tiered dependant on the quality of the seat. in this case you could pay €100 and be on the halfway line or for the same price end up in the front row at the corner flag.
This stadium was more than 50% funded by public money and, as per other european publicly funded stadiums, a certain number of tickets should be priced at affordable prices so that all sections of the public can access a stadium that they helped fund in the first place.

I've asked a few here in work that are giving out whether they were going to pick the Argentina or Samoa games out of the four. Kinda took the wind out of their sails. When you strip it out, people aren't giving out about the prices for the Blacks and South Africa games - they are giving out about having to take the other tickets too. Big game charlies - the blight of all Irish sports.

eh, yes thay are. these matches are effectively friendlies!

the IRFU are charging these prices as they know corporate Ireland will snap them up at any price. the official line is that most of the tickets go to the clubs but most of the clubs sell a lot of them on for two or three times face value to corporates. they couldnt give a hoot about the ordinary rugby fan getting into the stadium. that is just plain wrong. as a result the stadium is filled by people just sitting there (when they finally bother to take their seats) looking to be entertained. the atmosphere these days is pure rubbish as a result

[Real ale Madrid]

Bit of perspective required. Yes the current prices are too high.

Perspective should be delivered by comparing the cost of a similar fixture in Paris! Not by comparing high prices ( croker / lansdowne ) with even higher prices. I always thought rugby tickets were a bit expensive - but at least no one was forcing me to travel for 4 weekends in a row!

[jbyrne]

but at least no one was forcing me to travel for 4 weekends in a row!

agree, its supposed to be an all-Ireland team yet how could someone from west cork or donegal or even closer justify travelling to Dublin 4 weekends in a row? would cost about €250 per match. ridiculous.

[Macy]

eh, yes thay are. these matches are effectively friendlies!

The complaints I'm hearing are about having to buy all four, not the individual prices. They're giving out that it costs effectively €340 for the All Blacks game, not about what the individual All Blacks ticket costs.

Comparisons with French ticket prices aren't really fair either - clubs fund their professionalism, not their Union.

[OneRedArmy]

eh, yes thay are. these matches are effectively friendlies!

If you think autumn test matches are a friendly, you're in the wrong thread.

Perspective should be delivered by comparing the cost of a similar fixture in Paris! Not by comparing high prices ( croker / lansdowne ) with even higher prices. I always thought rugby tickets were a bit expensive - but at least no one was forcing me to travel for 4 weekends in a row!

Nobody is forcing you to do anything. But I do agree the 4 matches, on four consecutive weekends, and making people buy them all is a bit much.

agree, its supposed to be an all-Ireland team yet how could someone from west cork or donegal or even closer justify travelling to Dublin 4 weekends in a row? would cost about €250 per match. ridiculous.

The autumn matches tend to be on consecutive weekends every year, or close to it.

[Real ale Madrid]

Comparisons with French ticket prices aren't really fair either - clubs fund their professionalism, not their Union.

Scotland v New Zealand tickets start at £20. Demand isn't the same I know as will be here but thats an incredible difference. Scotland like oursleves also rely heavily on Internationals to fund thier professional sides.

Players have taken a 30% pay-cut this season according to below article. Surely at the very least ticket prices should have stayed the same, probably even reduced. Not increased in the manner that they have.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakin...es-470046.html

[Macy]

Nothing to stop people grouping together and then splitting the tickets, if the travel was the real issue. I don't think the IRFU have much leeway with the scheduling.

[OneRedArmy]

Surely at the very least ticket prices should have stayed the same, probably even reduced.

Come on, get in the real world!!! The IRFU have an expensive stadium to fund at a time when bank loans are horrendously difficult to refinance and interest rates are only going to go up. It would be imprudent of them not to reduce debt whilst they can. Who knows how long we'll have a top 5 international team for?

If it backfires in the long-run it will be a mistake, but as long as people are willing to pay it and their is debt outstanding then its the right thing to do. And I disagree with the comment above on corporates, the corporate entertainment market in Ireland is a fraction of what it was.

There is a huge amount of revisionism at the heart of this discussion. Rightly or wrongly, to a large percentage of the audience for a given international the price is fairly immaterial. Whether you like it or not thats a fact. Rugby attracts the sheepskin coat and hipflask brigade and always has, and probably only in Limerick has it been anything other than a firmly middle class sport (until the last 5 years at least).

[Jinxy]

I think clubs can sell them as individual tickets, not as the package.

I personally don't have too much of a problem with the prices. Obviously, there are genuine supporters not involved with clubs, but there's a hell of a lot of bandwagoners as well. Fleece them while rugby is popular.

I'm sure the GAA heads in the media and especially RTE (who seperately pay to sponsor and broadcast the GAA) will take full advantage to have a pop at the "foreign games" to distract from their own ticketing price issues and criticisms this summer.

