Madam, – I am a longtime supporter of Irish rugby, and am a member of the Irish Rugby Supporters’ Club, and even with such loyalty to Irish rugby, I am incredulous as to how the Irish Rugby Football Union has “lost the run of itself”.
For years, rugby in Ireland has striven to overcome the image that it was a game only for the “upper classes”. Now, it has become a game where only the wealthy can support the national team. I do realise that the new stadium has to be paid for, but €100 per ticket for the home Six Nations matches is too expensive, and particularly as one has to buy the package of both home matches. For four friendlies in the autumn series, the price of €340 puts it way out of the average rugby supporter’s reach. If a parent wanted to take a child to one match in the autumn series, it would cost €475.
Has the Irish Rugby Football Union lost all sense of perspective and reality in its efforts to pay for the new stadium? It seems that passing on a love of rugby to the younger generation, and passing on the tradition and excitement of going to Lansdowne Road to support your national team, is now only available to the wealthy? What a sad story for Irish rugby. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As a massive, lifelong rugby fan, I was without question intending to go to the coming autumn Internationals and Six Nations matches in Lansdowne Road – that is, until I checked the ticket prices on the IRFU’s website. €100 per game for the All Blacks and South Africa games with Argentina and Samoa €90 and €50 respectively for a stand ticket, is not only exorbitant it is downright extortionate. They are also only being sold as packages of four (autumn Internationals) and two (Six Nations), with a price tag totalling €340 and €200 respectively.
That means that only 50,000 people have a chance to see these games in the flesh. With Irish rugby having such a large following, this is rule 101 on how to undo all the positive public support about the free-to-air issue in one, greedy, move. Moreover, the fact that it is charging €40 for a schools ticket shows exactly where its priorities lie. This sort of pricing is an utter disgrace and I urge true rugby supporters to boycott these games until a realistic pricing scheme is released, reflecting our current economic woes, and proving to the IRFU that we are not here to be fleeced. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The Aviva stadium (formerly known as Lansdowne Road) cost a whopping €411 million, of which the taxpayer contributed close to 50 per cent. At this price, it must surely be the most expensive three-sided stadium in the world.
If there were the usual capacity in the North end could we expect to see ticket prices 25 per cent lower? – Yours, etc,