Tickets for Autumn Internationals - Disgraceful!

Third_Echelon

Not sure if it has been posted yet...

Just seen on the IRFU website the price of the Autumn Internationals.... €100 is the cheapest ticket for the games against NZ and SA. 90 against Argentina and 50 against Samoa... AND you have to buy 4 ticket in a pack for €340!

Complete joke. I know there is a new stadium to pay for, but a 20 to 30 euro jump in price for the cheapest ticket is a disgrace...

I can't see too many people forking out €340.

I might consider it if they split the packs into perhaps NZ/Samoa and SA/ARG...

http://www.irishrugby.ie/12644_898.php


South Africa 100
New Zealand 100
Argentina 90
Samoa 50

Package Price 340

ShaneIRL

Third_Echelon wrote: »

Not sure if it has been posted yet...

Just seen on the IRFU website the price of the Autumn Internationals.... €100 is the cheapest ticket for the games against NZ and SA. 90 against Argentina and 50 against Samoa... AND you have to buy 4 ticket in a pack for €340!

Complete joke. I know there is a new stadium to pay for, but a 20 to 30 euro jump in price for the cheapest ticket is a disgrace...

I can't see too many people forking out €340.

I might consider it if they split the packs into perhaps NZ/Samoa and SA/ARG...

http://www.irishrugby.ie/12644_898.php


South Africa 100
New Zealand 100
Argentina 90
Samoa 50

Package Price 340

That is a complete disgrace :eek:. The least they could have done was put say SA and Argentina together and NZ and Samoa or something of the likes. I for one wont be attending unless I can pass as a school boy :rolleyes:

thomond2006

Why don't we use this thread to voice our opinions on this and then e-mail a link to the IRFU. It won't change anything but at least our grievances are on the record.

I am a student who couldn't find paid work during the summer so this completely alienates me from internationals. I really thought the ovr the top prices era at Croker was over and €60-€70 would be the general price.

€100 for a ticket, at least €50 for a return train to Limerick and food and drink all add up to nearly €200 and that's not inculding accomodation if needed. Too much for 80 minutes of rugby. The quality of the stadium is irrevelant.

Bar the Leinster vs Munster ML fixture this year, I don't think I'll be seeing much of the Aviva. Gutted I am.

I feel sorry for the players and coaches at grassroots who actively contribute to this game. They have been truly shafted.

The IRFU has forgotten that Ireland is our team, not theirs. Let the prawn sandwich era begin.

mrboswell

My guess is that they are setting the the price slightly higher than they think they will get away with - just as the FAI have done (resulting in a partially full stadium). If people can't afford it they will obviously have to drop the prices.

PS IRFU pay the wages so it is their team and they will do what they want.

the_big_kahuna

absolutely shocking at that price. :eek: Was really wanting to go to the NZ game and would have gone with a pack had it been a decent price.

It was bad enough last year at €75 each if I remember correctly.

Definately not paying €100 for a ticket though :mad:

Baxtards! :mad:

molloyjh

It is nothing less than a total disgrace. €100 plus to see a game of rugby is scandalous and completely alienates a huge percentage (probably the majority) of true rugby fans in the country. My dad and his brothers have been following Irish rugby for decades, some of them currently train school levels. The amount of time and money they have spent supporting Irish rugby over the years is incredible and that doesn't even go into their provincial support. They are not going to be able to go to the home games now. FFS it would be better value to fly over to Scotland and watch the game in Murrayfield in Feb than go to a single game down the road.

Dermotsull13

And its €100 a game for both the 6 nations games!!! I thought that the prices would come down once they had left Croker and not sky rocket like this

siltirocker

That is ridiculous. To pay that amount of money for game of rugby is just ludicrous. Looks like it'll be the same for the 6 Nations too.

Btw Prices will not go down till next summer-they never do as it is seen as unfair to the punters who've already purchased tickets at said prices. The only hope is that they throw out cheaper individuals just before the matches.

youcancallmeal

€340 will get you a subscription to Sky Sports for a year. I know what I'd rather spend my money on!

sickpuppy

90 euro to watch ireland argentina get real 100 to watch the all blacks hand us our arses what planet are these goons living on.

Call me an ungenuine fan but no way am i paying over 1euro a minute to watch ireland kick the ball away.

Factor in travel food a few drinks and accom for anyone not living in dublin and it prices many supporters out.

