The Rugby Football Union is giving away tickets for England’s match against Fiji as the governing body struggles to sell out the second autumn international fixture at Twickenham.
Telegraph Sport understands that certain rugby clubs have been given an allocation of free tickets to distribute to their members for Saturday’s game against Fiji. The Pacific Islanders’ last visit to Twickenham was played in front of a half empty stadium and resulted in England’s first ever defeat by Fiji.
At the time of writing, the RFU is on course to attract more than 70,000 spectators to the Allianz Stadium, which has a capacity of 82,000. Insiders emphasise the free tickets have been awarded to clubs who have done outstanding work in the community game.
While the RFU is on track to sell out England’s other three autumn international fixtures against Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, it was anticipating a tough job marketing the Fiji game. The union made tickets available at £50 for adults and £15 for juniors and applied further promotional discounts.
However, rugby may have reached a saturation point in London with the capital also hosting South Africa v Japan and New Zealand v Barbarians last week in addition to Australia’s visit to Twickenham. The late kick-off time of 5.40pm will not have helped with the family demographic while England A’s fixture against an All Black XV at the Rec in Bath on Saturday may sell out, further impacting the number of fans travelling from the South West.
The RFU had considered taking this fixture to the north of England, however it clashed with a programme of Premier League football. The last time England’s senior men’s team played a home match outside Twickenham was against Italy in Newcastle for a 2019 World Cup warm-up game.
The RFU also pointed to the record-breaking attendances it attracted in hosting the Women’s World Cup. “This has been a record-breaking year for Test-match rugby in England, with more tickets sold for international fixtures than in any season for over a decade,” an RFU spokesperson said.
