Sluggish ticket sales for rugby showdown

JUST 22,000 tickets have been sold to date for Saturday’s European Rug

The organisers of the competition admitted yesterday that the failure of both Leinster and Munster to reach the final represented a “double whammy” for their hopes of a sell-out match.

There is also some concern that some of the 6,000 people who bought tickets for the match in January before the identity of the finalists were known may not travel to Dublin.

However, they still expressed confidence that the attendance at the all-French clash on Saturday afternoon will reach 30,000.

ERC chief executive Derek McGrath admitted yesterday that the tournament organisers have faced a big marketing challenge to ensure there will be a large turnout at Lansdowne Road.

Because of the traditional reluctance of French club supporters to travel abroad, it is estimated that not more than 3,000 fans from both Toulouse and Perpignan will journey to Ireland for the game.

Any attendance figure less than 30,000 is likely to represent an acute embarrassment for the organisers of the Heineken Cup given that last year’s final in Cardiff’s Millennium stadium between Munster and Leicester had a capacity 72,500 crowd.

The presence of one of the Irish provincial teams would also have guaranteed a sell-out game at Lansdowne Road this year. However, both Leinster and Munster narrowly lost their semi-finals last month.

At a press conference in Dublin yesterday, Mr McGrath encouraged all sport fans to avail of the opportunity of attending the final of a major international competition.

“Toulouse and Perpignan are the two best teams in Europe who have rightly earned their place in the final after 78 games played in this year’s competition,” said Mr McGrath. “It is also possible that Ireland will not host another European Rugby Cup final for another five years.”

Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Cllr Dermot Lacey said he hoped to see thousands of visiting supporters enjoy Dublin and a great sporting occasion.

“Although we would have preferred to have seen Leinster and Munster contest an all-Ireland Cup final, Toulouse and Perpignan are worthy finalists and will demonstrate the best of French rugby,” said Mr Lacey.