Small clubs might suffer as revenues from ticket sales will surely be down
whoever priced these id like to kick them in the bollix repeatedly

Legion2008

Well, what did we expect, it's supply and demand. At Croke Park there were 82K seats and apart from 6 nations games against Italy and prehaps Scotland there was sufficient demand to fill the stadium for the 4 years it was in use, move down to a much smaller stadium and the 82K people won't fit .... therefore the demand is there but the supply is scarce, hence the price increase.

In general we are a very expensive country to watch sport, take for example the Leinster v Munster game, ticket prices are from 30 to 70 euro, Saracens v Leinster is in Wembley and those ticket prices are from 10 to 44 pounds

Dermotsull13

The thing is they know that they'll probably fill the place for the 2 big ones regardless of price... its just the way this country is...

Legion2008

siltirocker wrote: »

That is ridiculous. To pay that amount of money for game of rugby is just ludicrous. Looks like it'll be the same for the 6 Nations too.

Btw Prices will not go down till next summer-they never do as it is seen as unfair to the punters who've already purchased tickets at said prices. The only hope is that they throw out cheaper individuals just before the matches.

I'd be willing to bet there'll be a pack for Somoa and Argentina tickets as I reckon these won't have the same amount of visiting supporters attending ... they'll still charge 140 for the pair though .... don't expect cheaper. These will most likely be individual tickets as well so if you were going with somebody there'd be no guarantee of you even being on the same stand !!!!

buck65

As far as I recall neither of the AIs in Croker sold out last year. i certainly remember a half full Hill16 against the Springboks.

BTW if anyone wants to go halves/thirds on a ticket send me a pm. NZ game for me though!!

danthefan

No way I'll be paying that money, shame because I love watching Ireland play and I haven't missed a game for a while but €100 is too much.

toomevara

The good news is RTE are broadcasting all four AI's......

http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2010/0818/ireland.html

louthandproud

toomevara wrote: »

The good news is RTE are broadcasting all four AI's......

http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2010/0818/ireland.html

That's where I'll be watching it!

Having missed 2 home games in 10 years up to not including this year when I was away I can safely say I won't be going again.

Didn't the IRFU state that the rise in price for tickets when the move to Croke Park happened due to GAA charges would be revised/reversed once they moved back to HQ.

Why was this stadium built again? Less people at games than Croker and higher ticket prices! Not really what you would call a sound business decision.

Paparazzo

90 to watch Argentina is a disgrace. The scary thing is, they'll probably sell out. I laughed at the FAI ticket prices for the Man-u game and they sold out. People in Ireland seem to pay any price for tickets. I'd rather use the money for an away Leinster game and have a few days on the beer thrown in.

CatFromHue

i can see the 6 nations games selling out.

if people were willing to pay 80euro for wales and scotland in croker then they'll pay 100 for england and france in the aviva.

next year though i wonder if they'll keep the price up

not so sure about the autumn internationals, having to buy all 4 tickets wuld really put you off let alone the price of them.

below is copied from irish rugby .ie

Guinness Series Package Premium Stand Schools
South Africa 125 100 40
New Zealand 125 100 40
Argentina 115 90 35
Samoa 60 50 20
Package Price 425 340 135

even the schools tickets are too expensive!!

another thing to think about is the price for the opposition fans, they dont get special rates they have to pay full whack or more if they buy through an agency i.e. a kiwi coming up for the tour will more than likely have tickets arranged via an agency or via the nz supporters trust.

2smiggy

absolutely shocking.

just don't go. not many other countries would put up with these prices, so why should we here. if people continue to pay these sort of prices, they will continue to see how much more they can increase them.


see how they like their fancy new stadium half empty with no atmosphere.

thomond2006

All this anger, time for a facebook group.

subfreq

It really is disgraceful. Not only are they ripping us off but they are totally alienating people on lower incomes from being involved and getting a chance to watch the national team.

CatFromHue

CatFromHue wrote: »

another thing to think about is the price for the opposition fans, they dont get special rates they have to pay full whack or more if they buy through an agency i.e. a kiwi coming up for the tour will more than likely have tickets arranged via an agency or via the nz supporters trust.

Heh, didnt think of that. €100 is around $180NZ. When I was in New Zealand last year there were tickets on sale for the trinations for around $40, between the best sides in the world. Go figure.

