There is just over one year to go until the men’s Rugby World Cup, the world’s third best-attended sporting event, kicks off. It promises to be an international celebration that also unites Australia, and an opportunity to bury the memories of Jonny Wilkinson from 2003.
Size alone cannot guarantee its success, however, and the coming week’s main release of tickets will be a litmus test for the expanded 24-team format. Will the tournament’s 52 matches in seven cities – from the mouth-watering pool match between the hosts and the All Blacks to the less-than-traditional rugby clash between Chile and Hong Kong – sell out? And will those without the sponsor’s credit card have the chance to buy tickets at all?
Organisers predict 250,000 international visitors will travel to Australia for the tournament in 2027, around five times the number who came for the Lions tour last year, and around four times the visitors for the 2003 edition.
Next year’s anticipated combined stadium attendance of 2.5 million is behind only the men’s Fifa World Cup and summer Olympic Games among major sporting events, although the Tour De France is estimated to pass some 10 million supporters along the roadside.
Managing director of the tournament, Chris Stanley, stares down his own tough climb next week with the final release of tickets. Visa customers will have first crack on Monday at noon AEST (3am London/11pm Sunday in New York), before sales for everyone begin on Thursday. Stanley says some matches – especially those involving the host nation – are expected to sell out earlier in the week. “I’d love to have more matches for the Wallabies to sell, but the reality is there’s a set amount,” he says.
“We’re encouraging people if they are unfortunate in missing out on the Visa presale or the general sale, have a look at the other matches that are available in their location because we have got tickets available for all matches at the moment.”
Stanley defended the staged ticketing approach, which has involved an initial presale, a ballot process, and an opportunity for partners which closed last week. “We’ve tried to make this the most accessible Rugby World Cup,” Stanley says, highlighting that one million tickets are being offered at under $100.
Three-quarters of a million seats sold in the initial pre-sale suggests the sub-$100 tickets have proven popular, though many fans have also paid hundreds of dollars to secure their seats for the high-profile matches. Category 1 tickets for Australia v New Zealand in Sydney on 9 October were $635, as were the England v Wales and Ireland v Scotland pool matches. The best seats for the final were $1,950, the highest single ticket price for any rugby World Cup match in history.
At the 2023 World Cup in France, the most expensive pool match was the opener between the hosts and New Zealand, where the cheapest tickets were €80 ($129) and the most expensive were €549 ($890). Top seats at the final cost €950 ($1,537).
In 2003 in Australia, 1.87 million tickets were sold at the tournament, although attendances at quarter-finals in Melbourne and Brisbane were not at capacity with some at the time citing the high cost of tickets.
Stanley believes he and his team have balance right. “The men’s Rugby World Cup is the financial engine room of World Rugby, it represents about 90% of their revenues. That funds international rugby for the next four years, so there is an element where we have a responsibility for the global game,” he says.
“So we have to balance accessibility – so a million tickets under $100 – with ultimately returning a surplus to World Rugby for reinvestment back into the sport. That balance is a very difficult balance across all tournaments, we think we’ve got it right with our split. I’m sure there’ll be people that would disagree, but that’s the approach we’re taking.”
Stanley was on the ground taking notes at the men’s Fifa World Cup in North America, the women’s edition in Australia in 2023, the Lions tour Down Under last year and even the NFL at the MCG earlier this month.
His tournament will not offer the dynamic ticket pricing that enraged fans in the United States earlier this year – although a resale platform is in the works – and Stanley wants to be as transparent as possible with fans. He also plans to incorporate aspects of these recent events into the rugby showpiece, in particular the execution of fan festivals. “Fifa did that really well across both the men’s and the women’s,” he says. “That really gives everybody the opportunity to be involved in the tournament.”
The NFL regular season match at the MCG was widely praised and enjoyed a global spotlight, but the Rugby World Cup will not have access to the 100,000-seat arena for the tournament. Melbourne’s eight matches will use the 53,000-capacity Marvel Stadium, given the NFL has been given priority access to the MCG.
Stanley says the NFL in Melbourne “was incredible” and the stadium “looked really good”, but he was very happy with the eight matches at Marvel. “It’s the only stadium with a roof,” he says. “I don’t worry about which venue we’re in, I always worry about the product and the fan experience, and we’re very happy with where we’ve ended up.”
