Source :- THE AGE NEWS
It only comes round once every 12 years. But would you pay $549 to watch the Wallabies play the British and Irish Lions in Sydney?
More than half a million fans from are expected to attend the Lions tour matches in Australia this winter, and early forecasts predict all nine games will sell out.
Demand for tickets has surged after the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in empty stadiums for the last Lions tour, in South Africa in 2021.
The combined attendance for this year’s series is expected to smash the previous record set in Australia 12 years ago, when 380,000 fans flocked to the seven tour matches and three Tests.
Tickets for this year’s Test matches are still available on Ticketek’s website, but come with a hefty price tag. The cheapest ticket still available for the Sydney Test is $149, with the most expensive a whopping $549.
Melbourne has the most affordable Test match tickets, starting at $99 for the second match at the MCG, while the cheapest for the first Test in Brisbane are $279.
British and Irish Lions fans in New Zealand.Credit: Getty Images
Tickets to watch the Lions’ tour match against the Waratahs in Sydney start at $69, but it’s unlikely any of NSW’s Wallabies representatives will be in the team.
Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh said the pandemic had prevented many rugby fans from ticking off the bucket list item of attending a Lions tour four years ago.
“That’s not just an impact to spectators that don’t get to go. It’s an impact to players who don’t get to play in front of fans too,” Waugh said.
“The last Lions experience for players who are backing up for this [tour] didn’t experience fans … I think that all that built up enthusiasm and excitement has come through for eight years rather than just the usual four.”
The three-Test series kicks off at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on July 19 before moving on to the MCG on July 26, with the final Test at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on August 2.
Former All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams, who faced the Lions in the drawn Test series in 2017, said a Lions tour represented the pinnacle of the sport.
“Some people, some households, save their whole lives to go on the Lions tour,” Williams said. “For some people, it’s more important than a Rugby World Cup. So when you understand that, just think of the pinnacle of sport.
“For some people, that’s what this is. I didn’t really understand it until I actually went through it, and it’s massive. Playing in a World Cup at home is massive. The Lions tour is massive.”
Waugh said he wasn’t surprised by the huge demand for the tour.
“The energy of four rugby-loving nations embraces Australia,” said Waugh. “You’ve seen the growth through the Six Nations, you’ve seen the growth through what’s occurred in the north around Test matches and that energy and enthusiasm is embarking on Australia.”
“Just seeing that progress and the growth of the significance of the tour, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger and rightfully so.
“I think that, naturally, all sorts of Australians … are getting more interested in big live sporting market events – and this is one of them.”
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