If you look hard enough I'm sure you'll find that the GAA are actually responsible for the rugby ticket prices.

[Real ale Madrid]

Come on, get in the real world!!! The IRFU have an expensive stadium to fund at a time when bank loans are horrendously difficult to refinance and interest rates are only going to go up. It would be imprudent of them not to reduce debt whilst they can. Who knows how long we'll have a top 5 international team for?

If it backfires in the long-run it will be a mistake, but as long as people are willing to pay it and their is debt outstanding then its the right thing to do. And I disagree with the comment above on corporates, the corporate entertainment market in Ireland is a fraction of what it was.

There is a huge amount of revisionism at the heart of this discussion. Rightly or wrongly, to a large percentage of the audience for a given international the price is fairly immaterial. Whether you like it or not thats a fact. Rugby attracts the sheepskin coat and hipflask brigade and always has, and probably only in Limerick has it been anything other than a firmly middle class sport (until the last 5 years at least).

Sorry ORA - while you are correct about the type of supporter rugby normally attracts, I'm not sure the IRFU is in such financial dire straights that they can charge such prices for thier games. According to the Save Irish rugby campaign The IRFU made a profit of 2m to the year ending April 09 ( 23m from ticketing ) . They sold out the 10 year tickets long ago. I appreciate the levels of debt but these pricing structures risk driving people from matches alltogether.http://www.irishrugby.ie/save/20953_the_facts.php

The IRFU should be promoting rugby as a sport for all - all they seem to be doing lately is making sure the HC stays on pay tv ( another thing which I don't agree with ) and then punishing a lot of their loyal following on ticket prices and ticket groupings.

Anyway any notions I had of attending internationals this year are finished. My Magners league season ticket ( 11 league games and 1 friendly ) would have only got me into 3 of the November internationals. The value for money isn't there with the international tickets. And I know lots of people who feel the same.

At the end of the day I suppose the point you make about the price of tickets being immaterial is the key one. If they can sell out the games - you are taking in the region of 16m in takings, so good luck to them and it will make definite financial sense - but they will lose some fans in the process I think.

[jbyrne]

If you think autumn test matches are a friendly, you're in the wrong thread.

Nobody is forcing you to do anything. But I do agree the 4 matches, on four consecutive weekends, and making people buy them all is a bit much.

The autumn matches tend to be on consecutive weekends every year, or close to it.

we have never had 4 matches in one month before. until recently it was two matches every autumn.
ive attended practically every home match since 1985 and many many away matches so i know what the threads about thanks. the autumn internationals are not wc qualification matches nor 6 nation matches. they lead to nothing whatsoever and are glorified friendlys where the recent trend by many southern hemisphere teams has been to send weakened teams

[jbyrne]

The complaints I'm hearing are about having to buy all four, not the individual prices. They're giving out that it costs effectively €340 for the All Blacks game, not about what the individual All Blacks ticket costs.

thats your experience not mine and not many others that i know that very regularly attend home and away Ireland rugby matches. tell your contacts that i will hapily take the other three matches off their hands if thay actually manage to get their hands on a package. i know many others who will also.

Comparisons with French ticket prices aren't really fair either - clubs fund their professionalism, not their Union.

id say munster and leinster are well able to substantially fund themselves given the crowds they get, sponsorship (€6m deal announced yesterday by munster) and tv money etc.

the comparison with france is a good one. they too play in a stadium largely funded by public money and such money came with a stipulation that a certain % of tickets are priced low to make the stadium accessable to all

[Fry]

id say munster and leinster are well able to substantially fund themselves given the crowds they get, sponsorship (€6m deal announced yesterday by munster) and tv money etc.

The IRFU fund the provinces to the tune of millions a year. That sponsorship is spread over three years too.

[jbyrne]

The IRFU fund the provinces to the tune of millions a year. That sponsorship is spread over three years too.

i'm sure they do but an average of 15,000 fans 15 times a year into the RDS to watch leinster play equates to about €8m excluding tv, sponsorship and corporate dinners. what would a professional Lge of Ireland team give for that kind of loot.

only €2m sponsorship a year? enough to pay 10 players €200k a year!

[Fry]

what would a professional Lge of Ireland team give for that kind of loot.

Their ground or their long term future.

[Dodge]

agree, its supposed to be an all-Ireland team yet how could someone from west cork or donegal or even closer justify travelling to Dublin 4 weekends in a row? would cost about €250 per match. ridiculous.

Are they flying by helicopter? There's no way it costs that much in "extras" for each match

[jbyrne]

Are they flying by helicopter? There's no way it costs that much in "extras" for each match

say travelling from cork or similar... ticket €100, train €60, food €30. other bits and pieces would add up to a bit. ok, maybe not €250 but not far from it excluding an overnight

[Dodge]

Get the bus, bring a packed lunch. Save yourself 100 per trip (or the price of your ticket if you prefer...)