RUGBY:AN ESTIMATED 7,000 tickets will go on sale to the public via Ticketmaster this morning for Leinster's Heineken Cup semi-final against Toulouse at the Aviva stadium on Saturday, April 30th. Leinster had sold close to 30,000 tickets to season ticket holders by close of business last night.

ERC Rugby decide on the figure allocated to the two clubs for the semi-finals but it is up to the participants how they distribute their allotment. The tournament’s governing body retain 4,000 tickets for their stakeholders, including sponsors, media and VIP guests.

Leinster and Toulouse each received an initial allocation of approximately 23,000 tickets. Leinster set aside 5,000 for their constituent clubs and also retained an unspecified number to satisfy corporate interests.

The remainder was then offered on a preferential basis between 10am last Monday morning and 5pm on Wednesday through Ticketmaster to season ticket holders, who were entitled to buy two tickets per person for the semi-final: those with family memberships could purchase eight.

The province sold 4,000 tickets in the first minute and 14,000 after just 40 minutes. On Monday afternoon ERC released more tickets to Leinster after Toulouse confirmed they would only require 3,000-4,000 for the match.

Once the Wednesday deadline had elapsed Leinster season tickets holders were then offered an opportunity to purchase an additional four tickets each yesterday, ahead of the public sale today. A number of Leinster’s season ticket holders were angry with the tickets they received in terms of placement in the stadium.

There are a couple of issues that pertain to their disappointment. Leinster were responsible for the ticket distribution for their pool match against Clermont Auvergne and the quarter-final which pitted the province against the Leicester Tigers, both at the Aviva stadium.

This allowed them to control the allocation of tickets directly, with the majority of season ticket holders given seating of a similar quality to that which they enjoyed at the RDS. However when it came to the Toulouse match there was an appreciably more random nature to the allocations of seats.

Instead of withholding the “less desirable seating”, until everything else was sold, it appeared to be pretty much pot luck where a purchaser would be seated; this despite season ticket holders believing they were being offered preferential tickets and by extension, excellent seats. Anecdotal evidence suggests that wasn’t the case, albeit for a minority.

Two season ticket holders, both looking to purchase seats for €50, could end up with wildly contrasting viewing points. The Ticketmaster computer is unlikely to make a value judgment on whether a supporter would prefer a corner seat or a prime location elsewhere in the stadium.

What may also rankle is that ensconced in the tranche of tickets that go on sale to the public this morning could be seats that are more desirable in terms of placement in the stadium than those sold on a preferential basis last Monday morning.

In hindsight Leinster might appreciate the benefit of forewarning season ticket holders match tickets would not necessarily be released on a sliding scale and instead underlined the random nature of the process.

NEWCASTLE have received a one-year ban from European competition, suspended for five years, and a €25,000 fine from the European Rugby Competition. The punishment relates to the club’s failure to fulfil their European Challenge Cup pool match with Bourgoin. The fixture on January 22nd was postponed because of an unplayable pitch and rescheduled for January 23rd. However, neither the referee nor Falcons were present for the pitch inspection at midday.

Bourgoin were fined €75,000 for failing to ensure the initial fixture was fulfilled, and for failing to prepare an alternative venue.