Rugby World Cup 2015: Sales reached 950,000 in September
Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
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A total of 950,000 tickets were sold for the 2015 World Cup in September, with fans set to find out on Saturday if they were successful in the ballot.
Tickets went on general sale last month and organisers say all matches in the tournament will go to a ballot in at least one price category.
Demand exceeded supply for 23 of the 48 games in every price bracket.
More than 650,000 applications were made for tickets for the England v Australia pool match at Twickenham.
Organisers say 500,000 applications were made for the final at Twickenham on 31 October.
| World Cup 2015 venues | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium | City | Capacity | Stadium | City | Capacity |
| Wembley Stadium | London | 90,000 | Elland Road | Leeds | 37,900 |
| Twickenham Stadium | London | 82,000 | King Power Stadium | Leicester | 32,262 |
| Millennium Stadium | Cardiff | 74,500 | Amex Stadium | Brighton | 30,750 |
| Etihad Stadium | Manchester | 56,000 | Stadium MK | Milton Keynes | 30,500 |
| Olympic Stadium | London | 54,000 | Kingsholm Stadium | Gloucester | 16,500 |
| St James' Park | Newcastle | 52,387 | Sandy Park | Exeter | 12,500 |
| Villa Park | Birmingham | 42,788 | |||
England Rugby 2015 received more than 5m applications when tickets went on general sale from 12 to 29 September.
Demand was highest for England v Australia, England v Wales and Australia v Wales at Twickenham in the pool stage, as well as New Zealand v Argentina at Wembley, and for both semi-finals and the final.
Fans who do not receive tickets once the ballot results are revealed will receive priority when tickets go back on sale at the end of November.
"We are thrilled with demand for tickets a year out from the tournament," said Debbie Jevans, chief executive of England Rugby 2015.
| Analysis from Dan Roan - BBC Sport editor |
|---|
| "The 650,000 applicants for the England v Australia pool match on 3 October have just a one in 32 chance of getting a ticket because only around 20,000 of Twickenham's 82,000 seats were available in September's general sale. "Of the 2.3m total Rugby World Cup tickets, half went to the IRB (for travelling fans, hospitality, sponsors and unions), the other half were for members of the public - half of those went to rugby fans at clubs."Matches at Exeter, Manchester, Gloucester and Brighton are sold out, along with the England games at Twickenham."There are significant numbers of tickets still available for matches at the Millenium Stadium (eight matches and pre-sale total of 500,000 tickets), Leeds, Leicester, Villa Park and Newcastle." |
"The record level of demand we saw in September is a terrific indicator of the general interest and excitement.
"Demand has exceeded supply for a high number of our matches, and the only downside of such strong demand is that there will inevitably be some disappointment when rugby fans are notified of the results of their applications."
The tournament opens on 18 September when England play Fiji at Twickenham.
In addition to the 950,000 tickets sold in September, 340,000 tickets were sold by England Rugby 2015 to fans through rugby clubs in England and Wales as part of the Rugby Community Programme.
The overall sales figure will increase through November.