Far from being the sell-out anticipated, tickets are still available for the British & Irish Lions’ warm-up non-Test against Argentina in the Aviva Stadium on Friday (kick-off 8pm, live on TG4 and Sky Sports).
Most likely the hefty pricing of tickets and hotels are a contributory factor for what is the Lions first game in Ireland.
In addition to premium-level tickets being returned, the cheapest remaining single tickets on Ticketmaster are priced at €148, while those seeking two tickets together will have to pay a minimum of €190 on Ticketmaster to be able to sit with a friend or family member.
The Lions in Dublin - what to expect?
Last week, one colleague looking to stay in Dublin on Friday night could not find a hotel room for less than €550, for one night. A search on booking.com on Wednesday following the two team announcements, uncovered one hotel priced at €280 for a one-night stay on Friday night, with another at €473 and thereafter none for less than €720.
For his first game as the Lions’ head coach, Andy Farrell has named a match day 23 captained by Maro Itoje and featuring 14 players in line to make their Lions debut as well as three Irish players in the starting XV in Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne and Bundee Aki, and three replacements in Ronan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong and Mack Hansen.
Whether that will encourage some supporters to snap up the remaining tickets and make this historic fixture a sell-out remains to be seen.