CatFromHue

Deleted User wrote: »

Heh, didnt think of that. €100 is around $180NZ. When I was in New Zealand last year there were tickets on sale for the trinations for around $40, between the best sides in the world. Go figure.

unfortuneatly the nz supporters club dont do a conversion like that. i think for the last nz v ireland game in croker the tickets through the supporters club were more 220 kiwi dollars, in comparison to 70 and 80 or so for the wales and scotland games.

in effect there is a problem here that if nz are coming up to these islands and playing a few games. the tourists have plenty of reasons to just skip the irish leg of the trip altogether.

chris85

i feel an email to IRFU to at least show the outrage at this. Also it would be great if one of the big supporters clubs came out and voiced their anger at the prices.

mrboswell

If you want to make a statement to the IRFU there isn't one clearer than to boycott the games and watch them on tv...

Watch the ticket prices fall!

twinytwo

the only way to sort it is a complete boycott... no chance of that happening though

Trotter

No way I can afford that. RTÉ it is. I'm gutted. At that price I won't see the inside of Landsdowne for a long long time.

icdg

The real killer isn't that its €100 per match. In fact it averages out at €85 per match. The killer is having to pay €340 in one go to see all four of them. This is not only unfair to those who can't make one match (for example I'm away for the South Africa game, family occassion) but still have to pay for a ticket for it anyway.

If the tickets were priced seperately, at least those on lower incomes might be able to go to the Samoa match, which nominally is priced at €50 (just as people could see the Fiji match at a cheaper price last year). But at €340 in one go, only those with very deep pockets will be able to afford it.

danthefan

Trotter wrote: »

No way I can afford that. RTÉ it is. I'm gutted. At that price I won't see the inside of Landsdowne for a long long time.

Leinster v Munster in October, lot less than €100.

icdg wrote: »

The real killer isn't that its €100 per match. In fact it averages out at €85 per match. The killer is having to pay €340 in one go to see all four of them. This is not only unfair to those who can't make one match (for example I'm away for the South Africa game, family occassion) but still have to pay for a ticket for it anyway.

You could try to sell the SA ticket on.

duckysauce

a couple of kiwi mates at work paid 150€( one ticket) for the all blacks match through the newzealand rfu :eek:

roashter

RTE it is so.

Just as well the games are not exclusive to sky, or there would be an even bigger outrage.

duckysauce

duckysauce wrote: »

a couple of kiwi mates at work paid 150€( one ticket) for the all blacks match through the newzealand rfu :eek:

I thought the IRB were clamping down on gouging... /snigger

MrDerp

Never before been to this board. Just checked it out to see what you all thought of the ticket prices.

It's an absolute joke. There definitely needs to be more uproar on this.

I've emailed George Hook via therighthook@newstalk.ie asking him to get the IRFU on the line. Maybe if everyone here should follow suit it might get him drummed up on it. If it got a mention on air today or tomorrow (when he does his sports segment anyway), if someone had a facebook group set up it could be broadcast on air to try and get a group together to show our disgust at the ticket prices.

I mean, I checked Scottish rugby's website yesterday and you can go to Scotland V South Africa for half the price of Ireland V Scotland.

I've been going to every match I can via supporters club tickets for the last 3 years. I even paid 115 for a premium ticket against Argentina at one point. For the first 2 years I was given crappy corner seats (so called Hogan upper). Following that I went for Hogan premium last year and got corner seats again (directly one tier down in fact), at the back with restricted views anytime you stood up to see past the people in front for a try. All this after paying 50 euro every year for the right to maybe buy tickets.

Typical of the disdain the IRFU have for the average fan.

Twin-go

This pricing is going to cause a lot of problems for junior clubs.

If junior clubs take their alocation from the IRFU they have to pay up front. If they don't manage to sell all their tickets they take the hit. For example. If the club request and receive 50 stand packages for the AI thats €17,000. Substancial amount for a junior club to be paying. 5 of this 50 could go to club sponsors. 35 could be taken by club members and the club could be left with 10 packages to the value of €3400. Now they can give these back to the IRFU and get most of the money back but, next time they look for tickets their alocation will be reduced by the IRFU. This will lead to less tickets for members and sponsors for future games.

Clubs will be taking the hit for the unsold tickets to keep up their alocation. They will find it very hard to keep afloat.

The IRFU will be saying the games are sold out. Game is in a healthy state etc etc.

We need to force the hand of the IRFU (and FAI) and demand that prices are brought in line with that of the UK and the rest of europe.

/rant

DW74

I agree with most of the comments, but as the IRFU have massive wages and want to milk as much as they can while they can it is no surprise. The novelty of the stadium will be gone next season and with the strenght of Irish rugby on the wane they might reduce them over time.

