The Champions Cup was meant to herald a new age of European Rugby. One that would capture the imagination like no European Rugby tournament before through ticket sales and TV money.
With BT and Sky sharing the TV rights, it seems like they may have got some of that right, but when the final is screened on our TVs next Saturday, there may be a ghastly sight.
Ticket sales have not been as high as expected for the final in Twickenham. Neither the pre-tournament sales nor the fan sales have gone very well which has lead to some strange deals being offered.
The Aviva Premiership is now offering FREE Champions Cup final tickets with every Premiership final ticket bought on their website.
So while a Champions Cup ticket on Ticketmaster will set you back at least £69, you can get a Premiership final ticket for anything from £29-£85.
It's a risky move; considering that the Champions Cup final hasn't proved to be that popular this year, and it risks leaving empty seats at the Premiership final, by giving fans a chance to buy cheap tickets that will get them to the Champions Cup final who might not be interested in the Premiership.
It's the fifth All-French final in European rugby. After the fiasco of Perpignan and Toulouse played at a half-empty Lansdowne Road in 2003, the ERC learned to sell most of the tickets before the tournament begin. That meant that the next time there was an All-French final 50,198 people attended the game which is close to the 51,700 capacity.
That game was the least attended Heineken Cup final since that disastrous 2003 final where 28,600 showed up. While Twickenham can hold 82,000, it appears likely that a vast majority of those seats will be empty when the final happens in a week's time.
Photo Credit Stephen McCarthy / Sportsfile
