Lions tickets sell out in 15 minutes

Rugby:Ticket sales in Australia for this summer’s Lions Tour sold out in 15 minutes after going on sale on Monday morning, according to an Australian Rugby Union (ARU) official.

The public sale was only open to those with an Australian address, although many Irish people based in the country were expected to try and purchase tickets for relatives and friends planning to travel over for the three Tests next June and July.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Ticketek website was swamped with requests for the tickets, which ranged in price from Aus $95 (€73) to Aus $295 (€227).

The tickets allocation for the Melbourne (June 29th) and Sydney (July 6th) Tests went on sale at 9am, with the ARU saying they sold out by 9.15am, while the Brisbane Test (June 22nd) went on sale an hour later and also sold out in just five minutes.

“That is indicative if what we’ve seen over the last fortnight in terms of the pre-sale opportunities we’ve given people,” an ARU spokesman told the Herald.

“It’s also in line with the demand that we saw in 2001 [when the Lions last toured Australia].”

The ARU did not release information about how many tickets went on sale.

The Lions ticket allocation for each game is currently 6,500 and travelling supporters can only purchase tickets through the seven official tour operators.

The most popular package is an 18-night trip, costing €7,500, which includes accommodation and tickets for the three Tests. The full tour package (40 nights and all 10 fixtures) costs €16,300.