But if the punters did what our Scottish rugby friends did few years ago and boycotted attending Murrayfield due to rip off ticket prices the Union would get the message. However, as we seem to be a country of following sheep the Union will get away with this rip off.
The stadium should have been on the old Glass Bottle site and saved us all hundreds of millions but that is another story......

Wheeker

icdg wrote: »

The real killer isn't that its €100 per match. In fact it averages out at €85 per match. The killer is having to pay €340 in one go to see all four of them. This is not only unfair to those who can't make one match (for example I'm away for the South Africa game, family occassion) but still have to pay for a ticket for it anyway.

If the tickets were priced seperately, at least those on lower incomes might be able to go to the Samoa match, which nominally is priced at €50 (just as people could see the Fiji match at a cheaper price last year). But at €340 in one go, only those with very deep pockets will be able to afford it.

Exactly! I think this is the real issue here, as well as ticket prices going up from €80 to €100, you HAVE to buy tickets for ALL four Autumn Series matches together: €340! Also, you HAVE to buy both tickets for the home 6 nations games: €200!

What was wrong with the previous system where they would only link TWO matches in a package e.g. S.Africa & Argentina and New Zealand & Samoa. That would at least be easier to swallow.

I haven't missed an Ireland home match in about 10 years, but there is no way I can afford (or justify) €340 in a recession! As icdg says I also can't make the S.Africa match due to commitments, so looks like I'll be watching all matches on TV from now on!:(

duffman13

That is absolutely crazy the prices for the soccer internationals came down by a fiver. They were 45 for friendlies and are now 40. I sit in the cheap seats so dunno the change in price at the lower tiers. I would have thought that the IRFU tickets would have been cheaper because they have apparently been much more succesful in shifting the premium level tickets than the FAI.

One word for it, DISGRACE!!!

MrDerp

DW74 wrote: »

I agree with most of the comments, but as the IRFU have massive wages and want to milk as much as they can while they can it is no surprise. The novelty of the stadium will be gone next season and with the strenght of Irish rugby on the wane they might reduce them over time.

But if the punters did what our Scottish rugby friends did few years ago and boycotted attending Murrayfield due to rip off ticket prices the Union would get the message. However, as we seem to be a country of following sheep the Union will get away with this rip off.
The stadium should have been on the old Glass Bottle site and saved us all hundreds of millions but that is another story......

I agree, a boycott would be ideal, but I don't think it'd be easily organised in Ireland, they'll probably still come close to selling out.

What I think might really get their notice, however, would be a new jersey boycott for the upcoming series and christmas. Get a large facebook group together, pledging not to buy any jerseys or assorted merchandising for kids at christmas (you can get them a munster/leinster shirt instead).

Get the group up and running, state the aim is to get an IRFU pledge to stop the gouging, and contact Puma's PR department to tell them about it.

Hit the ****ers in the pocket in an effective manner. If I'd a kid, I could certainly explain why he/she isn't getting a jersey for chirstmas, but I wouldn't deprive them of an outing to see the team.

handsomecake

the worst thing is is that it will sell out(for the big ones).another thing that annoys me is that the tickets dont go on sale via ticket master,so it is essentially a closed shop. even being a member of the irfu supporters club does not guarantee you a ticket.some people will say that the fact they give the tickets to the clubs is a fair way,but i was a member of a club for 13 years and the tickets never filtered down to the people/players in the club.all the admin/managers/executive board kept them.how do you expect to grow the game in the country if its 100 euro to see a match?how is joe average supposed to afford this.this is why the game is essentially "elitist" here.i can go on the rfu ,wru and scottish webistes and buy tickets for twickenham,millenium and murrayfield respectively(which i have done in the past in order to see the allblacks) for any match.

the bundesliege in germany has packed houses every week,with tickets 5 euro for some matches to encourage young people to turn up( they are the future of the game ).

they have completely alienated working class people in my opinion and by having to buy the tickets in packages they condemn the aviva to being half empty for lesser matches.you might not notice it this year because i think the novelty of seeing the new stadium will mean people will turn up to watch samoa et al.but over time you will have a full house for sa,nz and then the tickets for fiji,italy etc will be passed around like currency as johnny range rover cant be bothered with the minnows.dont mean to offend but its the truth.



the crazy thing is though as an aside,its more economical for me now to pay 150 euro to a scalper outside for the allblacks match,then it is to pay 340 for matches im not available for/dont want to see.

thebaz

duffman13 wrote: »

One word for it, DISGRACE!!!

