Rugby fans dig deep for semi-final tickets
Tickets for the 48,000-capacity game at Lansdowne Road sold out in days as they were distributed through the networks of clubs and schools.
However, some are now appearing on eBay at astronomical prices.
One set of match tickets was up for sale yesterday morning with a price of €1,768.48, attracting in excess of 30 bids from punters eager to see the game.
A further nine sets of tickets were going for over €1,000 and yet another set for €800, while one single ticket was priced at over €700.
That rarest of eBay phenomena, the appeal, also saw a posting by match fans who declared: “Wanted - Leinster v Munster tickets, top prices paid, any quantity considered”.
In contrast, fans can get tickets for the Heineken Cup Final in Cardiff for as little as €152 on eBay.
The semi-final game has pitched the provincial heavyweights against each other at a crucial stage of the competition, with a final against Biarritz or Bath awaiting the victors.
Pat Geraghty of Munster Rugby said that while huge bids were being made for tickets, it was unlikely that many people will end up paying thousands for tickets as many winning bidders pull out before handing over the cash.
He also envisaged that very few fans would travel to Dublin without a ticket.
“People are pretty clued in to the situation. I think a lot of people who do not have a ticket will watch the match at their club.”
Leinster Rugby also spread their 21,000 allocation of tickets through schools and clubs, but made 500 pairs of tickets available through a lottery for match day contributors.
They were less than impressed when they discovered that one winning punter had then sold the tickets on eBay.
Peter Breen of Leinster Rugby said the offending ticket holder was contacted and warned, but admitted that the auctioning of tickets was always likely.
“We contacted him and told him it wasn’t on, but unfortunately it’s difficult to reprimand anyone,” he said.
“This is the biggest game, outside an All-Ireland or an international, that I think this country has seen. You would need the Maracana to satisfy the demand.”
Meanwhile, one company has splashed out €40,000 for a pre-match corporate lunch where each plate includes a stand ticket.
The function is being held by Garryowen FC to help raise funds for the club.
Tables of ten sold at €5,000 euro and one company booked eight tables.
Four precious tickets will be given out by the Limerick Coordination Office today (Friday) to a business and homeowner who had the best Munster decorations. Each will get two tickets and an overnight stay in Dublin on Sunday.
The Munster Branch of the IRFU will host 700 at a pre-match lunch in Jury’s, where tables of ten sold for €4,000 euro (a stand ticket included for each guest).
The Leinster Branch of the IRFU have 500 attending their pre-match lunch at the RDS and tables of ten sold for €4,200.
Lunch tickets for the two IRFU lunches sold for a total of €492,000.
There will be a strong Garda and stewarding presence at the game and authorities have warned fans not to buy tickets from touts.
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