Over 50,000 expected for Heineken Cup final

THE Scottish Rugby Union defended ticket sales for the Heineken Cup final amid fears of a poor turn-out.

Stade Francais and Toulouse will fight it out for the trophy at the 67,500-capacity Murrayfield Stadium on Sunday.

It has been confirmed that 42,000 tickets have been sold while the European Rugby Cup and SRU chiefs are expecting an attendance in excess of the 50,000-mark.

Thousands of tickets will remain unsold but - compared to the 2003 Heineken Cup final, when Toulouse beat French rivals Perpignan at Lansdowne Road in front of only 28,600 - it is still a considerable success.

An SRU spokesman said: “We are led to believe that 51,000 tickets will be sold.

“We expect in excess of 50,000 people to be there, which is a great attendance.

“The last time two French teams played in the final was two years ago at Lansdowne Road in Dublin and the attendance was 27,000.

“So compared to that, it’s a huge increase.”