Rugby ticket prices - Killing the golden goose

LAST Saturday the Irish rugby team returned to its home stadium to host world champions South Africa. Amazingly fewer than 40,000 people turned up for what should have been a wonderful occasion.

Subsequently the IRFU admitted it had made a mess of ticket sales and put new procedures in place. Today we publish a survey that shows they need to lower ticket prices considerably too. In some instances Irish fans pay up to 85% more than other European rugby fans to watch comparable matches.

Irish rugby, with considerable Government help, built two magnificent stadiums in recent years and may be facing a kind of negative equity of their own. However, if the professional game is based on tickets priced at this level we may have to wait another 60 years for the next grand slam because they are completely beyond the reach of ordinary supporters.