Ireland Ticket Information

but the IRFU aren't broke either.

The IRFU ran a deficit of €4.2 million in their last accounts, down from €18 million the previous year. They simply aren't in a position to turn down revenue.

Let's say we cut the price of a ticket by 20 euro across the board, that 50,000 x 20 x 3 = €3 million less in revenue. What do we cut from the IRFU activities to make up for that €3 million?

It's not about being wealthy. You don't need to be wealthy to pay 120 or even 150 euro, once a year, to see a rugby match. Most people drop that on a dinner with the wife and a couple of beers on a Saturday night.

Now, if you don't think it's good value, because you aren't that bothered about Ireland any more, don't like going to Dublin, atmosphere is shite, hate having to get up to let people out to the bar, they're all just there for the social media, whatever else, grand, but the vast vast vast majority of rugby fans can well afford it.

But so long as the IRFU need the cash (they do) and the market will bear the prices (it does), it looks to me like they're pricing it right.

I suppose 'wealthy' is a relative term.

I don't consider myself wealthy but I can pony up 120 quid for an Ireland match if I want to and the kids don't go without shoes as a result. In one of the richest countries in the world, for a sport that is almost entirely followed by middle-class (and above) people, I refuse to believe I'm a massive outlier. People might go full Helen Lovejoy on that but it's the truth, and the full houses at the Aviva every week would seem to back me up.

Going to international matches is a luxury purchase. You don't need to go, and if you're in a position where you can't afford to go to a match at those prices, fair enough, but then any reduction that is remotely possible won't change that value proposition for you. If you cannot afford to go to a rugby match at 120 per seat, then you absolutely cannot afford to go to a match for 90 euro either, and anyone hoping for 6N tickets in the 50 euro range needs to come around to reality.

Now, I wouldn't dream of bringing my kids and a gaggle of their friends to a 6N game, that's what provincial matches are for. We are absolutely blessed in Ireland to be able to see world-class players in the flesh for half-nothing, and I wouldn't pay 120 for my kids to lose interest and get their book out halfway through. I can still afford it, there's just no value in it for me.

Like, I paid 100 euro to see The Prodigy this summer, but there's no way I'm paying 100 euro to see Shania Twain. They're both outdoor concerts, they're both the same price, but they aren't the same value to me. So if other people don't see value in an Ireland game for themselves at these prices and don't want to pay them, I totally understand that.

Its not just down to being able to afford it or not.

That's exactly my point though. The idea that matches are only accessible to the elite is nonsense. They're expensive but they're not exactly Superbowl pricing either. The vast majority who want to spend that, can.

Price of a pint is another example

Well yes, we live in a high wage, high cost economy which is good and bad. The price of a pint is still very low compared to most other cities, but a lot higher than it used to be, so not sure what the 'right' price is.

But a poster above says that most of the country has to spend €850 per couple on a trip to a 6N game. In a best-case scenario and ticket prices are slashed, the cost of that trip comes down to €800. If you can't afford 850, you can't afford 800 either, but the IRFU still takes a massive financial hit. For what?

My take on it is charge what the market will bear, because we need the money to fund the game.