THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

Supporters' chief fears loyal fans are being priced out of World Cup
DAVID FERGUSON CHIEF RUGBY WRITER ([email protected])
A SCOTTISH supporters chief has reacted angrily to the ticket prices set for the Rugby World Cup matches in Scotland, insisting that it fuels the belief there is no room in professional rugby for the loyal rugby enthusiast.

The FFR and RWC organisers explained to the Scottish media on Thursday why the majority of ticket prices had been set at between £85 and £164 for Scotland's pool clash with the All Blacks next September, and made an impassioned appeal for Scottish rugby to fill Murrayfield and help the French top the success of the 2003 event in Australia. They provided figures showing over 30,000 tickets have been sold for the game so far - bringing in an estimated £2.7m - and another 10,000 for the match with Romania, which has ticket prices ranging from £9 to £43. However, Bert Lawson, chairman of the Edinburgh Rugby Supporters Club, fears that while the cash may roll in it will not come from the diehard supporters given to watching Scottish rugby at other times.

He said: "I go to all the games and had no problem getting tickets for the autumn Test matches, but I spent a whole day on the phone trying to get tickets for the Six Nations games. I don't work in Edinburgh so I couldn't pop in to the ticket office, and then when I did get through I only had the choice of seats behind the posts at either end.

"I haven't tried yet for the World Cup, but I will and I hope there are still some affordable tickets left.

"My fear is that this kind of ticketing policy is driving the loyal supporters in Scottish rugby away from the game, which is why we're seeing poor crowds at club and pro rugby in this country. How many of the supporters who watch Edinburgh week in week out, or Borders and Glasgow for that matter, can afford to pay £148 or £164 for a ticket to a World Cup game at Murrayfield?

"Speaking with a lot of Edinburgh supporters the worries over the cost of World Cup tickets is pretty widespread. We are the type of supporters who turn out to support our team, Edinburgh or Scotland, and we'll support them whoever they're playing against and whatever the result was the week before.

"But, sadly, I don't think there will be thousands of us cheering the team on when they face New Zealand next year."

Claude Atcher, the RWC tournament director, spoke enthusiastically on Thursday about having sold over 10,000 tickets priced at £148, evidence that people will pay over the odds to be present at a World Cup match, where they would not for an ordinary autumn Test. He cited a recent qualifier between an Americas team and a nation making its way through the repechage as having attracted 8,000 people before either team was known. That, he insisted, was the draw of the Rugby World Cup.

The draw certainly attracts ticket touts and those seeking a fast buck, which sparks questions as to who has bought tickets to the Scotland games so far. The worldwide bidding website eBay is currently offering two £38 tickets to the All Blacks game for £200, four £51 tickets for £615 - and an incorrect claim that the 'orange section' is sold out - two £85 briefs for £320 and two of the yellow/gold £164 tickets for £549.

There are also tickets to see Scotland v Romania with a pair of £43 briefs on sale for £225.95; another website is offering one £25 ticket for Scotland's game with the repechage qualifier, which may be Uruguay, for the snip of £281.25. As well as the UK's big ticket agencies, there are a lot of individual sellers from France and others as far afield as Belgium and the USA. That is an aspect of modern ticket-selling which is interminably difficult to control, but while there is merit in Atcher's argument that more people will pay top dollar to experience a World Cup match, the concern for Scottish rugby remains how many will be rugby supporters? If few, meaning many are left out, what damage could that do to the SRU's efforts to engage and inspire a new generation of supporters across a country badly in need of new blood? The peripheral work around the tournament games, by the RWC, FFR, SRU and tournament sponsors, to market the sport will be vital.

Lawson added: "It's all very well to sell seats to thousands and thousands of corporate clients, sponsors and businesses for the World Cup, but they'll not be interested at other times and so how many people who couldn't afford a ticket then will come back when you do need them; people like us?

"It reminds me of the time when I was president at Linlithgow and I took my seat in the West Stand beside a girl, who turned to her partner when the teams kicked off and asked: 'Is that not a strange shape of ball they're using?' She was quite serious and while I'm all for encouraging new supporters, men, women and children, we also have to ensure those who support Scottish rugby right through the year are not turned off."

This article was posted on 16-Dec-2006, 09:24 by Hugh Barrow.