World Cup ticket shock!

The Women's Rugby World Cup this summer. It sounds great, doesn't it - especially the group stages when a single ticket gets you in to see any three of six games. A fantastic festival of the best of women's rugby at a brand new venue. Who could want for more?

Well, quite a few people could be wanting more it seems - more tickets! Tickets went on sale a couple of weeks ago and yesterday this notice appeared:

"Important ticket update if your planning on coming along but haven't booked yet - We're nearing 2,000 sold in less than a month and some matches are nearing capacity."

How could the Surrey Sports Park possibly be close to capacity on some dates when less than 2,000 tickets had been sold? Investigations today seem to have revealed the shock answer. Unless someone from the organisers wishes to correct the information I have received the amazing news is that...

The crowd capacity at Surrey Sports Park is only 2,000
Possibly less

(Or no more than 1,000 spectators per pitch!) 

Or roughly a single ring of people, shoulder to shoulder, round the pitch. Or, to put it another way, the organisers are expecting fewer people to come to the World Cup than go to some junior rugby tournaments.


What crazy, loopy madness is this? Summer holidays, easily accessible location, publicity campaigns, roughly 15-20 million people living within an hour of the venue, spectators flying in on package tours from around the world (well, North America anyway) and the best anyone could come up with is a venue that would struggle to host Herts Girls' Sevens????


The immediate message to come from this is simple, therefore...

DON'T WAIT FOR A MOMENT

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!

However, the other message is that incredible lack of confidence and belief and ambition among those in charge of the tournament - ie. RFUW (who will presumably have suggested the venue) and the IRB (who will have agreed it, and set the budget).

Madness.