The last All Black rugby tour to South Africa was in 1986 and was not an official tour due to the apartheid even though 28 of the 30 players were current New Zealand players. These tours do not happen regularly and fans know this so tickets are going to be hard to find more so than normal. New Zealanders will fly in for two weeks or three weeks so this will make tickets even more scarce so prices will be at a premium.
I was checking out how much the South Africa Vs New Zealand matches would cost and as expected they are not cheap. I have been going to live matches for many years and have attended some of the best stadiums around the world. Nothing beats the atmosphere of a live game and it is seriously a good day out or depending on where the match is being played a weekend or a week if it is a long travel.
Back in 1998/99 when I was involved with the English Rugby Union being part of the referee set up we would be offered tickets and these were not cheap. In those days VIP seating would be in the region of 250 GBP but the price was not important as being able to get your hands on these seats was what was special. I used to take a block of 10 seats each time and friends and family never questioned the price as tickets were not available. Twickenham could sell out their stadium 5 times as there is never enough seats to cater for all the fans.
The South Africa vs New Zealand series is no different and the demand is crazy resulting in some serious ticket prices. Hotels have got in on the action where you purchase a package of 2 nights plus the ticket for $700 each which tells you the seats are going to be $500 each and these are the cheap seats.
The 4 test matches are being played in Johannesburg, Cape Town and the FNB Stadium Johannesburg before travelling to Baltimore in the US for the final match. The tickets which go on sale this coming week will be anywhere between $250 and $2000 each depending on where you will be sitting. Corporate hospitality packages will be anywhere between $800 and $2000.
Today trying to get a better idea I thought I would check the ticket pricing for the 6 Nations match between France and England in Paris. 367 GBP to 627 GBP which is $500 - $850 which is expensive. This would not include travel ,hotels or the cost of the event with food and drink so you would be in for $1000 each for the day out on the cheap seats.
I will not be attending any of these matches even though I would love to go, but I cannot justify these prices. I would avoid the Ellis Park and FNB test match with both of those in Johannesburg due to where the grounds are and security issues. The Cape Town test match will be sold out with the tourists flooding into the city for this match. Baltimore would be the event I would want to attend and that would include flights hotels and tickets so this would be super expensive. Not sure if I could justify the costs with this trip even if it would be a once in a life time opportunity.
This year I will be flying regularly to see my mother who is not well and attending a rugby match could be the same price as flying to see my mum for 1 week. Hard to justify when you put things into context and we shall see ,but it is highly doubtful. This could be written off as entertainment for business taxes which I am sure what most of the people attending will be doing. This is a bucket list event with rugby tours being so rare and the hope is this starts a new trend. Rugby Unions need money and this is one way to fix the books.
