Rugby league fans have lashed out at World Cup organizers over exorbitant ticket prices, empty stadiums and poor football in England.
Top nations like Australia and England, full of NRL and Super League talent, have taken minnows to the sword in front of largely empty stadiums because fans can’t afford to go.
And with some of the smaller nations failing to fight back, there are fears viewership could fall even further for not paying “extortion fees” to watch smaller footballing nations get pumped up.
Mistakes were all too common for Scotland as they lost 84 points to Australia
Reagan Campbell-Gillard is tackled by Scotland’s Kyle Schneider during the Rugby League World Cup match at the Coventry Building Society Arena
According to the official Rugby League World Cup website: “Tickets start at £10 for adults and £2.21 [$3.92 AUD]for under 16′.
The website claims that £10 [$17.74 AUD] Tickets are available for all matches, with different maximum prices depending on the participating teams.
To watch Fiji vs Italy or Lebanon vs Ireland you can expect to pay up to £66 [$117.08 AUD]. For games like England vs France you have to pay up to £132 [$234.16].
The online ticketing system shows how expensive the decent seats are, which is unattainable for many average rugby league fans
To get the cheap £10 tickets you must be a student or child and only have access to the category C seats with the worst views in the venue. The £2.21 tickets are only available for the women’s and wheelchair games.
It will cost you up to £25 [$44.35 AUD] for a restricted view seat and £85 [$A150.79 AUD] for a category A ticket for adults.
Needless to say, the punters are not happy.
Very sad. Watch after #RLWC #Australia versus #Scotland and the stadium ? was pretty empty. I know it’s a bit of a mismatch but I’ve seen more people in non-league football. I’ll see if I can get some tickets and give it a try.
— Owen the farmer/butcher ?? (@penleighfarm1) October 21, 2022
Many rugby league fans have taken to social media to complain about ticket prices
“First RLWC experience yesterday after deciding to go on a whim. Ticketing website – very poor and quite difficult to sign up for pricing – looking at the seating area is clearly wrong as some tickets are overpriced. Mobile ticket – didn’t work getting into the ground,” one fan posted.
“Add the rising cost of travel and the incessant urge to buy RLWC tickets and this is an expensive time to be a fan. The RFL needs to offer payment plans – buy your GF tickets before June 30th and pay in 3 installments for example,” wrote another.
“I’m trying to sort RLWC final tickets from X3 tickets. Expensive…sell them at a reasonable price and sell and unpack the store,” added another.
As the cost of living has skyrocketed around the world in the wake of the Covid pandemic, many fans are feeling the bite and have been banned from attending.
However, some claim that the Rugby League World Cup deliberately blocked sales to cheap seats to maximize profits.
A Twitter fan even posted a section that was said to have sold out and where only a few fans had filled seats during one of the group games.
I’m not convinced by the RLWC answer. It doesn’t explain how the oddball, who got tickets in the SA block before being taken off sale, could have seen if he’d gotten to his assigned seat and had scaffolding on his head. ? surely they would have been contacted https://t.co/w3mdwMFPua
— RedVee.Net (@RedVeeDotNet) October 19, 2022
Fans line up to complain about the quality of football being played by the smaller nations
RLWC CEO Jon Dutton said the pricing was introduced before the post-pandemic cost-of-living crisis and admitted they changed things with hindsight.
“We’ve made some mistakes and we hold our hands up when we make mistakes,” Dutton said.
“If we had the opportunity to do this again after the pandemic, would we evaluate things differently?
“Yes, but we’re in the cycle now, we have customers who bought tickets two years ago and we’re comparable to everything that’s happening in the Super League at an entry level.”
Despite a number of NRL players in their ranks, Samoa were dismal in the 60-0 defeat of their opening game against England
England players celebrate another try as Penrith and New South Wales star Stephen Crichton looks on in disappointment
Ticket prices are not the only black eye this World Cup has received, with a string of one-sided results including England 60-0 against Samoa and Australia 84-0 against Scotland.
Additionally, the opening ceremony was disrupted by a power outage, meaning fans aren’t getting the maximum bang for their buck.
“We’re focused on moving forward now,” Dutton said of the incident at St James’ Park.
“Personally, I was absolutely devastated by what happened.
“My disappointment is that I don’t want to distract from what’s happening on the pitch.
“It has taken many years and standing in this stadium and watching the game between Tonga and PNG on Tuesday was a personal highlight for me.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/nrl/article-11342469/Rugby-League-World-Cup-puts-fans-offside-ticket-EXTORTION.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 Rugby League World Cup sidelines fans with ticket EXTORTION
