Lions tour match tickets going on sale for as little as £4 in South Africa
Tickets from as little as R100 (£4.30) for next year’s British and Irish Lions tour will be available from September 2 following South Africa Rugby’s announcement of the prices and ballot process. The organisers have struck a balance between pricing for the biggest sporting event to hit South Africa since the 2010 FIFA World Cup while making the matches around the country remain highly affordable.
The eight-match tour – which stretches across six cities over five weeks and kicks off in Cape Town on July 3 next year – has tickets available for public sale with the prices designed to make them attractive to South African residents.
“The top-priced tickets are comparable with what was charged 12 years ago when the Lions were last here,” said Jurie Roux, SA Rugby CEO. “But what is very different is that we have introduced four tiers of pricing for all matches – unlike the once-price-fits-all approach last time around.
“We have provided a range of price points for the public and, for instance, a family of four will be able to watch a match against one of the franchise teams for R1,000 (£43.60) in total, and for as little as R400 (£17.40) for a match in Port Elizabeth or Nelspruit.
“This is a once-in-a-decade commercial opportunity and we won’t shy away from acknowledging that we have to maximise the commercial opportunity that the extraordinary demand offers. At the same time, we have been sensitive to the South African fans and have some very affordable prices to watch the best of our local teams take on the Lions.”
In the Line of Fire The Inside Story from the Lions Head Coach – £20
Ticket prices for matches against the DHL Stormers at Cape Town Stadium, the Cell C Sharks at Jonsson Kings Park and the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld range in price from R250 (£10.90) to R600 (£26). Tickets for midweek matches against a SA Invitational team in Port Elizabeth and against SA A at Mbombela Stadium are even cheaper ranging from only R100 (£4.30) to R350 (£15.20).
The cheapest Test match ticket is R500 (£21.80) – less than the price of a ticket to a 2019 Springbok Test – and increases to R1,250 (£54.50) and R2,000 (£87.20) to the top-priced ticket of R3,000 (£130.80).
South Africa, as a territory, has the majority ticket allocation and South African residents will have access to an affordable ticket pricing tier structure. “The British and Irish Lions are unique in that they visit South Africa only once every 12 years, and we look forward to welcoming their thousands of fans to some warm South African hospitality,” added Roux.
“This is the home of the Rugby World Cup champions, the Springboks, and the Lions will know they are in our den. More tickets will be available to home fans than to overseas fans – we want to meet them with an army of green to combat the sea of red.”
Roux said that it was critical for South Africans to note that there was only one route to secure tickets – by entering the ballot on www.lionstour2021.co.za. “We have had large-scale interest through www.lionstour2021.co.za and they will all receive an email with a link to the ticket site once the ballot opens.
“Any other South African-based fan can register on the site now or when the ballot opens. The ballot closes at midnight on September 16, after which we expect all the publicly available tickets to be allocated. It is critical that if you want tickets for the tour you register on the site before September 17.”
'It did turn sour'
Ed Griffiths' behind the scenes insight into the Springboks 1995 #RWC win ??, the back story to the Mandela moment, confronting flag-waving fans, holding clothes hangers for luck & the lost opportunity of it all
– writes @heagneyl https://t.co/XpSHESE4cF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 24, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
I hope Leinster’s proud of themselves fielding a poor team. They should decide if they’re all in or not.
1 Go to commentsJordie is looking at 16 games maximum if Leinster reach both the URC and champions cup finals. Thats not guaranteed. Some of those home URC fixtures will be cakewalks as well for Leinster and there is not much doing during the 6 nations in Feb and March so he can probably get a decent rest then. He will have to really put in it for maybe 7 or 8 games max. It should be a good move for both.
13 Go to commentsThe game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
23 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
13 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
13 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
6 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
6 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to comments