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This week I found out just how hard the Australian Rugby Union are making it for anyone who is not a rusted-on-the-hull rugby fan to see the Wallabies.
A while ago I was discussing sport generally with a few mates (as you do) when one of them brought up the fact that it was almost Wallabies season again.
Most of these guys like rugby but pay the closest attention during the Test rugby part of the year. I don’t think this fading in-and-out of interest in rugby would be an experience limited to my group of friends.
It seemed to me that now the Wallabies were in their consciousness a bit more it was a good time to check ticket prices, anticipating that a bunch of us would attend a Bledisloe game this year.
I logged on to Ticketek and checked how much we would need to get a decent view of the All Blacks game in Sydney. $159. It costs $159 to watch the Wallabies while sitting along the sections of the field between the 22m lines. That’s a gold class ticket. It’d want to be plated in gold too.
People who know me will testify to the fact that I can be quite persuasive when I want to be. However, there is not a group of us going to the Bledisloe Cup this year.
Last week I noticed via Twitter that The Roar’s rugby expert Paul Cully had been able to purchase a ticket to the Super Rugby final between the Chiefs and Sharks in Hamilton for only $35. That is in stark contrast to our $159 price point.
You could argue that the Wallabies are a higher level of the sport, and that would be true. But that point would be more than countered by being reminding that the Chiefs are hosting their first final, and there is no guarantee there will ever be another one, unlike the yearly Bledisloe Cup.
Add to that being in a final is a sign of success. The Wallabies are one from 11 and they still want to charge $159.
To be fair, I didn’t know exactly what part of the ground Cully’s ticket was for, but now I was interested as to the real difference in value here. So I investigated.
The Chiefs website listed the second best tickets as “Red Reserve $90”. My intuition and experience with ticketing in Australian rugby told me that this was probably a ticket in the sections along the sideline between the 22m lines – comparable to the $159 Wallabies ticket.
I couldn’t find a seating map, however, so I contacted TicketDirect to confirm my hunch. They replied to me the next day saying, “There were a range of prices between the 22s, with higher prices for the premium seats under cover and lower priced seats closer to the field. Prices ranged from mid-thirties up to $120 for the best seats in the house.”
So what I imagine were the typical expensive second tier/box tickets are $120 in the middle of the field, while uncovered ones down closer to the action were beginning in the mid 30s price range. A massive difference to what it costs for my mates to get an uncovered seat between the 22s to see the Wallabies.
This got me thinking (dangerous I know). What is the competition like? What are the other options for potential Wallabies supporters in Sydney?
I jumped on the web to see what some of my friends could be doing instead of getting more and more interested in rugby during the most accessible part of its calendar.
The Sydney Swans have tickets at ANZ for a great seat along the side of the field (not that this positioning is a crucial for AFL) against Collingwood for $74.
This is one of the bigger regular season matches for the Swans and the recent move to ANZ for these matches has actually been a big hit with a lot of casual AFL fans I know. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were people I know at this match, in this ticket range.
Looking to the NRL, a sports goer could pick up Sydney Roosters v Wests Tigers tickets along the sideline in premium reserve for $42. That’s shamefully cheaper than the Wallabies and no one is disinterested, fiddling with their phones whenever Benji Marshall is on a football field. I and a few of my buddies have been to a match just to see him play before.
I thought I’d get a little more creative just to see how absurd ticket pricing is for a Wallabies match these days. I thought about the biggest sport in the world and how much it would cost to see my national team.
The Socceroos have a World Cup Qualifier against Oman at the SFS, next March I believe, and a Category A sideline ticket to this important match in the scheme of the next four year world game cycle is $95.
Perhaps a more creative research angle but still further shame for the Wallabies price point, the Australian Netball team has a Test series coming up in Sydney at the Superdome. You can pick an A Reserve sideline ticket to this for $75.
The catch here is that you get to watch Australia v New Zealand and (!) South Africa v England. I mean, this is just getting ridiculous now.
To drive this point home even further you can get a ticket to one of the biggest phenomena in the world this year, period, for $99. That’s a One Direction floor ticket. Heck, the man in almost every song on FM radio these days, Pitbull, will let you into his floor section for less than a Wallabies ticket. So will pretend rockers Nickleback. All of these tickets are giving you more entertainment time for less money.
I’ll admit that I’m in a working class part of Sydney. Maybe the people running the ARU aren’t interested in my friends attending Wallabies matches anymore, but that’s not a good thing.
They’ve priced all of my friends out of supporting their country. And I’d almost bet a week’s pay that they won’t sell out the ground to justify such a high price point. They haven’t in the past.
This isn’t all to say that the Wallabies have to be the cheapest ticket in town. There is a bit of prestige to a Wallabies match for sure. I think the best aim would be to keep most tickets under the $100 mark.
The ARU would find that more people can justify the expense and hopefully we will begin to sell out matches at the biggest ground in Sydney again.
There are a number of reasons why the Wallabies are important to the Australian rugby community.
They are definitely one of the most recognised sports brands in our market – that has been building since the Wallabies became much more competitive in the late 70s and built right up to the 2003 World Cup.
It is also the most important part of the rugby calendar for generating new followers because rugby is finally on free-to-air TV. People my age don’t really get to follow the Waratahs that closely if they don’t have Foxtel.
Most people don’t even associate the Waratahs with their long history, but view them as an elitist team that was created for pay TV in the 90s when rugby went professional (some of them think rugby league State of Origin is older!) Along come the Wallabies and all of my mates enjoy rugby again, because it’s accessible.
For the first time since the World Cup last year people without Foxtel can follow rugby more closely. It’s a shame pricing prevents them from the most important experience in fandom – attendance.
Maybe everyone will just see The Dark Knight Rises in the Gold Lounge of Event Cinemas for $35.90.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.