Tickets for the British and Irish Lions’ tour to Australia go on sale to the general public next month.
The members of the Wallabies supporters clubs and season ticket holders for the various stadia have had their opportunity already, which is fair enough I suppose.
Personally, I’ve never seen the business case as viable for a debenture seat; I checked out the Twickenham South Stand when it was rebuilt and I’ve also considered the SCG/SFS/ANZ membership but taking my chance in the public sales plus the odd corporate hostility ticket has always seemed to make more economic sense.
I investigated the tickets in advance today, saving the various links as favourites to my browser to ensure that I would be ready come 9am on February 18th.
And how much are these tickets, you ask? Well here you go;
Put your bank manager on danger money, baby.
Ok, that’s fucking pricey, right? Especially when you’re married to a rugby nut who expects to be coming along too (so stick babysitting fees on top of that cost).
Let’s put the pricing in context of the last world cup I attended, France 2007; a decent fixture (i.e. two of the top 6 teams playing each other, not Belarus vs. Tristan de Cuna) was about £140, I recall. I wanted a bloody refund after watching the Saffas beat us 36 – nil and I would have paid double for that glorious afternoon in the Velodrome at Marsielle when Andrew Sheridan bullied the Wallaby front row, but that’s not the point.
Actually, converted into Aussie dollars and inflation factored in (haha! Ben Bernanke!) those prices are not too dissimilar.
They also compare favourably to the State of Origin Australian Rules Rugby prices this year (starting at $183).
So why do I resent paying half a grand for Charlie and I to go to the footy, or a grand if we decide do a family road trip down to Melbourne too?
Because Rugby Union is dying the death of a thousand cuts here in Australia. The graphic I posted here a few days ago clearly shows that the registered pool of players is an aged demographic. Comparative to other countries and, more importantly, other domestic sports, Rugby is not winning over the kids. It’s a sport for blokes over 30 with knees that are living on death row. “Dead patellas limping”…..
Which is also exactly the reason why I will be buying the tickets. I’m confident that this will be the last Lions tour to Australia. In twelve years time, this leg of the big money machine will be over in Buenos Aires instead.
In 1875, the Calcutta Rugby Club disbanded and withdrew the balance of the bank account. After a vote, they decide not to have the mother of all parties but to commission a silver trophy instead. This became the Calcutta Cup and has been competed for by England and Scotland since 1879 and is now one of the oldest international sporting fixtures.
Let’s hope the disbanded ARU leave a similar legacy.