another word is greed - the irish rugby team has been a diversion during the recession for many people , and become a game for all the people of Ireland, so Mister Browne responds by pricing the game out of the majority and back into the elite -

I for sure wont be going


at least for those going there will be no shortage of prawn sandwiches

handsomecake

https://www.eticketing.co.uk/scottishrugby/details/event.aspx?itemref=2387



SCOTLAND VS ALLBLACKS cheapest ticket £20,dearest ticket £45

under 18's £10

handsomecake

handsomecake wrote: »

SCOTLAND VS ALLBLACKS cheapest ticket £20,dearest ticket £45

under 18's £10

I saw France in the 6n and was at Scotland v Aus. The combined price was still less than a day out in Lansdowne

I-Shot-Jr

I know the country is in the ****es enough as it is for someone to feel outraged over sport however as a fan this seems to be the only cause I'd get out and picket and protest for! If only it were possible to amass a crowd large enough to physically protest the decision, maybe a bit of coverage from the media might embarrass the IRFU in front of their international counterparts if enough people were to gather in protest.

MrDerp

I-Shot-Jr wrote: »

I know the country is in the ****es enough as it is for someone to feel outraged over sport however as a fan this seems to be the only cause I'd get out and picket and protest for! If only it were possible to amass a crowd large enough to physically protest the decision, maybe a bit of coverage from the media might embarrass the IRFU in front of their international counterparts if enough people were to gather in protest.

I'd go along with a protest. Maybe organise a group, even 50 odd would do, to stand as close to the ground as we can get on match day and hold up some signs. Try and get one of the tv cameras to show it.

Pixelcraft

The problem with a boycott is the clubs have to bulk buy tickets, so while it's punishing the irfu, it's going to hurt our clubs worse.

I-Shot-Jr

Pixelcraft wrote: »

The problem with a boycott is the clubs have to bulk buy tickets, so while it's punishing the irfu, it's going to hurt our clubs worse.

Well its not so much a boycott, believe me if I weren't so broke I would go in a heart beat but the reality of it is that the prices are just too high for so many people, 100 euro is two months of food and a lot of my utilities bill, I genuinely cannot afford to spend that amount on a rugby match even though I would love to.

Blobby George

I-Shot-Jr wrote: »

100 euro is two months of food and a lot of my utilities bill,

Wut? 100 euros for two months food. Are you living on baked beans? Anyways the important point here is the complete ride Irish fans are being taken on by the IRFU in order to pay off this white elephant. Once fans get a taste of it they may not want to venture back. The calls for a return to Croker could be on the horizon. This is a national disgrace.

Blut2

I dont see the problem with this at all. From a selfish standpoint yes its not great, games will cost more to go to but thats not the end of the world. With reduced capacity demand has increased so the IRFU did the smart thing and increased prices. I'd personally prefer to pay slightly more to go to games and have the IRFU benefit from the greatly increased funding that maintaining these high ticket prices brings. Its not even a huge difference, from what I remember 6n tickets two years ago were 80e and they were 75e last year. 20euro extra is hardly breaking the bank, just have four less pints at the game.

Blut2

Blut2 wrote: »

...I remember 6n tickets two years ago were 80e and they were 75e last year. 20euro extra is hardly breaking the bank, just have four less pints at the game.

Its a 25% markup. And I dont drink at games. Whatever way you look at it, its a total ripoff.

MJ003

Blut2 wrote: »

I dont see the problem with this at all. From a selfish standpoint yes its not great, games will cost more to go to but thats not the end of the world. With reduced capacity demand has increased so the IRFU did the smart thing and increased prices. I'd personally prefer to pay slightly more to go to games and have the IRFU benefit from the greatly increased funding that maintaining these high ticket prices brings. Its not even a huge difference, from what I remember 6n tickets two years ago were 80e and they were 75e last year. 20euro extra is hardly breaking the bank, just have four less pints at the game.

There are 2 issues here: 1, the price - which I can almost understand with the banks to repay for the rebuild of the leaky stadium. But the second issue is what's getting to me the most - it's the fact that we have to buy them ALL at the one time, so it's not just €100 for the match I want to go and see for example, it's at least €340 because I have to buy 4 tickets because I'm not part of a rugby club. I'm a girl, and I don't play real rugby, just the tag kind. I love Irish rugby, always have. Will happily sacrifice other things in my life so that I can go to a match.

But in this recession, it is now not possible for me to treat my dad to one game in the new Aviva for his birthday in November, because I cannot afford €680 for 2 tickets to the Kiwis.

SCANDALOUS.