Tickets cost £2,000 on black market
Black market tickets for England's Grand Slam clash with Ireland in Dublin on Sunday have broken through the £2,000 barrier, but prices are predicted to fall sharply in the final days leading up to the Six Nations match.
The Lansdowne Road capacity of just 49,000 has created enormous demand on both sides of the Irish Sea and a Dublin website has a single ticket on sale for £2,300 while another punter asked for £10,000 for four tickets earlier this week.
Now, prices are starting to come down as those holding tickets attempt to cash in on the inflated market with one leading agency reporting that the average cost of two stand tickets is £1,200.
The agency, with offices in London and Dublin, explained: "There have been lunatic prices but that was a couple of days ago and we have discovered that, as a result, a lot more tickets have suddenly been offered on the market.
"You can pay £1,200 for a pair of good stand tickets for Dublin and £600 for a pair of terrace tickets and I get the feeling the prices will come down further this week.
"We have shifted 200 tickets and more are expected to be made available which means
a pair of stand tickets could be down to £900 by the weekend."
Meanwhile, England will give a fitness test to replacement prop Trevor Woodman today before flying to Dublin. If his back injury fails the test, then London Irish prop Mike Worsley will come in.
Meanwhile, Iestyn Harris will get his first chance for 12 months to prove that he can be Welsh rugby's latest centre of attention.
The 26-year-old Cardiff fly-half is one of four changes in the Wales team to face France at the Stade de France on Saturday.
But instead of taking his place at No10, where he has won the lion's share of his 14 caps to date, the former rugby league stand-off will take over from Tom Shanklin at inside-centre as coach Steve Hansen aims to take on the French at their own game.
The other changes to the team that lost 25-24 to Ireland in Cardiff on Saturday see Llanelli's Dwayne Peel come in at scrumhalf for Gareth Cooper, while injured pair Jonathan Humphreys - who had been brought back as captain after the Italy debacle - and Mark Jones make way for Mefin Davies and Craig Morgan respectively.
