South Wales Echo

Tickets for Wales v England on sale for up to £1,000

- BEN JAMES Sport reporter echo.newsdesk@walesonlin­e.co.uk

TICKETS for Wales’ Six Nations clash with England are on sale for as much as £1,062 on the re-sale site officially sanctioned by the WRU.

The February 23 clash is unlikely to go on general sale, with demand for a fixture with England always high and tickets already available to clubs, WRU supporters club members and debenture holders.

And already 55 tickets for the England match are being resold on the WRU’s regulated official resale marketplac­e site Seatwave.

Currently, the lowest ticket for the game is going at £578, with the highest being just above £1,000 – although these prices could drop as more tickets become available on the site.

And, you can still get a two-night hotel and ticket package for the game with Gullivers Sport Travel from £699.

The Union announced in December 2015 that it would allow tickets to be resold above face value via Ticketmast­er’s resale website Seatwave.

The reason was to create an official, verified “secondary” market of sales for Wales matches at the Principali­ty Stadium, with the Union able to regulate sales and protect supporters.

The WRU guarantees each ticket which is made available, so fans do not risk purchasing counterfei­t or duplicate tickets, which would lead to them being refused entry.

It means clubs, and those who get their tickets from them, can sell them on for inflated prices on Seatwave.

However, the recommende­d way to secure tickets is still through clubs and the official site – with the resale site best used as a last resort.

That’s why the Seatwave site tells you when there are cheaper tickets available through the WRU’s Ticketmast­er site.

A WRU spokeman said: “The WRU’s over-riding message to all supporters is ‘buy official,’ whether that be from clubs, from the WRU or from an official partner, in order to avoid disappoint­ment.

“As part of our constituti­on, member clubs of the Welsh Rugby Union have first right of refusal on all Welsh rugby tickets.

“The best way to get hold of a ticket for a Welsh internatio­nal is via a local club.

“Tickets only then go on public sale if they have not been fully taken up by member clubs.

“We do not place tickets directly onto Seatwave but this is endorsed as a safe, secure service marketplac­e for our supporters that is supplied from official sources.

“Clubs are permitted to sell 10% of their allocation with Seatwave. We believe this partnershi­p is the best way of protecting the consumer from people selling fraudulent tickets and keeping money raised from tickets in the game.

“For example, we are able to ensure links to face value tickets sit on the site whenever applicable, we include average sale prices at the point of purchase and we guarantee the tickets (so supporters who buy in this way are guaranteed entry - tickets bought from non-endorsed secondary market sites can and will be refused).”

 ?? CLIVE MASON ?? Tickets for Wales’ Six Nations match against England in February are being sold for up to £1,062
CLIVE MASON Tickets for Wales’ Six Nations match against England in February are being sold for up to £1,062
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