Eoin M N 🇮🇪🇪🇺🇵🇸

Not surprising the IRFU’s shameful ticket pricing is going to result a significant number of empty seats for Ireland v Argentina. 136 euro being the cheapest ticket to watch the 8th ranked team in the world play Ireland is a disgrace

Hundreds of tickets still available for Ireland v Argentina this Friday, with the cheapest at €130. That should be setting alarm bells ringing across Irish rugby. The game is being slowly strangled by greed and corporate thinking. The very communities that built Irish rugby are being priced out of supporting their own team. Vodafone's "Team of Us" slogan is becoming painfully ironic. Where exactly is the "Us" on match day? Leinster couldn't sell out the opening weekend at the new arena because of outrageous pricing. Munster have empty seats. Ulster are struggling to fill their ground. These aren't isolated incidents. They're warning signs. As a ten-year ticket holder, I've watched the atmosphere deteriorate year after year. There's virtually no entertainment outside the 80 minutes, barely a proper fan shop and absolutely no sense of occasion. Irish rugby could learn an enormous amount from American college sports about creating a genuine match-day experience. Rugby is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success. You might squeeze more money out of supporters today, but pricing out families, young fans and local communities is a massive long-term mistake. A full stadium, a brilliant atmosphere and the next generation of supporters should be worth more than squeezing every last euro out of the people who made the game what it is. Irish rugby needs to remember who it belongs to.