Fans of the Wales national rugby union team have voiced their criticism at the high ticket prices for the side's 2024 Six Nations Championship fixtures, amidst the team currently not achieving success on the field.
The Wales rugby team are massively popular across the nation but interest seems to have dropped as matches are no longer selling out like before.
Partly to do with that is the high cost it requires to watch the team, with adults having to pay a minimum of £40 to attend the Six Nations matches. If fans wanted to secure a ticket in the Principality Stadium's best seats for this year's competition, it would cost them as much as £115.
Welsh rugby supporter, Paul Evans, who has cheered on his nation since he was a teenager, has revealed that it costs £555 per matchday, once factoring in match tickets, travel and food, to take his family to watch their nation play.
Expectedly, tickets make up the majority of the amount, with Evans having to fork out £460 for two adult tickets and two under 17 tickets. Costs for the train journey from Cwmbran, Torfaen into Cardiff amount to £45, whilst expenditure for food from outside the ground comes to £50.
These costs are without factoring in anything purchased at the stadium, such as the official match programme, merchandise and food or drink inside the ground, which is typically priced quite high at sporting events.
Evans touched on the high costs he is having to fork out to watch his nation's rugby matches, saying: "I understand the cost of running (Wales rugby matches) is not as cheap as it used to be. It's inevitable that the price for tickets and events will increase. But some of the prices we're paying at the moment are a little astronomical for what we're getting."
The 45-year-old supporter further explained his stance, stating: "As long as you're turning out Grand Slams or championships, nobody's really talking about the price. Suddenly, as the team starts underperforming, everybody starts talking about how much it costs to go and watch them lose."
The Wales rugby side have massively disappointed its fans in recent years as the team finished in second to last place in the 2023 and 2022 Six Nations, winning just one game each in both campaigns.
Warren Gatland's side have also been massively disappointing in this year's tournament, losing all four matches so far and look set to finish bottom of the standings. After losing the two opening games to Scotland and England in what were tight contests, Wales then suffered losses of over 20 points to both Ireland and France.
This slump comes after the previous highs of 2019 and 2021, where Wales came out on top in the Six Nations. The win in 2019 was particularly impressive with Gatland's side winning every game in that edition to secure a Grand Slam.
It is only natural that fans become outraged at high ticket prices once their team starts to not perform well as they are not getting any bit of enjoyment out of spending their hard-earned money. If a team is thriving, its supporters will be somewhat satisfied with paying higher ticket prices as they will at least be able to witness worthy matches and enjoy memorable moments with others.
Evans, who is not a club member, suggests that the Welsh Rugby Union announce the tickets for matches at an earlier date so that fans can save up the required spending amount further in advance. The tickets for the 2024 Six Nations went on sale to the public last September, a little over four months before the tournament began.
Grassroot rugby clubs receive first refusal on tickets for Wales' rugby matches and often look to sell their allocation of tickets for a sizeable discount on social media. However, these clubs have struggled to sell their allocated Six Nations tickets despite offering discounts of over 25 per cent.
Wales' final Six Nations game in 2024 will be against Italy this coming Saturday, and with it featuring the two worst sides, there is hardly much to play for so empty seats are expected at the Principality Stadium.
