Australia visit set for sell-out as autumn tickets go

TICKET sales for Wales’ 2017 autumn international campaign have already surpassed last season’s with the opener against Australia on course to sell-out, writes Matthew Southcombe.

Last year’s opener against the Wallabies attracted a meagre 55,776 as Wales got thumped 32-8 by their visitors from Down Under.

But attendance figures are looking a lot healthier for Wales’ first run-out against Michael Cheika’s side, with 64,000 seats already sold.

The highly-popular visit of backto-back world champions New Zealand to Cardiff on November 25 has been sold out for almost a month.

Tickets for Wales’ final Test match of 2017 against South Africa on December 2 are charting an encouraging course, with more than 58,500 tickets already sold. Just 55,122 came to see Wales beat the ‘Boks last year.

Among the encouraging figures, the only slight concern comes in the shape of the second game of the series. Until now, just 38,000 tickets have been sold for Wales’ first-ever game against Georgia on November 18.

A mightily-impressive 73,969 packed out the Principality Stadium to see Wales face Japan last season, taking advantage of a reduced ticket price. Though that game saw a huge surge in ticket sales closer to the game, so there is still hope for the Georgia clash.

As things stand, more than 235,000 tickets have been sold for the impending autumn campaign, meaning it’s set to become the bestattended campaign in three years.

A revised pricing structure may be credited for the upturn in sales – a parent and child can watch the South Africa or Australia game for £60, with adult prices starting at £20 for the Georgia game.

“For the 2017 Under Armour Series to have surpassed last year’s attendance figures a month out from the first match against Australia is impressive,” said WRU CEO Martyn Phillips.